2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings

Aug 3, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves second baseman Jace Peterson (8) high fives with shortstop Daniel Castro (11) after hitting a three run home run against the San Francisco Giants during the sixth inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /

2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Second Base Overview

Coming into 2015, most fantasy players lamented the middle infield positions. These were the positions where you hoped to land a guy who played just enough games to qualify but really wasn’t a true middle infielder. Now, it’s a very different story. With the emergence of a large group of young up-and-coming future stars in the league, both shortstop and second base have now become positions where you can not only comfortably find a player without having to reach early in a draft, but you can also probably find guys on the waiver wire to fill in if needed.

There are really two guys at the head of this position, Altuve and Gordon. Altuve provides such value with his contact, gap power, and speed that he is my #1, but Gordon has the ability to lap the field in stolen bases (yes, even Billy Hamilton), which could boost him to being the most valuable fantasy second baseman, as he was in 2015. Behind those two are 8 guys who really are similar in value with not a lot of difference to me in value from #3 to #11. I certainly would not spend a pick more than a round or two earlier on #3 than I would on #11, so be careful not to get swept up if there’s a second base run in your league.

I actually went all the way to 35 at second base when doing my own rankings, and I was surprised that I still left a couple of guys off that I wouldn’t mind opening the season having on my roster. There may not be guys with the stat lines to be first round selections, but I think you’ll find yourself in good shape with any of the top 15 starting for you.

2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Second Base Rankings

More from Tomahawk Take

In my rankings this year, I’ll post first my rank, then the player’s name and team, followed by the PR rank for the position in 2015, and lastly, any other positions the player will be eligible at in 2016, based on 20-game eligibility.

1. Jose Altuve, Houston Astros, 2
2. Dee Gordon, Miami Marlins, 1
3. Robinson Cano, Seattle Mariners, 7
4. Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians, 6
5. Anthony Rendon, Washington Nationals, 40, 3B
6. Brian Dozier, Minnesota Twins, 8
7. Ian Kinsler, Detroit Tigers, 5
8. Kolten Wong, St. Louis Cardinals, 10
9. Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox, 21
10. Rougned Odor, Texas Rangers, 17
11. Neil Walker, New York Mets, 11
12. DJ LeMahieu, Colorado Rockies, 4
13. Starlin Castro, New York Yankees, 19, SS
14. Ben Zobrist, Chicago Cubs, 14, OF
15. Daniel Murphy, Washington Nationals, 13, 3B

2016 Fantasy Baseball Rankings – Braves Second Base Highlight

So, I went 35 deep on my rankings, yet one of the guys who did not make my list was Atlanta’s own Jace Peterson. That says nothing about what I believe about the guy because I truly think the Braves have a guy who could stick at 2B for a while if they wanted in Peterson. Freddie Freeman mentioned in his interview with AJC recently that Jace had a wrist issue at the end of the season, which certainly could explain his second-half swoon.

I went back and looked at Jace throughout the season, and there’s a notable difference in his swing starting in late June. I cannot find the exact injury on video as I was watching just for his at bats, but it was notable in the last week of June, so I went back to look. As of game 70 on June 21 last season, Peterson had a slash line of .284/.363/.389 with 17 extra base hits and 8 steals. Not exactly a fantasy stud, but I would be wary of spending any fantasy resources at all on guys like Emilio Bonifacio or Gordon Beckham. Keep your eye on Jace because as the resident Braves fan, you want to be the guy to pick him up before the other guys in your league!

Tomahawk Take Fantasy League Announcement

Last season, the Tomahawk Take staff put together two leagues each on Yahoo and ESPN. We had a lot of fun in those leagues, and there was great participation from writers and readers alike. We’ve decided to do the same thing this year. However, we’re going to have things set up a little more ahead of time.

This season, we will have two leagues on each site again, the size of each depending on the interest in each, however, the maximum for each league will be 14, so first come, first serve until the league fills up. We will have one rotisserie league and one head-to-head league on each site. I made a mistake in setting up one league last season, and that won’t happen this year – each league will have daily add/drop moves available. If you are interested in any of the leagues, please email me at gopherben@gmail.com and indicate in your email whether you would prefer ESPN or Yahoo and whether you would prefer roto or H2H. Thanks!

Next: Braves Top 100 Prospects Updated With Offseason Additions

That’s your break down of the second basemen for 2016. Like it, love it, hate it? Comment below, and let’s talk about what you think for 2016!

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