Rotating around the diamond, we move to second base. After the stability of the first two positions, this position looks to be very weak overall. Kipnis had a very productive season. Beckham showed power, but had little on base presence. The Tigers, Royals and Twins all had very poor contributions from their ragtag personnel. Infante and Santiago are both signed for 2013, so I doubt much change is in store this year. Getz is signed through 2014, but Falu and Giovatella had good AAA numbers and might be worth a look this year with Getz moving to a bench role. With Casilla claimed by the Orioles and LGFT Carroll better suited as a utility guy, the Twins may default to Eduardo Escobar, whether he is ready or not.
Level |
Status |
Age |
PA |
HR |
RBI |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
|
Cleveland |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jason Kipnis |
MLB |
Pre-Arb 2 |
25 |
672 |
14 |
76 |
335 |
379 |
714 |
Jason Donald |
MLB:AAA |
CIN |
27 |
296 |
6 |
31 |
365 |
441 |
807 |
Brent Lillibridge |
MLB |
Pre-Arb-3 |
28 |
123 |
3 |
8 |
276 |
342 |
619 |
Chicago |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gordon Beckham |
MLB |
Arb-1 |
25 |
582 |
16 |
60 |
296 |
371 |
668 |
Orlando Hudson |
MLB |
FA |
34 |
152 |
2 |
17 |
262 |
307 |
568 |
Detroit |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Omar Infante |
MLB |
2013 |
30 |
241 |
4 |
20 |
283 |
385 |
668 |
Ramon Santiago |
MLB |
2013 |
32 |
259 |
2 |
17 |
283 |
272 |
555 |
Ryan Raburn |
MLB:AAA |
FA |
31 |
222 |
1 |
12 |
226 |
254 |
480 |
Danny Worth |
MLB:AAA |
Pre-Arb-2 |
26 |
255 |
5 |
24 |
364 |
421 |
785 |
Kansas City |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chris Getz |
MLB:AAA |
2014 |
28 |
210 |
0 |
17 |
312 |
360 |
672 |
Yuniesky Betancourt |
MLB |
FA |
30 |
228 |
7 |
36 |
256 |
400 |
656 |
Johnny Giavotella |
MLB:AAA |
Pre-Arb-1 |
24 |
418 |
10 |
71 |
404 |
472 |
877 |
Irving Falu |
MLB:AAA |
Pre-Arb-1 |
29 |
406 |
7 |
50 |
375 |
463 |
838 |
Minnesota |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Alexi Casilla |
MLB |
BAL |
27 |
326 |
1 |
30 |
282 |
321 |
603 |
Jamey Carroll |
MLB |
2013, 2014 team option |
38 |
537 |
1 |
40 |
343 |
317 |
660 |
Eduardo Escobar |
MLB:AAA |
Pre-Arb-2 |
23 |
151 |
1 |
9 |
259 |
304 |
563 |
Onto the minor league assessments ...
Cleveland |
Level |
Status |
Age |
PA |
HR |
RBI |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
Cord Phelps |
MLB:AAA |
Pre-Arb-3 |
25 |
582 |
16 |
62 |
368 |
451 |
820 |
Ryan Rohlinger |
AAA:AA:A+ |
FA |
28 |
439 |
8 |
52 |
336 |
342 |
678 |
Justin Toole |
AAA:AA |
2009 aFA |
25 |
339 |
1 |
21 |
272 |
284 |
556 |
Matt Lawson |
AA |
2011 mFA |
26 |
232 |
1 |
23 |
408 |
459 |
867 |
Davis Stoneburner |
AA |
2012 mFA |
27 |
351 |
0 |
26 |
268 |
272 |
540 |
Tony Wolters |
A+ |
2010 aFA |
20 |
537 |
8 |
58 |
320 |
404 |
724 |
Ronny Rodriguez |
A+ |
2011 aFA |
20 |
483 |
19 |
66 |
300 |
452 |
752 |
Todd Hankins |
A+:A |
2011-15 |
21 |
397 |
5 |
37 |
328 |
358 |
687 |
Jose Ramirez |
A:A- |
2011 aFA |
19 |
326 |
3 |
27 |
404 |
465 |
869 |
Robel Garcia |
A:A- |
2010 aFA |
19 |
473 |
3 |
39 |
304 |
302 |
606 |
Yhoxian Medina |
A |
2011-38 |
22 |
112 |
0 |
6 |
336 |
222 |
559 |
Phelps looks like he is ready for the majors, so with Donald off to the Reds, he should end up as the bench guy this year. Matt Antonelli was recently signed and likely will be in AAA. Lawson looked a little promising albeit in limited playing time. Both Wolters and Jose Ramirez might also be useful at some point. But Ronny Rodriguez is likely the best potential player of the group.
