This week’s fantasy baseball second baseman review will help you identify second basemen available in 50% or more of Yahoo! fantasy baseball leagues. For deep league players, the third is available in 85% or more of Yahoo! leagues.
Ian Happ, Cubs (44% owned)
Many, myself included, didn’t expect Happ to stick around for more than a handful of games. Instead, he came up swinging (literally) and is getting the Cody Bellinger treatment. The Cubbies have him starting all over the outfield in an attempt to find him a place to play. Despite that, he is second base eligible, so he qualifies for this article. Since the Cubs called him up, Happ has a .294/.400/.657 slash line with two dingers, eight runs and five RBI in 40 PAs. Despite seemingly rushing him along, Happ hasn’t cratered. He has a 13.9% walk rate and a just-slightly-too-high 27.8% K rate. His .400 BABIP screams average regression, but he was a natural hitter in the minors.
Since getting called up, Happ has a .294/.400/.657 slash line with two dingers, eight runs and five RBI in 40 PAs. Despite seemingly rushing him along, Happ hasn’t cratered. He has a 13.9% walk rate and a just-slightly-too-high 27.8% K rate. His .400 BABIP screams average regression, but he was a natural hitter in the minors.
Devon Travis, Toronto (38% owned)
I never forgot about Travis, but his slow April had me recommending him less. Travis bounced back from his April and is putting together a scorching May. Over the last two weeks, he has two homers, two steals, six runs, 11 RBI, and a .408 average. More goodness is to come, as his .287 (career .341) means that his season-long .240 has nowhere to go but up. His OBP is appalling (.277), but that’s just part of his game.
He’s a good power-average option who put together a 19 home run, seven stolen base season with an average north of .300 when you combine his 2015 and 2016 (163 games). More power should be coming, as his batted ball data is nearly identical to his career numbers. The only exception is that this season, his fly balls turn into home runs at half his career rate. The tear should keep going, and growing.
Adam Frazier, Pittsburgh (12% owned)
The Pirates are giving Frazier lots of run thanks to the Starling Marte suspension. When Marte ate an eighty-game suspension after getting popped for PEDs, nobody was certain who could make up his production. Frazier has answered the call recently. entering Wednesday night’s action, he had seven runs, 7 RBI, a stolen base and a .415 average over the last two weeks. In Wednesday night’s action, he went 2/2 with three runs, three RBI, a home run and a stolen base. Frazier’s running hot, and has some pedigree to back it up.