3 Most Underrated Players At Each Position — Second Base
25 year old Ozzie Albies is currently in the midst of his 6th, and what is starting out to potentially be his best, season in the Majors. Debuting for the Atlanta Braves on August 1, 2017, Ozzie has a career line of .273/.325/.480 with 96 homeruns and a 108 OPS+ over 2,521 plate appearances and 578 games. Widely considered to be the best all around second baseman in the game, Ozzie Albies does not make our list today. However, the 3 guys that do make the list are also great all around players that mainly man the second sack. We start off today’s list with a trip to the AL Central.
3. Whit Merrifield
Baseball’s current iron man, 33 year old Whit Merrifield can do it all. Hitting for average, driving balls into the gap for extra base hits, stealing bags, and not missing a game since 2018 are all huge parts of Merrifield’s game. Unfortunately for Whit, he doesn’t get the national attention he deserves. Debuting for the Royals in 2016, and now signed through at least 2023, Whit has never tasted postseason baseball and has only been voted an All Star twice. With a career line of .288/.334/.428 over 3,455 plate appearances and 783 games, Merrifield should have 2 more All Star nods to his name. Playing for a small market team in the midst of a rebuild has it’s downfalls, however, as not only Whit knows very well, but also number 2 on our list today.
2. Jazz Chisholm
A guy that will not be on this list much longer, Jazz Chisholm is off to a blazing hot start in 2022. Debuting in the Covid year of 2020, Jazz only hit .239/.296/.414 in 2020 and 2021 with 20 homeruns and a 91 OPS+ over 569 plate appearances and 145 games. Anyone that knows what Jazz is capable of knew that his struggles wouldn’t last long. So far this season, Jazz is hitting .286/.327/.673 with 9 extra base hits and a 189 OPS+ over 55 plate appearances and 14 games. Of those 9 extra base hits, he currently leads baseball with 2 triples while also leading the NL with 4 stolen bases. We’re currently in the midst of a Jazz Chisholm breakout season, and if he keeps up the pace he’s currently at, he’ll be far from this list this time next year.
1. Tommy Edman
Finishing off the list today is another man that is off to a blazing hot start, which seems to be the trend for NL second baseman this year. Tommy Edman enters today hitting .283/.397/.509 with 3 homeruns and a 172 OPS+ over 64 plate appearances and 16 games. Edman is in his 4th season, all with the Cardinals and third season as an everyday starter. Known for his speed, Edman is also one of the better bat-to-ball guys in the Majors as he has yet to record triple digit strikeouts over a single season with his career high being 95. Edman can steal you 30 bags a year while providing 40 doubles and 15 homeruns and continuously making the opposing defense have to make a play. Edman is yet another guy that, should he keep up what he’s doing this year, won’t be on this list twice.
Second base as a whole is an underrated position because it is a position known more for the defensive wizards more so than guys that can hit homeruns with the likes of Bonds, Aaron, and Ruth. Currently, the all time leader in homeruns for second basemen is Jeff Kent with 354. Ozzie Albies has a very good chance of shattering that record and being the first primary second baseman to break the 400 homerun mark.
This has been our list of underrated second basemen. Other entries in this series include starting pitchers, catchers, and first basemen. Let me know who you think is underrated on Twitter @TroyBrock1993. Next up will be third base!
