Who would you start at 2b?

Question

Kelly Johnson, Kazuo Matsui, Or Alexei Ramirez

Weekly changes H2H standard point based scoring

Answer 1

I would go with Alexei Ramirez.  He's been hot lately and will be an elite 2B option in the second half of the season...

Answer 2

I'd say KJohnson.....hitting in front of Chipper Jones will afford him better pitches to hit and he's got decent power...just make sure the Braves aren't facing a lot of LHs because Cox sits him then...but if you need steals, play Matsui...Johnson is better all around but steals can be hard to come by in a head to head league

Answer 3

Kaz Matsui all the way!

Answer 4

Kelly Johnson-- In the minors, he used to strikeout a ton!  And in the majors, it's not different as he has a 1:2 strikeout:walk ratio.  Last year it was a bit better, but he still struck out 117 times and was able to put up some nice numbers in spite of the K's.  Has the track record to hit for .275+, but because of the high strike outs, he does struggle to get on base.  Chipper Jones can't drive him in if Johnson doesn't get on board.  Right now, his on-base is barely over .350.  It's still good, but this streaky hitter can drop that percentage to a mediocre .333 at any time.  He's a good source of power, as far as Middle Infielders go, and is not a base stealer.  

Kaz Matsui- Currently has the most impressive K:BB rate of the three, but in his earlier MLB days, he was constantly getting fooled by pitchers.  Seems to finally grasp the game, but still struggles to get on base (has failed to post a .350+ on-base in his MLB career).  When he does get on base, he is a speed burner.  Stole 32 bases for the Rockies last season and is on pace to steal 35 this year.  Pop in his bat is almost non-existent.  

Alexei Ramirez- The "Cuban Missle" as he's called around these parts (Chicago that is), has been described as having raw talent and potential, but with more experience, can be a good hitter in MLB, regardless of position (one of his biggest fans is highly respected baseball analyst, former ESPN color-man, and current White Sox radio color analyst Steve Stone who's baseball knowledge will one day kill us all.  Anytime Stone makes a prediction, we would all be wise to shut up and listen up).  Ramirez, in mostly part-time duty, has already hit for a .286 batting avg, but his ytd OPS is only at .746 and his K:BB reminds us all that he's still got a lot to learn.  

In the last 21 days, Ramirez easily out-performed the other two as his contact rate improved as he began getting more at-bats.  Johnson was back to his old tricks with a 1:2 K:BB rate, struggling to get on base (as usual), and not producing many runs. Matsui walked only once in that same span.  ONCE, UNO, MADE IT TO BALL FOUR JUST ONE TIME, and of course he struck out 10 times and wasn't stealing many bases (well, stole 4, but got caught twice).  

I've been telling this to everybody: You might as well roll the dice with Ramirez and continue to play musical chairs at 2B until you find a permanent replacement (not likely to happen, but you never know.  I remember a time when Chase Utley and Dan Uggla were not household, fantasy names yet, but became important free agent pick ups as they got more playing time later in their coming out season (like a prior season before their breakout)).  Another name you might watch out for is Alexi Casilla, Clint Barmes (coming back from the DL soon), and for a longer-term goal, keep tabs on Ian Stewart who qualifies at 2B (in some leagues) and the Rockies really like him enough to give him looks at that position (his natural spot is at 3B, but Garrett Atkins mans that position in Colorado).

Felipe

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Answer 5

Go with Kelly Johnson.

Kaz is not doing as good as he did last year, like everybody else on that Rockies team.

Ramirez is a nice young player with a lot of potential, but he hasn't proven himself enough yet.

Answer 6

Kelly Johnson. He's the best offensively of the three.