AL Central Position Rankings : Second Base

AL Central Position Rankings : Second Base

Two notes before we start.

1.I got this idea from www.sodomojo.com. They’re doing it for the AL West, so I thought it would be a waste for me to do the same division. As such, I don’t know a ton about the AL Central, so keep that in mind if I make a mistake.
2.I will be using CHONE for these rankings.

This time we move from the offensive minded first basemen to the…offensive minded second basemen. It’s weird, second base is generally viewed as an offensive light position, but in reality it isn’t. Especially in the American League with guys like Robinson Cano and Ian Kinsler. As you may have guessed, the AL Central is no different. So let’s check them out.



Minnesota Twins
Orlando Hudson
Age : 32
2010 PA : 570
2010 wRC+ : 103
2010 OBP : .346
2010 SLG : .403
2010 Fielding : -1
2010 WAR : 2.1

Hudson was a great pickup for the Twins and helps put them in a class of their own in this weak division. The funny thing about Hudson is that he used to be a fantastic defender but has seen his skill slowly deteriorate and become a more offensive minded player. Even with the decline though he doesn’t figure to be that bad, however it should be noted that he’ll be moving to turf so his defense may take a hit. Which brings us to our next point, he’s never been a picture of health playing more than 140 games only 3 times in his 7.5 year career.

Drop the projected PA by ~75 and that projection lines up with what I would guess.

Detroit Tigers
Scott Sizemore
Age : 25
2010 PA : 419
2010 wRC+ : 92
2010 OBP : .323
2010 SLG : .389
2010 Fielding : -1
2010 WAR : 1.2

I’ll be surprised if Sizemore produces as bad as he’s projected unless his AFL injury is worse than everyone thinks it is. Overall, he’s a slightly above/average second basemen. He projects to have slightly above average power, but nothing amazing. Defense is slightly below, but not terrible. Contact rate & patience are pretty good and while he doesn’t have blazing speed he has good instincts on the base paths. During his peak he could be a 20-20 player.

Kansas City
Alberto Callaspo
Age : 27
2010 PA : 504
2010 wRC+ : 105
2010 OBP : .349
2010 SLG : .412
2010 Fielding : -5
2010 WAR : 1.7

Ooooohhh, the magical age 27 season! Just like Scott Sizemore I feel like the projections are undershooting his projection by quite a bit. As long as management doesn’t get in his way I see him getting 570+ PA and a slash line of .300/.355/.420. Because of his poor fielding I find it really hard to believe he’s much more than a slightly above average second baseman (2.5 WAR?). Just like the last 2 players he’s pretty much an above/average second baseman.

Chicago White Sox
Gordon Beckham
Age : 23
2010 PA : 530
2010 wRC+ : 115
2010 OBP : .348
2010 SLG : .457
2010 Fielding : +3.0
2010 WAR : 3.6

That’s one of the higher projections from CHONE I’ve seen in awhile on someone so young and I have to agree with it. He definitely has the ability to outproduce them, but those numbers seem like a good guess. The only thing I’m not sure about is the fielding. According to UZR last year he was below average at 3B, but he played SS in his brief stint in the minor leagues so he may convert well to 2B. As long as he doesn’t completely humiliate himself out there he’s a strong bet to be an above average player at a deep position.

Cleveland Indians
Luis Valbuena
Age : 24
2010 PA : 454
2010 wRC+ : 93
2010 OBP : .328
2010 SLG : .400
2010 Fielding : +2.0
2010 WAR : 1.5

In 2008 Valbuena had a sort of breakthrough with his plate discipline putting up an 11.3 BB% while cutting down on his strikeouts. In the ML last year his BB% dropped down to 6.5 while his K% sky rocketed up to 22.6 in 368 PA. Valbuena probably figures to be below average offensively next year unless he can translate the success he had in the minors in to the ML. It’s also worth noting he only has 300 PA at AAA, and while the time he spent there was very good it may not be a bad idea for him to get some time there, although the Indians probably don’t have anyone else they would want to use if they were to send him down there.

I’m not sure how good his fielding actually is. Being a Mariners fan I feel I should know how good his defense is since he came up through our system, but unfortunately I have no idea. All I know is UZR hated him last year rating him as a -7.2 fielder in only 777 innings. He projects as a +2 fielder according to CHONE so I’ll just assume the almighty AI is smarter than I.

Rankings
1. Gordon Beckham – He may be the youngest player on the list but he has all-star potential and was already an above average regular last year.
2. Orlando Hudson – He may be in his declining phase of his career but he’s still a good baserunner & hitter.
3. Alberto Callaspo – He may be the second best hitter in the group, but his defense needs improvement. He’ll be entering the magical age 27 season so he may be in for a career year.
4. Scott Sizemore – Could realistically be a 20-20 player this year.
5. Luis Valbuena – He still seems like he’s in the ‘learning’ phase and isn’t as offensively gifted as any of the others on the list, but he should be a solid 2B in a few years.

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