Strat-O-Matic Baseball 365

Like the MLB channel let's do our own rankings of current players by position based on their expected, real-life (not fantasy, not Strat) 2015 value. I'll start with the keystone.

1. Robinson Cano Seattle
2. Dustin Pedroia Boston
3. Neal Walker Pittsburgh
4. Ben Zobrist Oakland
5. Jose Altuve Houston
6. Howie Kendrick L.A. Dodgers
7. Ian Kinsler Detroit
8. Chase Utley Philadelphia
9. Jason Kipnis Cleveland
10. Scooter Gennett Milwaukee

1. Robinson Cano, Seattle--The gold standard of the two-way threat 2bs. One of the greatest ever.
2. Jose Altuve, Houston--The best pure hitter at the position and a disruptive lead-off man.
3. Neil Walker, Pittsburgh--A potent left-handed bat and solid, unspectacular glove work.
4. Dustin Pedroia, Boston--Offensive production has declined, but still a defensive whiz and clutch master.
5. Ian Kinsler, Detroit--Solid defensively, still speedy, solid pop, and always a scrappy leader in the clubhouse.
6. Ben Zobrist, Oakland--Perennial OBP man with solid pop who moves fluidly around the diamond.
7. Howie Kendrick, Los Angeles--Excellent OBP man and smooth hitter who has improved his footwork.
8. Brian Dozier, Minnesota--Most dangerous power hitter among present 2b's. Impressive 4.87 range factor.
9. Jason Kipnis, Cleveland--Had a terrible season, but is still a potent mix of pop, speed, and defense.
10. Kolten Wong, St. Louis--Showed solid left-handed pop and improved left-handed stroke at end of the year.

Good list Strether; I had Dozier just missing the list and Wong close too. 2b has been a shallow position in recent years but it seems as if there are about 20 who are, at a minimum, decent for 2015.

Thanks. There was definitely some competition this year as I'm also fond of LeMahieu, Schoop, and (obviously) Joe Panik.

I'm not sure I agree with Kendrick being an OB man. Howie is a smooth hitter, but he's a career .332 OBP guy.

Living out here in SoCal, I've often yelled @ Howie to take a freakin' walk every once in a while...

You better be careful, Visick, there are some posters on this Forum who are very touchy about posters correcting other posters. Luckily, I'm not one of them. Yeah, I got swayed by his .347--which still isn't that awesome--last year, but still stand by his being a strong offensive 2b.

That being said, I am disappointed all you did was correct one of my points. I would have thought you would have added a list, or at least some second basemen, of your own...

Good efforts by everyone. My list is closer to Strethers list except I think Dozier would move to number 5 for me. I think if Dozier player somewhere else,, he would get more credit. The guy is the best power 2b, decent OBP, can steal bases, and has rapidly improved his defense at the Major League level.

teamnasty wrote:Like the MLB channel let's do our own rankings of current players by position based on their expected, real-life (not fantasy, not Strat) 2015 value. I'll start with the keystone.

1. Robinson Cano Seattle
2. Dustin Pedroia Boston
3. Neal Walker Pittsburgh
4. Ben Zobrist Oakland
5. Jose Altuve Houston
6. Howie Kendrick L.A. Dodgers
7. Ian Kinsler Detroit
8. Chase Utley Philadelphia
9. Jason Kipnis Cleveland
10. Scooter Gennett Milwaukee

If Scooter Gennett's iron glove can make a top ten, then give me Daniel Murphy instead.
Murphy can hit both sides equally well, hits for average, power, can get on base, bunt, steal a bag, hit and run, in fact offensively he's everything you want in a 2b/prototype NO 2 hitter. He's simply challenged range wise. That said, he does a great job positioning himself ( so much so, I believe he merits a 3 in Strat) and has improved greatly at turning the double play.

what...no Dan Uggla?


http://binaryapi.ap.org/07bdb4c5295646a ... 0/460x.jpg

It's hard to argue with that list.

I'm old school. I grew up with Sandberg/Morgan/Grich/Alomar/Biggio... (If ya wanna call that old school...hehehe)

I understand the importance of taking a walk for the team. Granted, there are other ways to get on base. Probably by today's standards, Kendrick's OB IS good. My problem is, I'm comparing him to the guys listed above.

My post wasn't meant to be a correction. I was merely giving my opinion on his OBP.