DraftStreet.com is back, sponsoring another look at your fantasy baseball players to watch this season. Second base usually isn’t a position that most put a lot of stock in for their fantasy baseball drafts, but today, we take a look at some of the best out there to be drafted in 2012.
Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox – There is no doubt that Pedroia is the type of guy that you are going to want to try to snare at 2nd base. He is clearly one of the top players at this position, and last year, he was the cream of the crop. The Bo Sox 2B picked up 21 bombs with 26 steals, and also hit .307 with over 100 runs and over 90 RBIs. Those are big time power numbers, and if you can get those types of numbers out of your middle infielders, you’re going a long way towards winning your fantasy baseball league in 2012.
Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay Rays – Zobrist more or less came out of nowhere in 2009 to post 27 homers for the Rays, but his 2010 year was definitely nothing to write home about. Last year, though he wasn’t the greatest player for Tampa Bay, he did come up with 20 bombs, 91 ribbies, and solid splits of .269/.353/.822. This year, we have high hopes for Zobrist and a ton of the other Rays, as this lineup just has to be a heck of a lot better than it was for most of last season. Zobrist has at least two positions that he is eligible at as both an outfielder and a second baseman, and that only adds to his value.
Danny Espinosa, Washington Nationals – The Nats are going to have a solid lineup this year, and the young Espinosa might be a guy that you want to take a chance on. He’s got plenty of pop in his bat, as demonstrated by his 21 homers in a terrible hitter’s ballpark a year ago; he’s got some speed as well having tallied 17 steals. We’d like to think that his batting average of just .236 will come up just a bit, and if it does, this is going to be one of the sleeper 2nd basemen in fantasy baseball this year.
Make sure you’re a part of every no-hitter, grand slam, or cycle throughout the 2012 season by heading over to DraftStreet and partaking in as much daily fantasy baseball action as you can handle!
Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies – Remember when Utley used to be the type of guy that you took in the first round of your fantasy baseball draft? He isn’t anywhere near “no-brainer” status anymore, but he could be in for a decent year this year once Ryan Howard returns to the the fold. He had just 398 ABs last year and his .259 batting average was atrocious. There is still 20/20 potential here though, and Utley just has to have a better year in 2012.
Ryan Raburn, Detroit Tigers – Putting together the combo of Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera is going to be great for the Tigers this year, and though Victor Martinez won’t be in the lineup due to his ACL injury, this is clearly a lineup possessing some very big bats. Raburn has some potential, and he is going to get the look at 2nd base to start the season. Know that this might be an experiment that really doesn’t work that well, but if you’re in a pinch up the middle, Raburn could be a guy that churns out 20 homers out of the 2nd base position.
About Adam Markowitz
