I thought I’d try a different layout, to make this a little more compact. I give my 2008 projected ranking, as well as the Yahoo! Fantasy ranking for this past season.

Name			2008	2007

Chase Utley		1	2
Brandon Phillips	2	1
Brian Roberts		3	3
B.J. Upton*		4	4
Robinson Cano		5	5
Howie Kendrick		6	30
Chone Figgins*		7	7
Dan Uggla		8	8
Dustin Pedroia		9	15
Rickie Weeks		10	21

* Could lose position elegibility

There are a ton of talented, young second basemen in the majors. Of this list, only Chase Utley is out of his 20s, and that not by much.

Brandon Phillips was the most valuable this year, but the top second baseman by far is still Utley (.976 OPS). Look for Phillips to be overvalued in next year’s drafts.

B.J. Upton defied all the statheads (here, here and here for example) this year by hitting .300/.386/.508. He did that with a very high .404 BABIP (2nd in all of baseball to Chone Figgins), which suggests that he will not repeat the batting average. The power and the speed, however, are for real, and could make him a good fantasy second baseman IF he doesn’t lose eligibility by moving to centerfield permanently. Unfortunately for fantasy buffs, he seems to hurt the Rays least defensively in the outfield.

Robinson Cano plays in a great lineup, and could move up in the order, should they lose or move some players this offseason. Him batting first or second would boost his fantasy value significantly.

Howie Kendrick was limited by injuries this season, but he’s shown he can hit at this level now. Some see him as a future batting champion, so don’t be afraid to draft him.

Figgins also had a very high BABIP of .409, which makes sense because he is not really a .330 hitter. Still, the stolen bases are there year after year. With the emergence of Howie Kendrick, he may not have many chances to play 2B from now on.

Uggla has proven his power stroke, and if he can bring that batting average back up, he’ll be quite valuable again. Could be a bargain pick in 2008, after so many were disappointed by him this year.

Dustin Pedroia won’t hit 20 HR or steal 20 bases, but he’s a good bet to hit .300 again, and if he sticks first or second in the Red Sox lineup, he’s a lock to score 100 runs and drive in his fair share of runs, too.

Rickie Weeks just has too much talent, and he could break out at any time. He’s was almost a 20/20 guy this year, despite hitting only .235 for the year. That should tell you something.

My next pick would be Ian Kinsler, who started off strong, slowed down, then got hurt, ruining his fantasy season. Still made the 20/20 club, but just don’t expect .300 to be on his resume for 2008. The Rangers are also gonna be bad for a while without Teixeira. Also just missing this list was Toronto’s Aaron Hill, who should be hitting in a better offense next season. Some other sleepers to watch include the Indians’ Asdrubal Cabrera, who took away the starting job at the end of the season, Kelly Johnson (Braves) and Ryan Theriot (Cubs).