NL Central Smackdown: 2nd Basemen
I started off with the first basemen yesterday and I'll leave the poll up until I get through all the positions. If you need a primer on all this, be sure to check out that first post as well on the first basemen. Today though we move to the second basemen. While Hendry tries to win by sheer numbers, it's about quality, not quantity. Your contestants after the jump.... |
Player | 3-Year Warp-3 Average |
3 Year Warp-3 Projection |
Rob's Ranking |
Mark DeRosa |
3.7 | 2.4 |
4 |
Rickie Weeks |
3.2 | 4.27 |
2 |
Adam Kennedy |
2.97 | 1.1 |
6 |
Kaz Matsui |
3.03 | 2 |
5 |
Brandon Phillips |
6.1 (2 years) |
4.7 |
1 |
Freddy Sanchez |
5.73 |
3.73 |
3 |
The Justification: Another no-brainer at the top spot, as Brandon Phillips 30/30 numbers last year and 27 years of age make him the clear leader of the pack. It gets a little dicey after that. Freddy Sanchez has had two straight big seasons with Pittsburgh and can play a few positions, but at age 30 and now with a bum shoulder I knocked him down to the three spot. Weeks is off to another slow start and making me seriously reconsider my rankings. But he came on strong at the end of last year and at age 25, still seems like a good bet going forward. And as I mentioned, I did these before the year started. That leaves DeRosa at the fourth spot, although his versatility and good start to season are making me believe that 2005 was the turnaround of his career, not the apex. Once again, I think you could almost flip a coin for the 2-4 spots. Matsui is back from his homoerotic adventures, sorry, anal fissures, but let's say that's one signing I'm glad the Cubs got outbid on. Adam Kennedy's claim to fame was his 3-homer game in the ALCS - in 2002. It's gone all downhill since.
There's another poll for you guys to fill out below this and I'll leave the old polls open until we finish this.
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