MLB Announces N.L. All-Stars

Major League Baseball has just announced the starters, pitchers and reserves for both leagues for the 2013 MLB All-Star Game, which will be played on Tuesday, July 16th.

Here are the National League starters:

• C: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
• 1B: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
• 2B: Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds
• SS: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
• 3B: David Wright, New York Mets
• OF: Carlos Beltran, St. Louis Cardinals
• OF: Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies
• OF: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

Here are the NL pitchers:

• LHP: Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants
• LHP: Aroldis Chapman, Cincinnati Reds
• LHP: Patrick Corbin, Arizona Diamondbacks
• RHP: Jose Fernandez, Miami Marlins
• RHP: Jason Grilli, Pittsburgh Pirates
• RHP: Matt Harvey, New York Mets
• LHP: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angleles Dodgers
• RHP: Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves
• LHP: Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies
• LHP: Jeff Locke, Pittsburgh Pirates
• RHP: Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
• LHP: Travis Wood, Chicago Cubs
• RHP: Jordan Zimmermann, Washington Nationals

Here are the NL reserves:

• C: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
• 1B: Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks
• 1B: Allen Craig, St. Louis Cardinals
• 2B: Matt Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
• 2B: Marco Scutaro, San Francisco Giants
• SS: Everth Cabrera, San Diego Padres
• SS: Jean Segura, Milwaukee Brewers
• 3B: Pedro Alvarez, Pittsburgh Pirates
• OF: Domonic Brown, Philadelphia Phillies
• OF: Michael Cuddyer, Colorado Rockies
• OF: Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers
• OF: Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates

In addition, there will be a final vote for one additional All-Star and here are the candidates:

• Ian Desmond, Washington Nationals
• Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
• Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Hunter Pence, San Francisco Giants
• Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles Dodgers

Thoughts?  Snubs?

[Here are the A.L. All-Stars.]

2013 Fantasy Baseball Rankings - Top 20 Second Basemen

Not only is he a talented and consistently productive player, but New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano is both of those things at a fantasy position relatively scarce of such players.

As an example, the 12th-best batting average among qualified second basemen last year was .259.  Only five of them had 20-plus home runs and six had more than 75 runs batted in.

While the position is a decent source of stolen bases, many of the top base-stealers at the position either had a low batting average or little power production (or both).  Seven second basemen stole 20-plus bases and only one of that group hit .260-plus with double-digit home runs: Boston's Dustin Pedroia.

With the exception of stolen bases, Cano is elite in all four other categories of standard 5x5 rotisserie leagues.  Stealing just three bases in 2012, Cano actually stole eight bases in 2011.  If he steals close to that number again, just consider it gravy.

Last year, Cano hit .313 with 33 home runs and 94 runs batted in, all of which led second basemen.  In addition, he scored 105 runs, which tied him with Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers.

Going forward, he remains a lock to be the leader or very close to the leader in those four categories at the position.

Over the past four seasons, Cano has the following minimums: .302 average, 25 home runs, 103 runs scored and 85 runs batted in.  When it comes to power numbers, those four-year lows actually occurred four seasons ago.  He has averaged exactly 30 home runs and 107 runs batted in the past three seasons.

As a career .308 hitter, Cano has had only two seasons below .300: .297 (2005) and .271 (2008).  Looking at his pre- and post-All Star splits since 2009, however, he never hit below .296 in any of those eight splits.  Not only is he consistent year after year, but he is also consistent within the year.

Last but certainly not least, Cano is durable.  Over the past six years, he has never missed more than three games in any season and has missed a total of only 12 games during that span.

At a position with many question marks, Cano is the surest of sure things.

Phillips: A Lock for 18-15 (or Better)?

Although it was six seasons ago, Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips has a 30-30 season under his belt.  While he's been a consistent source of both home runs and stolen bases, you should expect about half those numbers in 2013.

Since 2006, Phillips is only one stolen base (in 2011) shy of having seven consecutive seasons of 15-plus home runs and 15-plus stolen bases.  After three straight 20-20 seasons (including the 30-30 season) from 2007 to 2009, Phillips has failed to reach 20 of either in the past three seasons.

From 2010 to 2012, he has hit exactly 18 home runs each year and has stolen 16, 14 and 15 bases, respectively, during that timeframe as well.  Phillips is a solid five-category contributor at the position with a three-year average line of .285/93/18/73/15.

While he has held relatively steady in stolen bases, his number of attempted swipes has continued to drop.  Over the past four years, here are his number of attempted steals: 34 (2009), 28 (2010), 23 (2011) and 17 (2012).

Can Utley Stay Healthy For a Full Season?

From 2005 to 2009, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley was as good as it gets at second base.  During that five-year stretch, he hit .301 and averaged 111 runs scored, 29 home runs, 101 runs batted in and 15 stolen bases.

Since then, however, he's been a shell of his former self.

Utley has played in a total of 301 games over the past three seasons with those numbers dropping each season: 115 (2010), 103 (2011) and 83 (2012).

Now that he's healthy (or at least healthier) and participating in spring training games for the first time since 2010, Utley should give fantasy owners (much) more in 2013 than he has recently.

While owners should not expect numbers close to the 2005-2009 range, it's possible that he comes close to a 20-15 season if things go well.