Chicago |
Level |
Status |
Age |
PA |
HR |
RBI |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
Ray Olmedo |
MLB:AAA |
FA/MIN |
31 |
310 |
0 |
19 |
340 |
355 |
674 |
Drew Garcia |
AAA:AA |
2008-21 |
26 |
559 |
6 |
75 |
314 |
368 |
682 |
Tyler Kuhn |
AAA |
2008-15 |
25 |
449 |
4 |
36 |
309 |
384 |
692 |
Jose Castro |
AAA:AA |
2012 mFA |
25 |
104 |
0 |
2 |
235 |
221 |
456 |
Carlos Sanchez |
AAA:AA:A+ |
2009 aFA |
20 |
588 |
1 |
56 |
378 |
403 |
781 |
Erik Morrison |
AA |
2012 mFA |
26 |
322 |
6 |
42 |
324 |
373 |
697 |
Daniel Wagner |
AA:A+ |
2009-16 |
23 |
436 |
2 |
41 |
327 |
327 |
654 |
Greg Paiml |
AA |
2007-15 |
27 |
94 |
0 |
9 |
287 |
337 |
624 |
David Herbek |
A+:A |
2011-15 |
23 |
347 |
5 |
32 |
358 |
394 |
752 |
Kyle Eveland |
A+:A |
2011 mFA |
25 |
19 |
0 |
1 |
211 |
118 |
328 |
Michael Johnson |
A+:A:Rk |
2011-31 |
23 |
293 |
2 |
19 |
322 |
293 |
614 |
Kyle Shelton |
AAA:A+ |
2008 aFA |
26 |
57 |
3 |
8 |
222 |
538 |
872 |
Ross Wilson |
A+:A |
2010-10 |
23 |
399 |
7 |
39 |
382 |
393 |
775 |
Joey DeMichele |
A:Rk |
2012-3 |
21 |
308 |
7 |
38 |
334 |
479 |
813 |
Joe De Pinto |
A:Rk |
2011-21 |
23 |
317 |
0 |
27 |
318 |
313 |
631 |
Lots of players got playing time at second last year for the White Sox. Drew Garcia was okay, but Carlos Sanchez might be the best of the lot. He needs a tad more power moving forward. Joey DeMichele might be an option as well as he is the highest draft pick here.
Detroit |
Level |
Status |
Age |
PA |
HR |
RBI |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
Brandon Inge |
MLB:AAA |
OAK/FA |
35 |
20 |
1 |
2 |
100 |
300 |
400 |
Matt Young |
MLB:AAA |
LAA |
29 |
369 |
1 |
24 |
363 |
276 |
640 |
Hernan Perez |
MLB:A+ |
Pre-Arb-1 |
21 |
479 |
5 |
44 |
298 |
338 |
636 |
Cale Iorg |
AAA:A+ |
2007-6 |
26 |
170 |
1 |
7 |
207 |
244 |
451 |
Justin Henry |
AAA |
2007-9 |
27 |
543 |
1 |
38 |
372 |
357 |
729 |
Brent Dlugach |
AAA:AA |
2012 mFA |
29 |
106 |
2 |
8 |
287 |
307 |
594 |
Brandon Douglas |
AAA |
FA |
29 |
267 |
2 |
23 |
365 |
317 |
681 |
Corey Jones |
AA:A+ |
2010-7 |
24 |
277 |
3 |
21 |
286 |
343 |
628 |
Carlos De Los Santos |
AA:A:Rk |
2010 aFA |
21 |
112 |
0 |
8 |
284 |
267 |
552 |
Marcus Lemon |
A+ |
2012 mFA |
24 |
319 |
3 |
29 |
388 |
445 |
833 |
Ryan Soares |
A+ |
2010-36 |
24 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
182 |
100 |
282 |
Brandon Loy |
A |
2011-5 |
22 |
566 |
2 |
39 |
301 |
315 |
616 |
As bad as Infante and Santiago were last year, there does not seem to be much help down on the farm for the Tigers. Raburn was released, Inge and Young are both long gone and AAA will likely be held by Kevin Russo. Hernan Perez is on the 40 man roster and is still very young, but his numbers need a decent boost. Justin Henry is past the age cutoff and Lemon is a bit old for A+/AA as well. The future looks a bit bleak here.
