2011 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Second Basemen

At first glance, the crop of second basemen in fantasy baseball would seem to include one hammer in Robinson Cano, three studs coming off injury-interrupted years and the enigmatic Brandon Phillips, who had a down year after three very productive ones.

Look a little deeper, though, and you'll find a player who has averaged 31 homers and 88 RBI the last two years ranked ninth (Aaron Hill), followed by a former stud in Chone Figgins and a promising Pirate who batted .296 with 66 RBI as a rookie (Neil Walker).

The position has its share of questions (as all do), especially with Chase Utley's knee injury, but it's uncommonly deep for the middle infield. If you can get a 2010 All-Star (Omar Infante) or a former 25-homer threat who now calls Coors Field home (Jose Lopez) as a backup, you only have to go 1-for-2 on draft day to be guaranteed a solid starter.

That brings us to our latest look at the top second basemen in fantasy baseball in 2011. These rankings will be updated as spring training provides more answers to certain position battles.

Note: Players are listed only at the position at which they are expected to spend the most time in 2011, not every position at which they are eligible. For the top players in keeper leagues for 2011, click here.

1. Robinson Cano, Yankees: He set career-highs in homers (29), RBI (109) and OPS (.914) last season, tied his career best with 103 runs and batted .319 last season. Sharing an infield with Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira, he seems grossly underpaid.
2. Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox: He was limited to 302 at-bats by a foot injury, but is healthy now. In 2008 and '09, Pedroia batted .311 with averages of 16 homers, 78 RBI, 20 steals and 117 runs.
3. Ian Kinsler, Rangers: He had only 391 at-bats because of, you guessed it, injury, but he batted .286 with nine homers, 45 RBI and 15 steals. The year before, he had 31 homers, 86 RBI and 31 steals.
4. Dan Uggla, Braves: He averaged 31 homers, 91 RBI and 100 runs in five years in Florida -- numbers that shouldn't suffer in his new home.
5. Brandon Phillips, Reds: He averaged 24 homers, 90 RBI and 27 steals from 2007 to '09 before dropping to 18 homers, 59 RBI and 16 steals last season. He won't provide much of a batting-average boost (.267 career).
6. Chase Utley, Phillies: He was limited to 425 at-bats last season and will begin 2011 on the disabled list because of a knee injury. The uncertainty over the amount of time he'll miss drops him four spots on this list.
7. Rickie Weeks, Brewers: He's a .253 career hitter who set career highs in homers (29), RBI (83) and runs (112) last season, though his stolen-base total slipped to 11.
8. Brian Roberts, Orioles: He was limited to 230 at-bats because of a back injury. If you get the player who averaged 40 steals from 2007-09, Roberts will prove to be a quality middle-round choice.
9. Aaron Hill, Blue Jays: He was terrific in 2009, but awful for much of 2010 (.205 average, .665 OPS). He still managed to produce 26 homers and 68 RBI while getting only one hit every five at-bats.
10. Chone Figgins, Mariners: Aside from his 42 steals last season, he was abysmal. In 2009, he was anything but (.298, 42 steals, 114 runs).
11. Neil Walker, Pirates: The Pirates' 11th pick in 2004 had 12 homers as a rookie, and his minor-league track record suggests he'll hit for a decent average with OK power numbers and stolen bases.
12. Gordon Beckham, White Sox: He was productive as a rookie in 2009 (14 homers, 63 RBI, seven steals in 378 at-bats), but struggled in Year 2 (.252, nine homers, 49 RBI, .695 OPS).
13. Kelly Johnson, Diamondbacks: He posted career bests in homers (26), RBI (71), runs (93), steals (13) and OPS (.865) while batting .284 in 2010.
14. Howie Kendrick, Angels: He'll hit (.295 career), steal about 15 bases (14 in 2010) and drive in runs (75 last season), but won't provide much power (32 homers in 1,935 career at-bats).
15. Jose Lopez, Rockies: If he starts and hits as he did in 2009 (25 homers, 96 RBI), he's a late-round steal.
16. Juan Uribe, Dodgers: He helped the Giants win a championship, was rewarded handsomely by the Dodgers and could be another late-round bargain after setting career highs in homers (24) and RBI (85) last season.
17. Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Twins: He doesn't have a lot of power, but the Twins' big infield addition batted .346 in Japan last season and averaged 28 steals per year from 2005 to '10.
18. Omar Infante, Marlins: He and Uggla traded places, and Infante (.321) isn't a bad consolation prize for Florida. Don't expect much power from a player who has reached double figures in homers once (2004) and has never driven in more than 55 runs in his nine-year career.
19. Mike Aviles, Royals: He batted .304 with 14 steals, but won't be much of an asset in the other categories (63 runs, eight homers and 32 RBI last season).
20. Bill Hall, Astros: He produced 18 homers and 46 RBI in 344 at-bats last season, but he batted .247 and struck out 104 times.

Eligibility notes

The Braves' Martin Prado, who played in 98 games at second base last season, is expected to open the season in left field. He is more valuable at second, obviously, and would be ranked 11th on the above list, ahead of Walker. ... Tampa Bay's Ben Zobrist is an outfielder who appeared in 58 games at second last season. He's also more valuable at second, but isn't a potential draft-day bargain after batting .238 with 10 homers, 75 RBI, 24 steals and a .699 OPS last season. If we included players from other positions, he would be ranked 15th, ahead of Kendrick, who would slide two spots to 16th because of Prado and Zobrist. ... Ryan Theriot is shifting from second to shortstop in St. Louis, but he doesn't belong in the top 20 at either position.

Others to watch

• Eric Young Jr., Rockies: If he beats out Lopez, he will help you in steals after swiping 17 bags in 172 at-bats as a rookie.
• Sean Rodriguez, Rays: He produced nine homers, 40 RBI, 13 steals and 53 runs in 343 at-bats in his first full season.
• Freddy Sanchez, Giants: He had shoulder surgery, which is expected to sideline him until March. He'll hit for average, but not much else.

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MORE RANKINGS: Your guide to all of our 2011 fantasy baseball rankings