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NL East Preview: Second Baseman
Today I would like to continue with the NL East Preview of the 2012 second baseman. Second base is an interesting position in this division. Two of the teams have second basemen that they trade for each other and one team has an oft-injured superstar manning second.
Here is a glimpse of the starting second baseman for each NL East team in 2012.
- Atlanta Braves: Dan Uggla
- Miami Marlins: Omar Infante
- New York Mets: Justin Turner
- Philadelphia Phillies: Chase Utley
- Washington Nationals: Danny Espinosa
Dan Uggla
| Projection | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | WAR | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill James | 673 | .251 | .337 | .473 | .349 | 3.2 | 33 |
| Roto Champ | 650 | .254 | .340 | .473 | .354 | 3.3 | 33 |
| Fans | 656 | .256 | .336 | .469 | .350 | 3.5 | 33 |
Omar Infante
| Projection | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | WAR | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill James | 560 | .291 | .335 | .401 | .323 | 2.6 | 8 |
| Roto Champ | 581 | .290 | .334 | .391 | .319 | 2.5 | 7 |
| Fans | 570 | .285 | .325 | .378 | .309 | 2.2 | 6 |
Justin Turner
| Projection | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | WAR | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill James | 393 | .271 | .335 | .387 | .315 | 0.9 | 5 |
| Roto Champ | 418 | .285 | .359 | .387 | .333 | 1.3 | 4 |
| Fans | 414 | .270 | .336 | .369 | .315 | 1.1 | 5 |
Chase Utley
| Projection | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | WAR | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill James | 570 | .280 | .375 | .475 | .362 | 5.2 | 21 |
| Roto Champ | 550 | .259 | .360 | .432 | .353 | 3.2 | 16 |
| Fans | 573 | .276 | .367 | .450 | .363 | 5.5 | 18 |
Danny Espinosa
| Projection | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | WAR | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bill James | 623 | .248 | .329 | .445 | .330 | 3.0 | 25 |
| Roto Champ | 641 | .235 | .326 | .425 | .330 | 2.5 | 23 |
| Fans | 638 | .247 | .324 | .428 | .331 | 3.8 | 22 |
According to these projections, we can draw this:
- Chase Utley
- Dan Uggla
- Danny Espinosa
- Omar Infante
- Justin Turner
As we all know by now, when Chase Utley is healthy, he is among the superstars in baseball. The past few seasons he has had a little difficulty staying healthy. The Phillies need him to be at 100% this season, especially with Ryan Howard likely being out until May.
Dan Uggla has been known for his bat since he arrived in the Major leagues. His defense on the other hand has never been anything to rave about. Not much should change in 2012. Uggla should bounce back from a disappointing 2011 campaign and post closer numbers to his 2010 with the Marlins.
Danny Espinosa is the same type of hitter that Uggla was when Uggla first started out. The Nationals hope that Espinosa can follow the same learning curve that Uggla did. Espinosa is not going to hit for average, but he is a major home run threat every time he steps up to the plate.
Omar Infante struggled to begin the 2011 season. By the end of the season, Infante build up a very strong season. This had a lot to do with his strong second half, where he hit like he had in Atlanta in 2o12. The Marlins will likely have Infante near the bottom of the order, so his importance to the team will not be the same that it was last season.
Justin Turner is an interesting case. The Mets tried dangling him as a trade chip. There is no guarantee that he will even begin the 2012 season as the Mets starting second baseman. We will have to take a wait and see approach with this one.