All Positions: C / 1B / 2B / SS / 3B / CF / OF / P
Not a ton has changed with our second basemen under 25 rankings over the last nine months. Of the 10 second basemen from our March 26th Top 15 Second Basemen Under 25 who are still under the age of 25, seven appear on this list.
Tony Abreu, Tony Thomas and John Tolisano are the three players who failed to produce enough to remain featured on this list, though Thomas still came in as an honorable mention on our Top 15 Second Base Prospect list. Climbing up the ranks, Jose Lopez, an honorable mention on our last second basemen under 25 list, Johnny Giavotella, a 2008 second round draft pick, and Eric Young, one of the fastest prospects in baseball. Sean Rodriguez migrated to the position from shortstop. And we also ranked Blake DeWitt, who has spent the bulk of his pro career at third base but still looks like a second baseman in the long run.
Asdrubal Cabrera sits atop this list after completing his first full season in the big leagues. Traded from Seattle to Cleveland for Eduardo Perez -- he only had 87 at-bats with the Mariners -- Cabrera was a 20-year-old in Triple-A when the Indians acquired him. Cabrera was demoted to Double-A to open the 2007 season, but he responded by producing the best offensive line of his career: .310/.381/.454 (425 PA). He has since matched that success over 175+ Triple-A plate appearances between 2007 and 2008. The 2009 season could very well be Cabrera's major league breakout, as he has the skills to be a patient, line-drive hitter who totals a respectable number of extra-base hits.
| Top 10 Second Basemen Under the age of 25 | ||||||||||||
| No. | Player | Pos. | Comments | Age | Org | Lvl | ||||||
| 1 | Asdrubal Cabrera | 2B/SS | Had his share of rookie struggles (.310 wOBA), but finished strong: .425 in Sept. (91 PA) | 22.9 | CLE | MLB | ||||||
| 2 | Jose Lopez | 2B | Better than .322 wOBA showed (23% LD vs. .311 BABIP); impatient (3.9% BB, .319 OBP) | 24.9 | SEA | MLB | ||||||
| 3 | Adrian Cardenas | 2B/SS | Went .279/.392/.326 in 102 AA PA; no power (.047 IsoP), K's (9.8%); lots of patience (14.7%) | 21.0 | OAK | AA | ||||||
| 4 | Sean Rodriguez | 2B | Welcome to the majors: .435 wOBA in AAA (288 PA) dropped to .264 in big leagues (187 PA) | 23.5 | LAA | MLB | ||||||
| 5 | Blake DeWitt | 2B/3B | Little power (.120 IsoP, 24.7% XBH); still, finds ways to be productive (.345 OBP, 10.7% BB) | 23.2 | LAD | MLB | ||||||
| 6 | Matt Antonelli | 2B | After posting .382 wOBA in AA in '07, plummeted to .304 in AAA in '08; still, 14.1% BB rate | 23.5 | SD | MLB | ||||||
| 7 | Jemile Weeks | 2B | No. 12 overall pick had .379 wOBA in 90 A PA; leadoff-type hitter had 14.4% BB, .108 IsoP | 21.7 | OAK | A | ||||||
| 8 | Chris Coghlan | 2B | .405 wOBA in A, .270 in A+ in '07 left questions; answered them with .369 wOBA in '08 in AA | 23.3 | FLA | AA | ||||||
| 9 | Johnny Giavotella | 2B | 2nd rounder ('08) went .299/.354/.421, .341 wOBA in 308 A PA; puts ball in play (11% K) | 21.3 | KC | A | ||||||
| 10 | Eric Young | 2B/CF | Improved patience (7.5% BB in '07 vs. 12.8% in '08); .351 wOBA up 8 pts from Cal League | 23.4 | COL | AA | ||||||
| Honorables: Alexi Casilla (MIN), German Duran (TEX), and Nick Noonan (SF). | ||||||||||||
| * Our rankings combine a player's ceiling with the odds that he'll reach it within a five-year period | ||||||||||||
| ** Ages are as of November 1st, 2008 | ||||||||||||
| *** Level is the highest level the player has reached | ||||||||||||
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Questions about this list can be directed toward Adam Foster at adamf@projectprospect.com.