Top 5 Second Base Prospects

This is the third installment of our seven part series on the top prospects at every position. We ranked our Top 5 catchers two weeks ago and our Top 5 First Basemen last week.

WARNING: the second base prospect crop is usually weak. We do not envision any of the players on this list becoming all-stars.

Note: A player must have rookie status entering the 2007 season in order to qualify for our lists. We rank players based on their potential and the likelihood they will reach that potential.

 
1. Dustin Pedroia, BOS: The king of contact, Pedroia, 23, has an unorthodox batting stance (he’ll get on his heels sometimes) but he vaulted through the minors with it, hitting .308 in 1,040 minor league at-bats. The Arizona State product and 2nd round draft pick (2004) won’t hit for much power in the big leagues – .454 minor league slugging percentage (most XBH doubles). He did, however, put the ball in play in 93.62% of his at-bats.

Pedroia has a very good chance of claiming Boston’s opening day second base job. While he’s not going to be more than an average regular, the 5-foot-9, 180-pounder will likely be a better bargain than anyone on the free agent market.

2. Alberto Callaspo, ARI: A lot of people have forgotten about Callaspo -- put us on that list -- after the 5-foot-10, 175-pounder out of Venezuela was traded from the Angels to the Diamondbacks last spring. Callaspo put up a .337/.404/.478 line in Triple-A Tuscon.

The switch-hitter walked 56 times last season while only striking out 27 times -- that's not a typo...27! Callaspo should capture a starting major league job sometime next season. He doesn't really steal bases or hit for enough power to be much of a fantasy asset, but he'll be a solid major league second baseman.

3. Blake DeWitt, LAD: The 28^th overall pick from the 2004 draft, DeWitt, 21, has primarily been used as a third baseman so far in his professional career, but he has mainly played second base and shortstop in the Hawaii Winter Baseball League. We ranked him among our second base prospects because we think it is the position where he’ll play in the big leagues.

The 5-foot-11, 175-pounder hit 18 home runs (37 XBH) in 425 at-bats at High-A Vero Beach before earning a promotion to Double-A Jacksonville, where he struggled (.462 OPS) in 108 at-bats. A lefthanded hitter, DeWitt has a lot of adjustments to make as he ascends through the breaking ball heavy upper levels of the minor leagues.

4. Mark Reynolds, ARI: Another prospect who has yet to formally switch to second base, Reynolds himself has said that he thinks he will end up at second base. The 16^th round pick from the 2004 draft was teammates with Nationals’ third baseman Ryan Zimmerman and Rockies’ first base prospect Joe Koshansky at Virginia. While he doesn’t have quite the same level of star potential as those two, Reynolds, 23, made quite a splash in his second professional season.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder combined for a .318/.401/.633 line between High-A Lancaster and Double-A Tennessee, hitting 31 home runs (tied for fourth in the minors with Koshansky) and totaling 58 extra-base-hits. Reynolds slowed a bit in Double-A (.890 OPS), but he has continued his surge in the Arizona Fall League. He could easily be atop this list by this time next year.

5. Eric Young Jr., COL: Eric Young Sr. never stole more than 76 bases in a single minor league season. Eric Young Jr. swiped 87 bases last season. Signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2004, Young, 21, still needs to polish the defensive side of his game. But the switch-hitter’s overall offensive numbers are solid for a second baseman (.295/.391/.409 in 482 Single-A at-bats).

Young is currently playing in the Hawaii Winter Baseball League, where he is 24-for-74 (.324) and has stolen 11 bases in 14 attempts (78.6%). He has, however, made seven errors in 17 games.