Top Ten Second Basemen For 2021

Second base is currently the anti-thesis to the the situation at third. While the hot-corner possibly has the most talent in the history of the game, there may be fewer star second basemen than ever as well. Gone are the days of the Dustin Pedria’s, the Chase Utley’s, and probably the Robinson Cano’s. What we’re left with instead are a few top end hitters, some slick fielders, and a couple players who are somewhat in the middle of each.

While this ranking may lack the top-end talent that most other positions have currently, there are still some names that have interesting stories heading into 2021. Some players greatly underperformed in last years 60 game season, while others are looking to prove that success they had during last year’s spring of a season wasn’t just a fluke.

Here’s what I think the top ten looks like:

10. Luis Arraez, Minnesota Twins

In 2019, Arraez was a fairly productive hitter who played passible if less than spectacular defense up the middle. Although prone to soft contact, his .334/.399/.439 slash-line earned him a 125 wRC+ and rated as one of the best at the position.

2020 wasn’t actually too far off from this, either, as he netted a .321/.364/.402 slash with a 111 wRC+. His already questionable defense became abysmal, though, as he only rated in the first percentile in Outs Above Average. A knee injury hampered him throughout the season, and eventually held him to only 32 games total.

While his batted ball data does not suggest a severe regression (he rated in the 90th percentile in expected batting average in 2019), his lack of power and horrid defense prevent him from being considered one of the top second basemen in baseball.

9. Kolten Wong, Milwaukee Brewers

Wong’s spot as one of the top fielding second basemen in baseball is unquestioned at this point. He was in the 85th percentile in baseball last season in terms of Outs Above Average, which was even. drop from his 92nd percentile finish the year before.

The problem still is his bat. He offers basically zero ability to drive the ball, and even with a decent OBP he struggles to maintain even an average wRC+. His .326 SLG in 2020 was fifth worst in baseball among qualified hitters a season ago, and his ability to get on base is just not enough to cover up that weakness.

Now 30 years old, it feels much more likely that Wong loses value as a defender than it does him gaining any as a hitter. There’s always hope he can rebound with his new team, but that full breakthrough just doesn’t seem possible at this point in time.

8. Jake Cronenworth, San Diego Padres

Cronenworth is just another of the seemingly endless line of Padres prospects that managed to come in and take over last season. While his .285/.354/.477 slash-line points at an incredible rookie campaign, his massive slump in the final month of the season may suggest pitchers have figured him out.

An excellent defender to go along with his offensive potential, Cronenworth seems like an obvious candidate to climb the second base rankings in the next few years. That said, one solid performance in a shortened season is not enough to put him any higher than eighth on the list.

7. Mike Moustakas, Cincinnati Reds

Like most of the Reds’ roster in 2020, Moustakas simply wasn’t able to meet the lofty expectations that had been placed on him. An excellent hitter in 2019, he only hit for a .230/.33`/.468 slash in 2020. The most concerning stat how is expected SLG dropped from .500 in 2019 to .430 a year ago.

Still, a middle of the order bat at this position is rare. His defense may be below average, but if he can match is offensive output, he could easily climb into one of top five second basemen in baseball. Another year like the last one, though, and don’t expect to see him come 2022.

(Note: I am aware that Moustakas will most likely play 3B this season, but since that is only happening because the Reds have completely lost their mind, i’m counting him here)

6. Marcus Semien, Toronto Blue Jays

Yes, Marcus Semien has never not played shortstop in his entire five year career in the Majors. I don’t care. There is no chance that Bo Bichette is moving positions to make room for a 30 year old coming off of his worst season, so this is where I’m putting him. Deal with it.

As a player, Semien went from one of the best players in baseball to not even a good one the last few years. While 2019 was him finally reaching his offensive potential, 2020 might as well have been him closing his eyes and praying to make contact.

