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Top 10 second basemen in baseball for 2017
Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is the current gold standard at the position. Carlos Osorio/Getty Images

Top 10 second basemen in baseball for 2017

There is an impressive amount of top-end talent at second base in today’s game. In both the National and American Leagues, there was an MVP finalist who plays the position, and the winner of Most Valuable Player honors in the World Series makes the position his home as well. Likewise, the batting champion in both leagues last season made his home at second base, along with one of the runners-up as well.

Needless to say, it is a tough spot to break through to be mentioned among the elite talents in the game. The collection of skills one must possess to rank among the elite is staggering. One cannot just hit for power but leave his glove at home. Nor can he simply run up the hits but not run the bases well. No, it takes a full range of skills to make it up the middle in today’s game.

So who are the best of the best entering 2017 at second base? And just what hairs are split to place one above the other? Here is a look at the elite second basemen in baseball today and where they check in among their peers.

10. Ben Zobrist, Chicago Cubs 


Chicago Cubs do-everything player Ben Zobrist was the 2016 World Series MVP. Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports

The Cubbies got their money’s worth in their acquisition of the veteran Zobrist last year. He became an All-Star starter for the first time in his career, while posting five-year highs in home runs and OPS. 

His value as a versatile lineup piece came into effect as well during the postseason, when he moved to left field to allow Javier Baez into the lineup more frequently. The move did not sway him from making an continued impact, as he hit .357 en route to winning World Series MVP honors.

9. Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians


Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis hopes his team can get back to the World Series in 2017. Jerry Lai/USA TODAY Sports

An understated engine that drives the Cleveland attack, Kipnis continued to make a diverse impact a year ago. He swatted a career-best 68 extra-base hits, while reaching double digits in stolen bases for the fifth consecutive year as well. 

Add in an OPS over .800, a .290 postseason batting average with four home runs and committing the second fewest errors among all AL second basemen, and it is safe to say that Kipnis is entering 2017 on the heels of his best overall year to date.

8. Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox 


Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia continues to produce. Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports

It is more than fair to see Pedroia has the Energizer Bunny of second basemen in today’s game. Year after year, he just keeps posting numbers as a mainstay in Fenway Park and making many impacts across the course of the game. 

Last year, he reached 200 hits for the first time since 2008, when he won the AL MVP award. He also scored over 100 runs, connected for 36 doubles, drove in his most runs since 2013 and posted his highest OPS since 2011. Add in that he once again led all AL second basemen in defensive WAR at age 32, and it affirms the fact that Pedroia remains one of the most comprehensive middle infielders in baseball.

7. Jonathan Villar, Milwaukee Brewers


Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Jonathan Villar had a breakout 2016. Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports

Villar got his first chance at an everyday role in his first year in Milwaukee, and he made the most of it. He was a terror on the base paths, swiping 62 bases and posting a .369 on-base percentage, tops among all NL shortstops last season, which is where he lined up for much of the year. In addition, he showed added power as well, hitting 19 home runs and posting a .826 OPS. This, combined with his stolen base totals, led him to lead in the NL in power-speed ratio as well, an indicator of how diversely dangerous he became. 

This year, yet another new task will be placed in front of him, as Villar will slide over a slot this year so rookie Orlando Arcia can join the infield.  

6. D.J. LeMahieu, Colorado Rockies 


Colorado Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu won the batting title in 2016. Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports

Already with a Gold Glove and All-Star season underneath his belt, LeMahieu broke out in a big way in his sixth season like never before. By the slimmest of margins (.3478 compared to Daniel Murphy’s .3465) he won the National League batting championship last year. He did so while leading the NL in the not-so-glamorous category of singles, but he also finished within the top 10 of OPS (.911), triples (8) and total times on base (251). 

Add in the fact that he finished in the top 10 of both offensive and defensive WAR (4.9 and 2.2, respectively), and it shows one of the most continually improving talents in the game.