Here are my second basemen rankings for the 2013 fantasy baseball season (based on Yahoo! eligibility):

1. Robinson Cano, New York Yankees
2. Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers
3. Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox
4. Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds
5. Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay Rays
6. Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians
7. Aaron Hill, Arizona Diamondbacks
8. Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee Brewers
9. Dan Uggla, Atlanta Braves
10. Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
11. Martin Prado, Arizona Diamondbacks
12. Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
13. Neil Walker, Pittsburgh Pirates
14. Josh Rutledge, Colorado Rockies
15. Danny Espinosa, Washington Nationals
16. Kyle Seager, Seattle Mariners
17. Howie Kendrick, Los Angeles Angels
18. Dustin Ackley, Seattle Mariners
19. Marco Scutaro, San Francisco Giants
20. Jurickson Profar, Texas Rangers

For a second opinion, check out Duncan Sanford's second basemen rankings. (Or view our consensus second basemen rankings here.)

Other positions: C - 1B - 2B - 3B - SS - OF - SP - RP

To keep track of our updates, follow us on Twitter @EDSBaseball, LIKE us on Facebook and/or add us to your Google+ circle.

(Updated) 2012 Fantasy Baseball Preseason Rankings: Top 25 Second Basemen

Last year, there were 12 players in the majors that had 20-20 seasons.

The vast majority of those 12 players were outfielders (10). But the other two were both second basemen: Ian Kinsler, who was one of four 30-30 guys, and Dustin Pedroia.

In addition to Kinsler and Pedroia, there were four other second basemen (or second base-eligible players) that had 15-15 seasons: Ben Zobrist, Danny Espinosa, Kelly Johnson and Ryan Roberts.

There were only 24 players that had 15-15 seasons in 2011, which means that one-quarter (six) of them were eligible at second base.

Plus Brandon Phillips, who had 18 homers and 14 steals, just missed the 15-15 club.

In other words, there are several solid options at second base that can provide fantasy owners with value after the elite ones at the top.

Here are some notes on second basemen:

- Speaking of elite second basemen, Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano set career highs last year in runs scored (104), runs batted in (118) and stolen bases (eight). Cano is one of the most consistent hitters in baseball. Over the past three years, he has scored 100-plus runs, hit 25-plus home runs and batted .300-plus every year.

- In 2010, White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham started slow, but he hit much better after the All-Star Break (.310, six home runs and 27 runs batted in). Last year, however, he hit poorly all season and even worse after the break (.213, three homers and 19 runs batted in).

- For the second straight season, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley played in 115 games or less. In the previous five seasons (2005-2009), here were Utley's per-season averages in the five standard rotisserie categories: 110.6 runs scored, 29.2 home runs, 108.8 runs batted in, 15.4 stolen bases and .301 batting average. In other words, if he can stay healthy, which seems unlikely, there is plenty of upside from where he is currently being drafted.

- Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa is not going to help much in runs scored or runs batted in and he's going to hurt you in batting average (.236 last year). That said, Espinosa will help in home runs (21) and stolen bases (17). Espinosa was one of eight National League players to finish with 20-plus homers and 15-plus steals in 2011 and the other seven players were all outfielders.

- One player who fell just short of 20-15 was Arizona's Ryan Roberts, who is eligible at second as well as third base. Roberts finished the season with 19 home runs and 18 stolen bases, both of which were career highs. Roberts also set career highs in runs scored (86) and runs batted in (65).

- The biggest knock on Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler has been his ability to stay healthy. Last year, Kinsler missed only seven games and played in more than 130 games for only the second time in his six-year career. Not-so-coincidentally, Kinsler has had 30-30 seasons in both of those seasons. He finished with 32 home runs and 30 stolen bases and set a career high in runs scored (121).

- Similar to Kinsler, Milwaukee second baseman Rickie Weeks has struggled to stay healthy. With the exception of 2010 (160 games), Weeks has played in 129 games or less every season. On a per-game basis, Weeks will really help in the counting statistics from the second base position, but the most pressing question will always be: How many games will he play?

- Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia started slow (.255 and .227 averages in April and May), but he finished strong from June to September. Pedroia hit over .300 in each of the other four months of the season including .411 in 26 games in July with eight home runs and 22 runs batted in. Pedroia set career highs in home runs (21), runs batted in (91) and stolen bases (26) and scored more than 100 runs for his third straight season last year.

- Not only is Michael Cuddyer eligible at second base, but as we noted in our first base rankings, he is eligible at first and outfield as well. In addition to offering fantasy owners positional flexibility, Cuddyer is moving to the friendlier confines of Coors Field this season. Although he played in only 139 games last year, Cuddyer set a career high in steals (11) and hit 20-plus homers for only the third time in his career.

Here are our top 25 second basemen for the 2012 season:

1. Robinson Cano, Yankees
2. Ian Kinsler, Rangers
3. Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox
4. Dan Uggla, Braves
5. Chase Utley, Phillies
6. Ben Zobrist, Rays
7. Brandon Phillips, Reds
8. Michael Young, Rangers
9. Rickie Weeks, Brewers
10. Dustin Ackley, Mariners
11. Howard Kendrick, Angels
12. Michael Cuddyer, Rockies
13. Jason Kipnis, Indians
14. Ryan Roberts, Diamondbacks
15. Danny Espinosa, Nationals
16. Neil Walker, Pirates
17. Jemile Weeks, Athletics
18. Kelly Johnson, Blue Jays
19. Aaron Hill, Diamondbacks
20. Gordon Beckham, White Sox
21. Daniel Murphy, Mets
22. Jose Altuve, Astros
23. Omar Infante, Marlins
24. Sean Rodriguez, Rays
25. Johnny Giavotella, Royals

Other Positions: C - 1B - 2B - 3B - SS - OF - SP - RP

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