2011 2nd Half Fantasy Baseball Rankings and Projections – Top 20 Second Basemen

Well yesterday was fun wasn’t it? Agreed! Today is all about those fun middle infielders. You know, those players that unless you drafted very early you probably don’t even know who they are. Yea, those guys. Thanks, “those guys!” Any-who, we’ll start by looking at the top 20 second basemen for the second half.

A quick note on these second half rankings and projections that will be featured all week and will culminate with the Top 100 for the second half. These lists are simply how I think these players should be valued. The majority of these projections do not have anything “crazy” because most players perform close to how they performed in the first half. I have also grouped players into tiers when possible. This should hopefully help. The Top 100 list is the best list, as at this point most players listed will be owned by you or a leaguemate, and you are now looking to make trades. So trade ideas you may have, look at the Top 100 list due out later this week.

So how did I come up with these rankings? Simple, I “inceptioned” into each players brain and found out what they will hit. BOOM

1. Robinson Cano – A-Rod injury should provide more RBI chances for the Yankees best player. Expect a huge second half. Yea, Cano is good enough to get his own tier. Tier: Robinson Cano. 2011 2^nd Half Projections: 48/13/50/.300/4

2. Rickie Weeks – I completely blew him off going into this year, and now he isn’t returning my phone calls, and frankly it is all my fault. I’m trying to explain to him that I was just playing hard to get…hopefully he forgives me. This is Tier #2 and it goes through Brandon Phillips. 2011 2^nd Half Projections: 50/11/35/.275/5

3. Dustin Pedroia – As long as he keeps his Circus carny hands away from me he is cool in my (a)blog. The a is for awesome (duh!). 2011 2^nd Half Projections: 50/7/35/.285/9

4. Ian Kinsler – For the love of everything hole-e stay healthy. 2011 2^nd Half Projections: 45/9/25/.270/12

5. Brandon Phillips – Stats are pretty bleh this year. I mean where the heck are your steals BRANDON! 2011 2^nd Half Projections: 45/6/35/.270/5

6. Dan Uggla - I imagine Uggla is looking up to his fantasy owners like your dog when he poops in the house. Quit pooping in the house Uggla! Even with his atrocious average (he isn’t a .280 hitter btw) he still got you the homers you expected so he wasn’t as bad as most think. I am expecting a nice second half for Uggla, and if you need power make a trade for him. Most likely his current owner is tired of getting out the plastic baggies. This is the start of Tier #3. It goes through Ben Zobrist. I call it: “Please just don’t suck” (It’s a working title…Deal With IT!) 2011 2^nd Half Projections: 35/12/45/.245/1

7. Michael Young – I already covered him here

8. Chase Utley – Needs to start hitting the ball out of the park before I am ready to say he is back to being 100%, but I still like him to contribute to all 5 categories. 2011 2^nd Half Projections: 35/6/35/.285/5

9. Danny Espinosa – One of the biggest surprises from the first half. The power and speed are legit, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him struggle a little in the second half.  2011 2^nd Half Projections: 35/10/38/.250/8

10. Ben Zobrist – I already covered him here

11. Kelly Johnson – I was tempted to put Kelly even higher up but I had just been in the pool. This is the next tier and it goes through Prado.  2011 2^nd Half Projections: 40/9/35/.250/6

12. Neil Walker – Go check out his numbers from the second half last year. Satisfied? Well you should be! 2011 2^nd Half Projections: 35/7/40/.275/4

13. Howie Kendrick – I’m not the biggest fan of Kendrick, but at the end of the season his stats will look pretty solid.  2011 2^nd Half Projections: 35/5/25/.295/7

14. Michael Cuddyer – Second base eligibility is quite nice for a guy like Cuddyer.  2011 2^nd Half Projections: 33/8/35/.280/4

15. Martin Prado – Tried to make me look like a noob by performing well in the first half this year (I was anti-Prado). Then he got hurt. Karma? Probably not. If he gets and stays healthy he could end up a lot higher on this list. 2011 2^nd Half Projections: 40/6/25/.285/2

16. Ty Wiggington – Bring on the pain! This next tier is your high power low average guys. This tier goes from Wiggington to Hill. 2011 2^nd Half Projections: 25/8/30/.265/2

17. Ryan Roberts – Roberts might find his way on the bench soon enough, but if he gets the playing time he should contribute (but his best days were earlier in the season).  2011 2^nd Half Projections: 30/5/30/.265/5

18. Aaron Hill – Two years in a row Hill has burned me and as a result I have buried him in these rankings. His BABIP is still the most mind-boggling thing in fantasy. Get it together dude! 2011 2^nd Half Projections: 30/7/30/.250/7

19. Darwin Barney – So apparently I named this list the Top 20 Second Basemen….I should have named it the top 18. 2011 2^nd Half Projections: 35/1/25/.290/4

20. Daniel Murphy – Then I would not have had to rank Barney and Murphy. Oh wells. 2011 2^nd Half Projections: 25/4/25/.295/2