In our inaugural series of Top 5 articles, I will be reviewing our top 5 second basemen as we enter the 2018 Major League Baseball season.
1. Jose Altuve-Houston Astros
There isn’t a doubt in my mind, Jose Altuve is extremely talented and the 2017 AL MVP award proves that. He has all of the tools. From the batting to the fielding, to even the base stealing, he has it all! He was one of the main factors in the Astros win in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He ended the season with a batting average of .346, which is enough for best in the MLB. He was also tied for second on the Astros for home runs with 24. Behind George Springer, and tied with Carlos Correa. So in summary Jose Altuve maybe the best player in baseball. You might argue Mike Trout, it all depends on who you prefer. He does so much for the Astros, and the city of Houston at only 5 foot 6.
2. Jose Ramirez-Cleveland Indians
In at number 2 for CRR’s second base rankings is the man who finished third in AL MVP voting, Jose Ramirez. Ramirez is a tool player around the infield. You will also see him in our third base rankings coming up. He finished the 2017 campaign with a .318-29-83 stat line, while also scoring 107 runs. He adds another threat to pitchers with a total of 17 stolen bases. We will see if he can have another MVP caliber season and if he is able to hang on to the second spot in CRR’s inaugural second base rankings.
3. Daniel Murphy-Washington Nationals
In at number 3 is the Washington Nationals slugger, Daniel Murphy. The former Met rounded off another successful season in 2017 after finishing 2016 second place in the NL MVP voting. With a stat line of .322-23-92, he took a bit of a step down from his near MVP season but he still maintained elite numbers. I wonder if he can keep it up though. As a utility infielder for the Nats and already going into his age 33 season, I wonder if he can keep his spot at number 3 in Couch Rider Reports second base rankings
4. Robinson Cano-Seattle Mariners
At number 4 it is the Mariners hard hitter, Robinson Cano. Robby Cano had a major step down from last year but still put up really good numbers. With a stat line of .280-23-97, he put up 16 fewer home runs and 6 fewer RBIs. He still put up good numbers for the Mariners who have been depleted from talent apart from him, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager. It was hard for me to put Cano here as the Mariners didn’t have a very good season in 2017 and such a big drop off from 2016 for Cano made it difficult. If the Dominican Republic native doesn’t have a bounce-back season this year, don’t be surprised if he isn’t in our next rankings.
5. DJ LeMahieu-Colorado Rockies
Now to round out our second base rankings, DJ LeMahieu. DJ isn’t the most powerful hitter in the world with a stat line of .310-8-64, but he can still hit very well. He is a more of a contact hitter who thrives at getting runners in. He is also very good at fielding, constantly above a .985 fielding percentage. DJ’s contact hitting ability compliments well with Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon’s home run hitting ability. If the former Cubs draft pick can keep it up, I believe that he will keep rising in our rankings.
Keilan Dyer is a Writer for Couch Rider Report. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter