July Update: Top Five Second Basemen of 2010
Posted by homerunheyer on July 28th, 2010
Four out of the top five second basemen remain on the list from early June. The only newcomer is a big surprise, after years of hype he is finally doing what everyone expected him to do. Out of the four players who remained, only one of them moved from their top five position.
5. Kelly Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks: Johnson fell from the number two spot all the way down to five. Barely making the list, Johnson slowed down since his hot start in the beginning of the season. Since my last posting in early June, Johnson only hit three home runs his batting average dropped six points and he only had 16 RBI’s. If it weren’t for Johnson’s hot start he probably wouldn’t be on this list. Johnson’s season totals are 16 home runs, 49 RBI’s and a .276 average. The Diamondbacks still remain at the bottom of their division and have the third worst record in baseball. It doesn’t matter what Johnson does this year, the Diamondbacks are not going anywhere.
4. Martin Prado, Atlanta Braves: Prado is continuing to impress this season for the Braves. Prado remains at the number four spot this time around because of his consistent hitting. Prado’s average did drop 16 points since early June, but he did hit eight home runs and got 44 hits. Prado is a big reason the Braves have remained in first place. The Phillies are knocking on the Braves door so Prado will have to remain at his hot pace and keep getting on base for the guys behind him.
3. Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins: After I put Uggla down back in early June, he has completely proved me wrong since. Uggla and the Marlins may be making a run in the division after all. Since early June Uggla raised his average 17 points from .262 to .279, he hit seven more home runs to raise his total to 21 and his RBI total moved up by 24 for a total of 61. Uggla did not move in the top five standing remaining at number three, but that is a lot better than what I predicted for him back in June. I thought Uggla would be off of the list back in June and I didn’t give much hope to the Marlins either. Now the Marlins made it to a .500 record at 50-50 and Uggla is on pace to have his best season ever. The Marlins are seven and a half games out of first and might actually have a chance at making things interesting in the NL East if they are buyers at the trade deadline.
2. Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee Brewers: The only newcomer to the list comes as a big surprise. From not even being considered back in early June, to now being the second best offensive second basemen in baseball, Weeks is finally proving that he belongs in the majors. After a disappointing five seasons as the Brewers second basemen, Weeks is hitting .276 with 22 home runs and 67 RBI’s this season. Weeks’s power numbers already surpass any of his previous season totals. The Brewers are currently in third place in their division, eight games behind the Reds and Cardinals. If the Brewers aren’t sellers at the trade deadline they do have a shot at coming back with the help of Weeks, Prince Fielder who is due to have a strong second half, Ryan Braun, and Corey Hart. With that kind of power in their lineup they should be able to out slug anyone in the National League. Will the Brewers be patient and hope that these guys all catch on fire at the same time? Or will they trade them away? We will find out in a few days.
1. Robinson Cano, New York Yankees: Cano remains at the number one spot as the best second basemen of 2010. After having a blazing hot start, Cano looked like the sure-fire MVP. Miguel Cabrera ripped that away from Cano as he has cooled down dramatically over the last month and a half. In early June Cano’s average was .371, now it is 42 points lower at .329. Cano’s home run rate also dropped, he only hit five home runs since early June giving him a total of 18 for the season. The RBI’s also leveled off, Cano only had 11 RBI’s since early June giving him a total of 68. Even though Cano had the worst June and July out of everyone on this list, he still is number one because he still has the highest average, most RBI’s and third most home runs. If it weren’t for Cano’s remarkable start he would have fallen out of first. If Cano’s pace keeps up at this rate he will be moving down. I can see Weeks or Uggla taking the number one spot if Cano doesn’t get hot once again. (mlb.com)
By Eric Heyer of Sports Fan Blog Network
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July 28th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Good post. I was glad to see Dustin Pedroia not in the top 5. I know he’s been injured for the last month, but normally he gets the benefit of the doubt too often. I think he is very over-rated. I still think he’s a very good second basemen, but he didn’t deserve to win the MVP in 2008. .326 for a hitter without special power numbers or a ton of stolen bases, or even a phenomenal on-base percentage for that matter, doesn’t cut it for me as far as MVP’s go.