2023 STS MiLB Players of the Year: Second Base
Other Articles in this Series:
by RFF
“It is about getting things to one number.” This is the first line from a quote on the Scout the Statline About page from the movie “Moneyball” which I feel best encapsulates the vision that Ross Jensen and Jordan Rosenblum had when they created their website. This quasi-concept gave birth to “Peak Projections,” a statistical approach and formula that uses unbiased statistical data, historical equivalencies from MLB player comparisons, and an aging curve to predict a player’s performance at their very best. It was because of this pivotal innovation that you find yourself reading this sentence right now.
Since then, Scout the Statline has further immersed itself within the baseball community and taken into account their followers’ feedback. Alongside daily leaderboards and player evaluations, the platform has expanded its reach to include social media content, website periodicals, articles, a YouTube channel featuring the Bats & Stats podcast and player evaluation videos, and The Hobby Advantage for baseball card enthusiasts.
As we wrap up our first full season covering the realm of fantasy baseball, we present to you our highly anticipated MiLB Positional Players of the Year Prospectus. Over the next ten days, we will unveil the best prospects in each position, culminating in the announcement of the 2023 Scout the Statline MiLB Player of the Year.
We want to thank you, the followers, for helping us reach this milestone. We promise to continue to adapt to help you build your championship team, with the help of our island of misfit toys.
The Scout the Statline War Room
ROSS – Gentlemen, history is filled with almost…
SHANKS – Wow! That was beautiful, boss.
RFF – Yeah it was, Jason Bourne…
(…the crypto banter continues as usual…)
ROSS – Ryan, throw all of the MiLB second basemen into the Aggregate so you can walk me through the board.
THE STAFF RANKINGS
How about a Barry Zito 12-6 curve to start this off? Yes, I know this young man was on the MiLB Shortstop of the Year user poll and has primarily played SS since starting his pro career in ‘21. But the StS staff rankings and writers recognize him as a second baseman and since he is ranked higher (21st overall) than the four nominations, I’m going to use this loophole and name Adael Amador as our Staff Rankings winner.
Let’s be honest — it will be only a matter of time till he is moved to the keystone sack with the superior fielder Ezequiel Tovar already entrenched at shortstop on the Rockies roster. Second base is one of the shallower fantasy positions, so the fellas (including myself) are banking on the second baseman who has the best overall skill set at the position — above-average tools across the board except for fielding and an advanced approach at the plate since becoming a pro.
THE StS MODEL
I guess this must have been what Ross felt when he saw Luis Arraez coming up the ranks. All I see when this kid is at the plate is the Hall of Famer and greatest second baseman ever, Joe Morgan. The StS Model Winner might be a little bit of a shock to some of you because of his subpar 2023 stats, but landing in the 19th overall spot in the StS model rankings is Termarr Johnson.
Don’t let the subpar 2023 numbers deceive you (.244/.422/.438/.860). He had two very rough stretches, but they seemed to be just time for him to get acclimated to higher levels of competition. The one thing that bothers me is that he or his coaches are trying to turn him into a power-first hitter — which would be fine if he didn’t have the best hand-eye coordination since Tony Gwynn. If anything it might take him a little longer than expected to reach the majors, but he will be well worth the wait.
THE USER CHOICE & MiLB 2B OF THE YEAR
So Thomas Saggese is the MiLB 2B of the Year? Okay… no offense to the kid. He is a hell of a prospect with a stellar slash line of .312/.361/.506/.868 with 26 HRs and 294 total bases between Double- and Triple-A in 2023. He is well deserving and is one of the top players in all of MiLB.
But I find it funny that the kid Ross and Shanks have been pumping up for months won the user poll by a comfortable margin. Check out their Saggese player evaluation on the Bats & Stats podcast from last December (link below).
The StS MiLB 2B Player of the Year — Thomas Saggese
SHANKS – The what?