Top Ten 2B Prospects

*Reminder: Second basemen must project to at least 70 range AND 65 glove (both within 10 points of "average," as suggested by HBD's GM window). Arm strength/accuracy does not have a base. 2B are moved to CF rankings if glove + accuracy are greater to or equal 165. All left-handed players are filtered out.

10. Bob Flaherty
Minnesota Fatboys
Bats: R
21 years old, High A
Drafted (College FR) in the 1st round (27th overall, Season 6)

A very capable fielder, Flaherty has both the agility and glovework to play a good 2B at the major league level. He's a very competent hitter as well; he's a very sculpted 185, strong enough to hit his share of dingers despite a less-than-perfect swing. He has a fair batting eye. Flaherty hits better against lefties, and doesn't whiff excessively. Durability and health don't appear to be an issue in the future. Should end up being a solid everyday starter.


9. Christopher Roth
Los Angeles Hangars
Bats: R
24 years old, AAA
Drafted (HS) in the 1st round (41st overall, Season 2)

This is Roth's 7th season in the minor leagues, and his 3rd go-around in AAA. Despite this, Roth is a legitimate prospect, only stuck in the minors to delay his arbitration clock (to Roth's displeasure). He's a good contact hitter with above average pop, but tends to get a little pull-happy at times, which has kept his batting average down in the minors and may hamper him in the majors as well. Despite excellent speed, he's only a fair baserunner (his career stolen base percentage is a bit over 72%). His best attribute is his defense; despite only average range, Roth is very sure-handed, much like Placido Polanco. He also has a surprisingly good arm for a second baseman. He could conceivably play centerfield, although with his range, he might be a little stretched there.


8. David Terrero
St. Louis Greys
Bats: S
20 years old, High A
Drafted (HS) in the first round (18th overall, Season 6)

Nobody doubts that Terrero can hit in the major leagues. An excellent contact hitter with a fluid swing, he can put on quite a show in BP, peppering line drives just about everywhere. He has good power as well. His plate discipline is passable. Defensively, it's a bit unclear as to whether Terrero will stick at 2B. His glovework isn't particularly good, and he doesn't cover a lot of ground, either. He might stay there, or he might shift over to LF; if so, he'll become a plus defender there. His bat is good enough to play at either position. An excellent bunter, if you're into that sort of thing.


7. Tony Henriquez
Monterrey Conquistadores
Bats: R
23 years old, AA
Drafted (College SR) in the 1st round (8th overall, Season 7)

Henriquez, at 5'7'' and 162 lbs, is one of the smallest players in Gleeman World, but he's still a very talented ballplayer. He profiles well as a prototypical top-of-the-order hitter, with uncannily good bat control, an excellent line drive swing, and terrific plate discipline, along with surprisingly good pop. Henriquez hits well against righties, but is exceptionally good against lefties. He runs well, but shouldn't ever steal; his career SB% is an atrocious 56% (14 for 25). Defensively, he's a bit lacking in range, but makes up for it with soft hands and good fundamentals.


6. Ted Barker
San Juan Rincons
Bats: R
21 years old, AAA
Drafted (HS) in the 1st round (11th overall, Season 5)

Barker is listed as a shortstop, and has played there for the vast majority of his time in the minors, but no scout thinks he's even close to ML quality at the position. His FLD% in the minors at SS is a ghastly .933. His glovework and range are acceptable at SS, but his arm just doesn't cut it; Barker throws like a second baseman. He should be at least adequate at the keystone, should the Rincons decide to move him there. Barker, as a hitter, is a dead ringer for Alfonso Soriano. A slender 5'11'' and 174 pounds, Barker doesn't look like a power hitter, but has exceptionally quick wrists, which give him excellent power despite his smallish frame. He has a fairly sound swing, no real platoon split, and solid contact skills, although he occasionally will chase a good fastball at the letters. He does have a couple of major warts, which keep him from ranking higher than this. First, Barker has a history of being difficult to coach; when Barker was still in high school, scout Micah Dillon saw him leave a tied ballgame (in the 8th inning of a Kentucky Regional Semi-finals game) after his coach chewed him out for not running out a grounder to short, and his minor league coaches can attest to that type of behavior being the norm for Barker, rather than an aberration. Second, Barker has an injury-riddled past that rivals J.D. Drew and Rondell "Ron-DL" White.


