We’re just over a month into the season, and it’s clear that no matter where you drafted your starting second baseman — or the backup or waiver grab who’s starting now — your fantasy team isn’t being bled from the keystone spot.
In fact, 10 second basemen currently rank inside the Yahoo top 100, with three more sitting just outside the list. Early-round picks Jose Altuve, Jose Ramirez, Dee Gordon and DJ LeMahieu are doing their thing. Ozzie Albies and Javier Baez have officially broken out and are going nuts. Whit Merrifield and Chris Taylor are off to slow starts but contributing enough that their owners aren’t panicked. Jed Lowrie was undrafted in many leagues even though he’s been a solid fantasy contributor on a per-game basis for years. Even Asdrubal Cabrera is raking.
It was fairly easy to see this coming, and I wonder if it should have affected certain early-round choices, like Altuve (over the likes of Nolan Arenado, Mookie Betts and Bryce Harper?) and Brian Dozier. At least Ramirez and Gordon owners have the luxury of moving these early picks into 3B and OF spots.
For those of us with a stash of solid second baseman, what to do with the bounty? What’s the trade market look like?
I’m not going to argue that position scarcity should cause us to do anything drastic — most leagues are so deep these days that it really isn’t a factor at all. And, again, our league-mates aren’t getting killed at the position, which means we’re probably going to have to lead with our superstars to make something work — sometimes the tightest owners are only willing to deal when they’re getting the name-brand player back.
So what might an Altuve trade look like these days?
We could target the relatively slow starts of Kris Bryant, Paul Goldschmidt or Joey Votto and ask for a usable piece to go with them. If you’re set on offense, maybe a Clayton Kershaw or Chris Sale owner disappointed with their low win totals would be game. You could take on a little more risk and reward by targeting any of the breakout starters — Patrick Corbin, Sean Manaea, Gerrit Cole — plus a premium second piece.
On the other hand, Altuve’s counting stats — two home runs, 15 RBI, one stolen base — might open the door for the other end of the deal. We’re not here to just dump assets — maybe it’s the Altuve owner who has depth and needs help in other areas.
I’m of the mind to sell high on my second basemen with so many other usable options. (Is it crazy to prefer trading Altuve “low” than Albies high?)
Over the past two weeks we’ve even seen new usable second basemen join the mix, offering even more bench depth. Reds light-hitting speedster Jose Peraza (also shortstop eligible) has posted a .364 average with two home runs, eight RBI and three swipes over the past 14 days, and teammate Scooter Gennett has hit .326 with two bombs and nine RBI over the same span. The Rays’ Daniel Robertson was a popular add this week after bumping his season line up to .310 with three home runs, eight RBI and 14 runs, and Howie Kendrick has quietly been useful all year with an overall line of .292-4-11-12. Who knows when the Nationals will get Daniel Murphy back.
I can’t recall such an abundance of offensive output out of the second base position, but in the era of the launch angle, we shouldn’t expect these breakout stats to go away anytime soon.
Follow Danny @_dannycross_.
