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Up this week are my just-for-fun 2022 player rankings. I’ve done my best to list players where they’ll be eligible next year, and the free agents-to-be are listed without teams. Players with options for next year are still listed with their current teams if those options have a legitimate chance of being exercised. Those players are noted with asterisks.
Click to see other other preliminary 2022 rankings:
Top 300 | SP | RP | OF | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | C | DH
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Second Baseman Rankings
| 2022 | Second Base | Team | 2021 | July |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ozzie Albies | Braves | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Whit Merrifield | Royals | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Jose Altuve | Astros | 8 | 3 |
| 4 | DJ LeMahieu | Yankees | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | Brendan Rodgers | Rockies | 19 | 15 |
| 6 | Brandon Lowe | Rays | 6 | 9 |
| 7 | Ryan McMahon | Rockies | 11 | 7 |
| 8 | Marcus Semien | n/a | 5 | |
| 9 | Jake Cronenworth | Padres | 16 | 10 |
| 10 | Max Muncy | Dodgers | 17 | 8 |
| 11 | Jazz Chisholm | Marlins | 39 | 12 |
| 12 | Vidal Brujan | Rays | 59 | 42 |
| 13 | Gavin Lux | Dodgers | 20 | 19 |
| 14 | Chris Taylor | 43 | 13 | |
| 15 | Jorge Polanco | Twins | n/a | 17 |
| 16 | Tommy Edman | Cardinals | 9 | 11 |
| 17 | Nick Madrigal | White Sox | 10 | NR |
| 18 | Jonathan India | Reds | n/a | 26 |
| 19 | Jean Segura | Phillies | 18 | 20 |
| 20 | Dylan Moore | Mariners | 7 | 14 |
| 21 | Jeff McNeil | Mets | 14 | 24 |
| 22 | David Bote | Cubs | n/a | 45 |
| 23 | Robinson Cano | Mets | NR | NR |
| 24 | Adam Frazier | Pirates | 36 | 22 |
| 25 | Josh Rojas | Diamondbacks | 40 | 27 |
| 26 | Nick Solak | Rangers | 12 | 16 |
| 27 | Luis Arraez | Twins | 25 | 25 |
| 28 | Jonathan Schoop | 22 | 23 | |
| 29 | Willi Castro | Tigers | n/a | 37 |
| 30 | Ty France | Mariners | 37 | 35 |
| 31 | David Fletcher | Angels | 28 | 40 |
| 32 | Eduardo Escobar | n/a | 28 | |
| 33 | Cesar Hernandez | 23 | 34 | |
| 34 | Garrett Hampson | Rockies | 30 | 32 |
| 35 | Kolten Wong | Brewers | 34 | 38 |
| 36 | Nico Hoerner | Cubs | 44 | 43 |
| 37 | Mike Brosseau | Rays | 29 | NR |
| 38 | Jon Berti | Marlins | 26 | 36 |
| 39 | Brad Miller | n/a | 51 | |
| 40 | Luis Urias | Brewers | 48 | 46 |
| 41 | Rodolfo Castro | Pirates | NR | NR |
| 42 | Mauricio Dubon | Giants | 33 | 64 |
| 43 | Rougned Odor | Yankees | 35 | 48 |
| 44 | Ha-Seong Kim | Padres | n/a | 53 |
| 45 | Enrique Hernandez | Red Sox | 46 | 44 |
| 46 | Zach McKinstry | Dodgers | NR | 50 |
| 47 | Jahmai Jones | Orioles | NR | 63 |
| 48 | Nick Gordon | Twins | n/a | 67 |
| 49 | Tommy La Stella | Giants | 38 | 54 |
| 50 | Xavier Edwards | Rays | NR | NR |
- Taking the one-year deal as a second baseman seems poised to work out very nicely for Marcus Semien as he returns to free agency. Teams will still view him as an option at shortstop, but that’s a deep market this year, whereas second base is far shallower; it should really just be him and Chris Taylor as candidates for multiyear deals. Perhaps someone will give Eduardo Escobar two years, but probably not as a starting second baseman.
- Vidal Brujan is easily the high rookie here, though it’s possible he could begin next season only eligible in the outfield. After him, it’s a big drop to Rodolfo Castro, who has made a great first impression in Pittsburgh. I’m guessing he’ll be second-base eligible, given the likelihood of an Adam Frazier trade in the coming weeks. He might wind up at first base for the long haul, as 2020 first-rounder Nick Gonzales will probably work best at second.
- Gavin Lux has been pretty mediocre this year, and he might not be a big factor down the stretch with Corey Seager returning soon. I still believe in his bat, and I imagine he’ll be a quality regular for the Dodgers next year if given the chance. However, he’ll probably need to show something here to ensure that the team leaves a spot open for him.
- It hasn’t happened for him in 2021, but I’ll like David Bote again next year. I imagine there will be a starting job available for him with three-quarters of the Cubs infield headed to free agency. He was hitting just .201/.280/.340 in 162 plate appearances before going down with a shoulder injury, but Statcast had him with an expected batting average of .263 and slugging percentage of .487.
