Ray Flowers breaks down each position as the 2015 baseball season has reached its conclusion. Here are links to all of the individual breakdowns:
SECOND BASE
- Rankings from March.
Rank | Tier | Player | Team | Pos | 10 Team ($) | 12 Team ($) | 15 Team ($) |
1 | 1 | Robinson Cano | Mariners | 2B | 32 | 30 | 31 |
2 | 2 | Jose Altuve | Astros | 2B | 27 | 27 | 27 |
3 | 2 | Jason Kipnis | Indians | 2B | 22 | 24 | 23 |
4 | 2 | Anthony Rendon | Nationals | 2B | 22 | 24 | 23 |
5 | 2 | Ian Kinsler | Tigers | 2B | 22 | 24 | 23 |
6 | 2 | Brian Dozier | Twins | 2B | 21 | 22 | 22 |
7 | 2 | Dee Gordon | Marlins | 2B | 21 | 21 | 21 |
8 | 3 | Dustin Pedroia | Red Sox | 2B | 20 | 20 | 20 |
9 | 3 | Daniel Murphy | Mets | 2B | 18 | 18 | 17 |
10 | 3 | Howie Kendrick | Dodgers | 2B | 15 | 15 | 15 |
11 | 3 | Neil Walker | Pirates | 2B | 14 | 14 | 14 |
12 | 3 | Ben Zobrist | Royals | 2B | 13 | 13 | 14 |
13 | 4 | Brett Lawrie | Athletics | 2B | 11 | 11 | 12 |
14 | 4 | Chase Utley | Dodgers | 2B | 9 | 10 | 12 |
15 | 4 | Kolten Wong | Cardinals | 2B | 9 | 10 | 11 |
16 | 4 | Brandon Phillips | Reds | 2B | 8 | 9 | 10 |
17 | 5 | Martin Prado | Marlins | 2B | 7 | 8 | 8 |
18 | 5 | Asdrubal Cabrera | Rays | 2B | 7 | 8 | 7 |
19 | 5 | Scooter Gennett | Brewers | 2B | 6 | 7 | 6 |
20 | 5 | Arismendy Alcantara | Cubs | 2B | 6 | 7 | 6 |
21 | 5 | Marcus Semien | Athletics | 2B | 6 | 7 | 6 |
22 | 5 | Jedd Gyorko | Padres | 2B | 6 | 6 | 6 |
23 | 5 | Javier Baez | Cubs | 2B | 3 | 4 | 4 |
24 | 5 | Jace Peterson | Braves | 2B | 3 | 4 | 4 |
26 | 6 | Rougned Odor | Rangers | 2B | 2 | 4 | 3 |
BUSTS
Rendon finished strong leading to hope in 2016, but injuries and poor performance limited him to just 80 games played. He hit five homers and stole a bag, a year after going 21/17, and drove in a mere 25 runners with a .707 OPS. Ugh.
Pedroia, for the second time in nine years, failed to appear in 135 games. He hit .291 and his .797 OPS was only .011 points off his career mark, but with 93 games played he only drove in 42 runs while scoring 46 times.
Utley could only drag his weary body onto the field 107 times. He hit .212 with a .286 OBP and .343 OBP. Last year his OBP was .339 and his career batting average is .281. Nuff said.
Gennett hit .264 with a .675 OPS. He’s no slugger, but those are down numbers for him (career .287 and .742) and one of the reasons he spent a good chunk of time in the minors. He did hit .282 in the second half.
Alcantara was supposed to steal 20 bases while playing all over the field. He was on the diamond for 11 games during which time he produced two hits. He hit .231 with 16 steals at Triple-A.
SURPRISES
Odor (ranked 26th) stepped up when Jurickson Profar jacked his shoulder up again. Odor started slowly but boy did he crush it in the middle of the year. The .261/.316/.465 line was decent, but given preseason expectations, 16 homers, six steals, 61 RBIs and 54 runs scored are solid counting numbers.
Panik (29th) hit .305 as a rookie over 73 games. He was dismissed by most. This season he only appeared in 100 games because of injury, but he hit .312 with a .378 OBP and .455 SLG. When on the field he wasn’t a star, but he was a strong middle infield play in virtually any format.
LeMahieu (30th) had been the same guy for three straight seasons. He was someone else in 2015. He hit .267 with 10 steals and 59 runs scored in 149 games in 2014. This season, in 150 games, DJL hit .301 with 23 steals and 85 runs scored.
Travis (40th) just couldn’t stay on the field due to shoulder woes. He appeared in a mere 62 games this season but was superb when on the field. Travis hit .304, had a .498 SLG, socked eight homers, drove in 35 and scored 38 times. If only he had stayed healthy…
Forsythe (NA) was a nobody for four years. This season he starred. After hitting 18 homers with 71 RBIs from 2012-14, he hit 17 homers and drove in 68 in 2015. He also went from batting .220 in 2013-14 to hitting .281 in 2015. He even stole nine bases after swiping eight in 2013-14. Tremendous season given that he wasn’t drafted in any league.

Player News
Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.
José Soriano allowed three runs over five innings while not factoring in the decision Thursday against the Blue Jays.
Soriano left with a 4-3 lead, but it was erased quickly after his departure. The 26-year-old was not exactly dominant in his outing with eight hits allowed and four free passes, but he did strike out six to help balance things out a smidgen. Soriano takes an even ERA of 4.00 into a scheduled start against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday. There should be better options for that one.