The National League East features a solid batch of second basemen. They collectively hold several accolades, including seven All-Star selections, three league batting titles (two of which were Major League batting titles), and five Silver Slugger awards.
Jeff McNeil, second baseman for the New York Mets, is one of those players who has accomplished plenty in his six-year career. 2023 was not kind to him, however, and he is surely hoping for a bounce-back 2024 campaign. So, where does he rank among second basemen within the NL East? Does a poor 2023 season knock him down a spot or two? Continuing Metsmerized Online’s series of NL East positional rankings, this is how the second basemen stack up.
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There is a clear choice for the no. 5 spot here, and that’s not necessarily a knock on Luis García. All it shows is the talent each team in the division has at the second base position. Nevertheless, García is nothing more than a below-average player at best. He’s been in Washington for four years but didn’t get quality playing time until after the 2021 trade deadline, which saw Trea Turner and Josh Harrison shipped away.
In his four years in the big leagues, García carries a career .690 OPS and has never hit double-digit home runs in a single season; his career high is nine, set in 2023. He has also yet to play more than 122 games or record more than 482 plate appearances in a single season, so 2024 could certainly be a breakout year for him if he can stay healthy and play nearly every day. It’s also important to mention that, despite being in the big leagues for four years, García is still just 23 years old. While he finds himself at no. 5 on this list now, he has plenty of potential to improve his standing in the future.
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Bryson Stott has only been in the big leagues for two seasons, but in those two seasons, he has seen his team reach the World Series and come within one win of going to the World Series in back-to-back years. As the everyday second baseman on a dangerous Phillies team, he has provided many big moments but still leaves much to be desired.
The 25-year-old lefty improved a lot at the plate from 2022 to 2023, seeing his OPS rise nearly .100 points from .653 to .747. Still, though, he is not at the level the Phillies are hoping he can reach. 2024 could be the year he reaches that level, but to this point, he has yet to show he’s nothing more than an average hitter. Playing every day in 2023 and recording 640 plate appearances, Stott recorded just 15 home runs and 62 RBIs. While these numbers are respectable, you would probably expect more from the sheer volume of at-bats he took.
Stott happens to be a very good defender (99th percentile in OAA in 2023) so that certainly makes up for not being elite at the plate. Like García, he is still young and has plenty of room to grow. In most other divisions, Stott would find himself higher than no. 4 in the rankings, but this is where he currently lands in the NL East.
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Ranking Jeff McNeil after his 2023 season is difficult because he definitely did not play up to his ability. At his best, McNeil is an All-Star and a batting champion, and he has accomplished both in his career as recently as 2022. In 2023, though, his OPS dropped over .100 points (.836 to .711) from the season before, and his average alone dropped .056 points (.326 to .270).
McNeil is now four years into a pattern that has seen him alternate good and bad years at the plate. In 2024, Eric Chávez returns as hitting coach, which is significant because McNeil won his only batting title with Chávez as the hitting coach in 2022. McNeil is surely hoping he can recapture some of the elite contact ability he has demonstrated throughout his career again in 2024. If he does? He can compete for an All-Star selection and another batting title. If he doesn’t? It’ll be another rough year in the shadow of two of the division’s (and league’s) best second basemen.
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While McNeil at his best is regarded as one of the best contact hitters in the sport, he’s not even the best contact hitter in his division anymore. In year one on the Marlins, Luis Arráez casually hit .354 in 617 plate appearances, the highest average in a single season since Josh Hamilton hit .359 in 2010. For a while, it looked like Arráez might be able to hit .400 on the year, but I’m sure he’s okay with settling for .354.
In addition to recording a hit seemingly every time he stepped up to the plate, Arráez also walked more than he struck out in 2023, the second consecutive year in which he did that. He has made two consecutive All-Star teams, won two consecutive batting titles, and carries a career .326 average.
The downside for Arráez is that hitting is the only thing he does well. He can’t run and is not very good defensively (1st percentile in OAA in 2023). He hits so well, though, that it almost doesn’t matter. There will never be another Tony Gwynn, but Arráez is the closest thing we’ve seen to him in a long time.
Ozzie Albies. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
You could absolutely make the case that Arráez is the best second baseman in the NL East, but it would be hard to argue against Ozzie Albies. Albies was an All-Star and a second-team All-MLB selection in 2023, the best year of his seven-year career. He recorded a marginally lower OPS than Arráez (.849 compared to .861) but set career highs in home runs (33) and RBIs (109), both of which led primary second basemen in 2023.
What most separates Albies from Arráez is, of course, his ability to hit for power. In 2023, Albies recorded 68 extra-base hits and had a .233 ISO compared to Arráez, who had 43 extra-base hits and a .115 ISO. Albies served as an integral member of one of the most productive lineups in MLB history and is currently one of the top players at his position in the league. Heading into 2024, he takes the crown for best second baseman in the NL East.
The post 2024 NL East Position Rankings: Second Base Edition first appeared on Metsmerized Online.