5. Pete Kennedy
Philadelphia Phenomenauts
Bats: R
21 years old, AA
Drafted (HS) in the first round (9th overall, Season 5)

Kennedy has great power and patience, a combination that will always merit a spot among the best. His other skills as a hitter are solid, too; he doesn't strike out very often, and he hits very well against lefties while not giving up much against same-handed pitchers. The question marks concerning Kennedy are all on the defensive end. Kennedy isn't particularly fast for his position, and he doesn't move well laterally. Glove-wise, he's not a butcher, but not good, either. His arm is poor enough where some think it's actually too weak for 2B. He's just 21, and has room for improvement, but this rating all hinges on whether he can handle 2B at the ML level. If he can't, he'll have to move to LF, where his bat is merely good, and not great.


4. Taylor Turner
Monterrey Conquistadores
Bats: R
18 years old, Rookie League
Drafted (HS) in the 1st round (5th overall, Season 8)

At the plate, Turner resembles Placido Polanco (I know, I've already used the comp once), only with above average power. An outstanding contact hitter with a fundamentally sound swing, Turner should also be able to top 20 homers per year regularly in his prime, while regularly posting batting averages above .300. His plate discipline is fairly strong, and projects to be an asset. Defensively, Turner has solid glovework, but doesn't range particularly well towards ground balls hit to his right side. That's odd, since Turner is one of the fastest players in organized baseball. He also projects to be a plus bunter, which should pair up nicely with his speed. Despite this, Turner is an abysmally bad baserunner; he has absolutely no ability to read pickoff moves, and gets terrible jumps (or just gets picked off) when attempting to steal. Turner has no injury concerns, played every game in his high school career, and is always trying to better his game, day in and day out.


3. Dave Worrell
Washington D.C. Bureaucrats
Bats: S
18 years old, Low A
Drafted (HS) in the 1st round (13th overall, Season 8)

Worrell's swing is an absolute work of art. Born a natural right-hander, his father taught him how to switch hit when he was 6, and he's been doing it ever since, just as well from either side. He's on the short list of prospects most likely to win a batting title; not only does he have an outstanding line drive swing, he's a great contact hitter with excellent speed and solid discipline at the plate. Like Taylor Turner, though, Worrell has awful baserunning instincts. He has reasonably good power which belies his diminutive stature, kind of like Ray Durham in his prime. Defensively, Worrell gets it done, with good glovework that makes up for a slow first step. Worrell tends to "zone" his coaches out, and has never been accused of working too hard; it's something to keep an eye out on in the future.


2. Alex Bravo
Las Vegas Armijos
Bats: L
21 years old, AAA
Drafted (College SO) in the 1st round (4th overall, Season 7)

Bravo hits better than the majority of big league 1B right now, which explains why he was promoted to AAA after less than 160 games in the minors. He has monstrous power, but has Juan Pierre-like contact ability. His swing generates quite a few majestic fly-ball homers, but also produces its fair share of screaming line drive doubles in the gaps as well. He prefers hitting against same-handed pitching, but is still very dangerous against righties. Only his plate discipline falls short of excellence, but it's not really a flaw, either. His glove, however, is highly questionable. His range is a bit short, but his hands are just bad. He's still an outstanding bat in LF, but he'll be one of the best hitters at the position at 2B. It'll be an interesting dilemma as he's only one stop away from the bigs.


1. Jimmie Peters
San Antonio Sting
Bats: R
21 years old, High A
Drafted (College JR) in the 1st round (14th overall, Season 8)

Peters is an absolute beast of a hitter. He has plus-plus power, a picturesque swing, and is adept at making contact; he projects to be a .300+ hitter that can annually top 50 homers, something that clearly places him among the best prospects out there. His defense is solid; his range is average, and he looks comfortable fielding even the hardest hit grounders and choppers. Durability and health shouldn't be a major problem. There are some mild concerns with his makeup, as he is well aware of how talented he is, and doesn't always put forth his full effort (somewhat of a prima donna). What's unfair is that the Sting already have the best young 2B in baseball in Ronald Levrault. Levrault is 22, just one year older than Peters. Both are at least adequate 2B, but stretched defensively in CF. So the question is, what do the Sting do? Of course, such a problem is the envy of every other team in the league.