Around the Diamond: Top Five Second Baseman of 2010
Posted by homerunheyer on June 14th, 2010
Second base isn’t producing many offensive numbers this year. One man stands far and beyond at the best second baseman of 2010 so far and probably for a long time to come.
5. Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds: Phillips is another player who is having an alright year at second base. There is nothing really special about what Phillips is doing this year, he is actually right on pace for 20 home runs again and only has 23 RBI’s which is about half the amount of RBI’s he had last year at this time. The main reason Phillips is on this list is his .311 batting average, which is second on his team. The Reds still remain in first place, but have lost some ground to the Cardinals. Phillips has helped a lot recently though, he is in the middle of a 15 game hit streak. Phillips is going to have to remain hot if the Reds want to remain in first.
4. Martin Prado, Atlanta Braves: Prado is distinguishing himself as a solid base hitter for the Atlanta Braves. Last year Prado had his first full season in the majors and he proved that he belongs. Prado is developing into a good .300 hitter. Prado doesn’t have much power, only belting 11 home runs last year, but so far this year he has six home runs and is on pace to hit about 18 by the end of the season. Prado’s main job is to get on base in front of Heyward, McCann, and Glaus. Batting lead-off this year Prado is hitting .332 with 90 hits and 47 runs. Prado is a big reason why the Braves are currently in first place.
3. Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins: If it wasn’t for such weak stats all around for second baseman this year, Uggla would not even be on this list. Uggla is having his typical, consistent year of hitting for power and nothing else. Uggla is only hitting .262 but, he does have 14 home runs and 37 RBI’s. Uggla’s power numbers alone is the reason why he is ahead of Prado and Phillips on this list. There’s not much to say about Uggla, his numbers are the same every year, around 30 home runs and 90 RBI’s. Maybe if Uggla played for a different team besides the Marlins, whose field is actually a converted football field, he would have even better power numbers. As long as Uggla is on the Marlins he will always be known as a good player, not a great player. The Marlins are still in the playoff hunt this year because of their week division. They are one game under .500 and are only five and a half games out of first. I do not see the Marlins making over .500 by the end of the season though and maybe if they really fall behind by the end of July they will do Uggla a favor and trade him to a hitter friendly ballpark.
2. Kelly Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks: Johnson is one of the few bright spots on the Diamondbacks this year. Johnson is hitting .282 with 13 home runs and 33 RBI’s. After having a miserable season last year with the Braves only batting .224 for the season, Johnson has come back this year almost passing his career high in home runs for a season, which is 16. It is a shame all this production is going to waste. The Diamondbacks are dead last in their division, 11.5 games back from the Padres. Johnson probably wishes he was back with his old team the Braves and he probably would be if he didn’t give the chance to Prado to show how much better of an average hitter he is than Johnson. If Johnson continues to show his newly found display of power, there is a good chance that the Diamondbacks will trade him since they are going nowhere but down in their division.
1. Robinson Cano, New York Yankees: The other four guys on this list do not even come close to Cano this year. Cano is hitting a league leading .371, 13 home runs, and 47 RBI’s. Who would have thought that Cano would be leading the Yankees with home runs, RBI’s, slugging, average, and on base percentage? Cano is outshining Alex Rodriguez, and Mark Teixeira as the elite all-around player not just on the Yankees, not just out of all second basemen, but everyone in all of baseball. Cano is the prime reason why the Yankees are currently tied for the best record in baseball with the Rays. If Cano was having just one of his usual seasons, which still were good seasons, The Yankees would be struggling this year. Rodriguez isn’t having his typical power number year yet and Teixeira is only hitting .229 so far. Cano has picked up the slack and carried the team on his back. If Rodriguez and Teixeira start playing like they are accustomed to, the Yankees are going to run away with another World Series trophy. If Rodriguez and Teixeira do not come back to form it is going to be a close race between the Yankees and Rays all year long. Right now, until the Yankees prove that they can beat the Rays, the Rays are the better team by a hair. (MLB.com)
By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network


June 15th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
I do agree that Robinson Cano is definately in the top 5 2nd Baseman as well as a great hitter.