5. Ian Kinsler, Detroit Tigers 


Detroit Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler has one of the most diverse games in baseball. Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports

There’s little (to nothing) that Kinsler can’t do on the diamond. On-base threat? Kinsler posted a .288/.348/.484 split line, good for a six-year personal high of an .831 OPS. Like power? He connected for 28 home runs and 61 extra-base hits. Overall run production? Speed? He checked in fourth in the AL with 117 runs scored and stole 14 bases as well. Defense? Kinsler finished just a percentage point behind Pedroia in 2B dWAR and had over 400 assists.

4. Brian Dozier, Minnesota Twins 


Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier led all second basemen in home runs last season. Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports

Dozier must have been really, really offended by not being chosen for the All-Star Game because after the break for the Midsummer Classic, Dozier launched 28 home runs, including 13 in August alone. He passed Alfonso Soriano to become the first AL second baseman to ever hit 40 home runs and finished two short of the single-season record for the position held by Rogers Hornsby and Davey Johnson. In addition, he managed to steal 18 bases and drive in 99 runs as well. 

If there was ever a champion for the value of WAR (in which Dozier posted a 6.5 figure in, eighth in the AL), without his contributions, the Twins would have finished last in the AL in runs scored by over 30.

3. Daniel Murphy, Washington Nationals 


Daniel Murphy had a remarkable year in his first season in Washington. Brad Mills/USA TODAY Sports

After the Nats missed on signing Zobrist and trading for Brandon Phillips last year, they turned their attention to 2016’s postseason darling as a third option. Fortune shined its light brightly upon them, as by season’s end, Murphy finished as runner-up for the NL MVP award. 

His tremendous onslaught at the plate in 2016 included finishing second in the NL in batting average at .347, which included three months of better than a .370 mark (including a .416 May). Add in his MLB-best 47 doubles and .985 OPS, and Murphy outshined 2015 NL MVP Bryce Harper has the driving force for the eventual NL East champions.

2. Robinson Cano, Seattle Mariners 


Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano had a vintage season in 2016. Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports

With the wrist woes of 2015 well behind him, Cano got back to being the hitter who had been the dominant force at the plate for the position for much of the past decade last year. Cano connected for a career-best 39 home runs and scored a personal high in runs scored with 107. Along the way, he drove in his 1,000th run of his career and moved into the top 10 all time for career doubles among second basemen as well.

1. Jose Altuve, Houston Astros


Don't let Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve's size fool you — he's one of the best players in MLB. Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports

There is no further need to even entertain debate about who is the game’s best second baseman; rather it is time to appreciate just how big of an impact Altuve is able to make. He won his second AL batting title in three years last season, while leading the league in hits for the third consecutive year. Along the way, he connected for 40 doubles for the third straight year and stole 30 bases for the fifth straight year. He even added a legitimate power touch in 2016 too, as he hit 24 homers, which helped aid him besting his former high of 66 RBI by 30. 

Altuve is one of the most unique top-tier impact players in the game, and at only 26, he is just getting started.

Just a bit outside: Logan Forsythe, Neil Walker, Brandon Phillips

Up & Comer: Rougned Odor, Texas Rangers. This fiery 23-year-old made perhaps his biggest headlines on the year for the overhand blow he struck against Jose Bautista’s jaw, which launched him to meme and GIF superstardom, but Odor’s play was not too shabby either. In his third season, he launched 33 home runs, third among all AL second basemen. In addition, he drove in 88 runs, scored 89 himself and posted a .502 slugging percentage. Outside of the bat, he proved to be a very able defender as well, as he led AL second basemen in range factor in the field and double plays turned, although his AL-high 22 errors offset that result some.

Matt Whitener

Matt Whitener is St. Louis-based writer, radio host and 12-6 curveball enthusiast. He has been covering Major League Baseball since 2010, and dabbles in WWE, NBA and other odd jobs as well. Follow Matt on Twitter at @CheapSeatFan.

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