His .223/.305/.374 slash-line is pretty hard to look at, as is his xwOBACON (not a made up statistic, it’s expected weighted On-Base Average on contact and I have been DYING to use it in context) was just .304, rating in the bottom 7% of baseball. Oh, and his Outs Above Average was in worse than 99% of fielders, so really nothing went right.

His near MVP-level 2019 is hard to look past, and it probably isn’t wise to put too much stock in such a short season anyway, so I fully expect 2021 to be better with his new team and new postiion. I mean, it can’t really get worse.

5. Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks

Ketel Marte wasn’t just the best second basemen in 2019, he was one of the top few players in the entire National League. His .329/.389/.592 slash-line was beyond elite for second base, and his xBA and XSLG were both among the top in all of baseball, rating in the 97th and 88th percentiles respectively. In all, his 7.0 fWAR sums up his truly great season.

2020 was not 2019. Marte struggled last season. His slugging percentage dropped 183 points. 183 POINTS! That is a lot! His wRC+ went from 150 to 94. By basically all accounts, he went from one of the best players in baseball to not even an average one.

I may be overreacting to an insignificant amount of games in 2020, but he just didn’t look good enough in 2020 to be any higher than fifth on this list.

4. Jeff McNeil, New York Mets

All McNeil has ever done in his career is hit. In 2018 he slashed .328/.381/.471. In 2019, it was .318/.384/.531, and in 2020 he ended with a .311/..383/.454 line. Pretty much as consistent over the last two and a half seasons (he only played in 63 games in 2018, his rookie year) as any player in baseball.

His StatCast numbers are solid, his regular counting stats look great, and all of his peripherals in are in order. His defensive stats have fluctuated a bit recently, but a move to second full-time thanks to the Robinson Cano suspension should help with that.

In all, McNeil is a really solid player who provides little reason to doubt heading into the new season.

3. Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves

The biggest story with Albies has always been his splits. There is nearly 100 point difference in his batting average against lefties versus righties. Although his numbers against right-handers are still okay, everyone hopes that he can start to balance his approach a little bit.

This has not kept him from being a productive all-around player, though. While an injury kept him from being his best self in 2020, he still managed a slightly above-average ..772 OPS. The power looks to be what can really separate him too. His 6 homers in only 29 games while injured suggest that he has every opportunity to be in the 25-30 range at minimum in a full season, which would put him among the top in his position.

His defense was excellent last year, though admittedly he was below average in 2019. He also is a good baserunner, so his game really doesn’t have a lot of weaknesses. His walk-rate needs to improve, but it seems entirely likely that 2019 will not be the only All-Star appearance of the young Albies’s career.

2. Jose Altuve, Houston Astros

Like many on this list, Altuve’s 2020 was sub-par. Unlike most of the other players, though, Altuve has nearly a decade of excellence to suggest that it was more than likely a fluke. Trash cans aside, Altuve’s career leaves little room for doubt.

Across the five seasons before 2020, Altuve slashed .323/.380/.507 with 107 homers, 123 stolen bases, regularly excellent defense, and an MVP.

While the power has maybe been on a downward trend over the last three of those seasons, the argument for him being this high on the list is fairly simple; he’s Jose Altuve.

1. D.J. LeMahieu, New York Yankees

LeMahieu may have the widest margin between the rest of his position of anyone in baseball. He is quite possibly the only person on this list who is essentially guaranteed to have an outstanding season.

Moving to the Yankees after 2018 seems to have shot LeMahieu into the upper echelon o being able to hit the ever-loving snot out of a baseball. In 2019, he had a by-far career best performance, hitting .327/.365/518 with 26 homers, 5.3 fWAR, and even a Gold Glove.

Then, somehow, he took himself to another level in 2020, batting .364/.421/.590 with 10 homers in only 50 games. His 176 wRC+ is elite, and the ten games he missed may have been the only thing keeping him from an MVP Award.

There is absolutely no doubt that D.J. is the best second basemen in baseball. As long as he keeps getting to hit in Yankee Stadium, the sky seems to be the limit for what he can accomplish.