Kansas City |
Level |
Status |
Age |
PA |
HR |
RBI |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
Tony Abreu |
MLB:AAA |
Pre-Arb-3 |
27 |
453 |
9 |
73 |
347 |
492 |
839 |
Anthony Seratelli |
AAA |
2007 mFA |
29 |
439 |
17 |
66 |
374 |
492 |
866 |
Rey Navarro |
AAA:AA |
2010 mFA |
22 |
519 |
4 |
48 |
316 |
333 |
649 |
Kurt Mertins |
AAA:AA |
2006-13 |
26 |
145 |
2 |
11 |
278 |
298 |
575 |
Christian Colon |
AAA:AA:Rk |
2010-1 |
23 |
363 |
6 |
36 |
376 |
413 |
790 |
Whit Merrifield |
AA:A+ |
2010-9 |
23 |
546 |
9 |
44 |
329 |
378 |
707 |
Sharlon Schoop |
AA |
2012 mFA |
25 |
186 |
7 |
19 |
341 |
436 |
777 |
Yowill Espinal |
AA:A |
2008 aFA |
21 |
88 |
0 |
4 |
329 |
250 |
579 |
Angel Franco |
A+ |
2007 aFA |
22 |
410 |
3 |
35 |
332 |
353 |
685 |
Luis Piterson |
A+ |
2008 aFA |
22 |
167 |
0 |
13 |
306 |
320 |
626 |
Justin Trapp |
A |
2009-34 |
21 |
530 |
12 |
50 |
352 |
430 |
783 |
Daniel Mateo |
A |
2009 aFA |
20 |
568 |
8 |
61 |
325 |
386 |
711 |
I expect Giovatella to push Getz on the major league roster this year, with Abreu in AAA. Seratelli had a great 2012, but will be 30 this year. He might be worth a shot if Getz/Giavatella struggle. There is a lot of youth at the lower levels and Trapp might be the guy with the initial edge.
Minnesota |
Level |
Status |
Age |
PA |
HR |
RBI |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
Tsuyoshi Nishioka |
MLB:AAA |
FA |
27 |
431 |
2 |
34 |
315 |
324 |
639 |
Luke Hughes |
MLB |
FA/TOR |
27 |
11 |
0 |
2 |
182 |
200 |
382 |
Ray Chang |
AAA |
2011 mFA |
28 |
297 |
0 |
17 |
304 |
271 |
574 |
Joe Thurston |
AAA |
FA |
32 |
49 |
1 |
2 |
184 |
163 |
346 |
James Beresford |
AA |
2007 aFA |
23 |
413 |
0 |
25 |
330 |
314 |
644 |
Nathan Hanson |
AA |
2008-28 |
25 |
382 |
7 |
50 |
311 |
387 |
698 |
Shawn Roof |
AA |
2012 mFA |
27 |
127 |
0 |
7 |
264 |
239 |
503 |
Estarlin De Los Santos |
AA |
2006 aFA |
25 |
315 |
2 |
24 |
277 |
275 |
552 |
Levi Michael |
A+ |
2011-1 |
21 |
512 |
2 |
38 |
339 |
311 |
650 |
Andy Leer |
A+ |
2010 aFA |
24 |
322 |
3 |
27 |
297 |
253 |
549 |
Daniel Santana |
A+ |
2008 aFA |
21 |
547 |
8 |
60 |
329 |
410 |
739 |
Eddie Rosario |
A:Rk |
2010-4 |
20 |
449 |
13 |
74 |
347 |
499 |
846 |
Adam Pettersen |
A |
2011-25 |
23 |
368 |
2 |
35 |
312 |
320 |
632 |
Adam Bryant |
A |
2011-9 |
23 |
318 |
1 |
32 |
279 |
301 |
580 |
Stephen Wickens |
A |
2011-33 |
23 |
252 |
2 |
30 |
425 |
416 |
841 |
All of the AAA players are gone except for Chang. The Twins have signed Ray Olmedo for AAA this season, but he is a third baseman mainly. Other than Eddie Rosario, not much else looks plausible going forward. They might have to make a few deals or sign a free agent in 2014, especially if Escobar struggles and Carroll ages poorly.
After the Tribe finished near the bottom at catcher and first base, they clearly have the best options moving forward at second base. Kipnis projects well, Phelps is a good trade chip and Wolters, Rodriguez and Ramirez all have a chance. The White Sox might be ok with DeMichele and the Twins with Rosario, but the Tigers and Royals don't seem to have many internal options.
This series attempts to review how each position fared within the AL Central last year and what holds for the future. The first chart reviews how the position fared in the majors between the five teams. The subsequent charts track each position through each team's farm system. Status is not always correct as some of the info was culled a few weeks ago. For players not on the 40-man roster, I have taken my best guess as when/how they were acquired. Not every player who played the position in the minors has been identified as again, I have tried to identify core players at the position only. Some identified as minor league free agents, could have been trade acquisitions. I also only reviewed down to the A level as players at A- or in the rookie leagues are still quite volatile.