Best and worst second basemen in MLB for 2016

Altuve has quickly turned into one of the best pure hitters in the game. He posted a .341 average with a .377 on-base percentage in 2014. And while each of those numbers decreased last year, Altuve still split at .313 and .353. He's also stolen 94 bases while racking up 87 doubles over the past two years. Defensively, he's posted a positive WAR each season during this span as well.

A career .225 hitter with an equally horrendous .271 on-base percentage, Goins brings absolutely nothing of substance from the plate. Now take into account the eight homers he's hit in nearly 700 at-bats heading into the 2016 season, and it's abundantly clear he's nothing more than a deep bench option. No matter how good his defense might be, that performance at the plate is not acceptable. 

A four-time Gold Glove winner, what Pedroia does in the field is only overlooked because of his consistent success at the plate. The former MVP is hitting at a near .300 clip for his career and has posted 40-plus extra-base hits in five of the past six seasons. Add in a career .365 on-base percentage, and there's very little reason to believe Pedroia isn't among the top players at his position in the game. 

Still out with injury, I guess A's fans can take solace in the fact that Sogard hasn't seen the diamond yet this season. Here's a dude who failed to put up even a .300 on-base percentage as a near everyday player over the past two seasons. With a total of three homers in nearly 700 at-bats during that span, he doesn't even bring any type of pop from the plate. A Triple-A player performing in the majors out of necessity, that's what Sogard has been up until this season. 

Dozier has hit 20-plus homers while driving in 70-plus runs in each of the past two seasons. Those are rare power numbers from the second base position. Despite substandard defensive metrics, what this 29-year-old does at the plate makes him among the best in the game. 

After hitting .318 for the Detroit Tigers back in 2013, Infante has seen his offensive numbers decline rapidly. He posted a .255 average with a sub .300 on-base percentage in 2014 before seeing those numbers drop to .220 and an absurdly low .234 last year. With only eight homers in his past 1,100-plus at-bats, power is obviously an issue here as well. No matter how good he might be defensively, this type of lack of production at the plate is an issue. 

Cano's power numbers have decreased since he left New York following the 2013 season, but he still hit 21 homers with 56 extra-base hits and a .780 OPS a season ago. It also doesn't hurt that Cano has put up a .300-plus average in six of the past seven seasons. 

Remember Rosales splitting time between Texas and Oakland on multiple occasions years back? That's when he was seen as a valuable depth player. Since then, any idea of this utility man being asked to start hasn't necessarily worked out. He hit .190 in 150 at-bats between Oakland and Texas back in 2013 before seeing his average climb to .262 back in 2014. Unfortunately, when tasked with playing a semi-major role last season, Rosales failed big time. In 20 starts, he hit just .228 with a .295 on-base percentage while striking out in well over a quarter of his at-bats. As a regular in San Diego this season, it hasn't gotten much better. 

Double-digit homers and steals in each of the past six seasons. A total of 70-plus RBI in seven of the past eight years. These are consistently good stats from a player who's been among the game's best for the better part of the past decade. Even at 33 years old, it doesn't seem like Kinsler is on the verge of slowing down anytime soon. 

Hitting one homer in 435 at-bats isn't a good thing, no matter what position you play. Posting a .272 average might be decent, but the lack of power for Hernandez was a major issue last season. Add in a negative defensive WAR in his first three years in the majors, and there's not much value in having Hernandez start at second base. 

It was somewhat of a surprise to see the Pittsburgh Pirates move on from Walker this past winter. After all, he was coming off a 16-homer, 71-RBI performance, his second consecutive season putting up superior power numbers from a middle infield position. All said, Walker has now put up double-digit homers in seven consecutive seasons. Not too shabby at all. 

There was a time not too long ago that Utley was considered one of the top overall players in the game. During a five-year span earlier in his career, Utley earned an All-Star appearance each season, posting a .332 average with a .410 on-base percentage back in 2007. Though, Father Time surely has caught up to him. He hit .212 with a .286 OBP between Philadelphia and Los Angeles last season. Without much in terms of defense (negative defensive WAR two of the past three seasons), Utley's best days are clearly behind him. 

Coming off his first season of hitting .300-plus, Kipnis has matured into one of the best players on a surprisingly good Indians squad. Last year saw him hit .303 with a .372 on-base percentage and .823 OPS, extraordinary stats from a middle infielder. He also put up 43 doubles and seven triples in the process. Despite failing to hit 10-plus homers in each of the past two seasons, these are mighty fine numbers. 

There was a time when some thought Drew might end up being a good baseball player. That was a long time ago. Now 33 years old, he's a shell of his formerly average self. Drew hit 17 homers for the Yankees last year but also posted a .201 average with a .271 OBP. This came on the heels of him putting up a .162/.237 split back in 2014. The only real positive here is that Drew has been an above-replacement defensive player throughout his career.

While Panik has yet to play a full season in the majors, he's proved himself to be one of the best young hitters in the game. The 25-year-old hit .312 with a .378 on-base percentage en route to earning an All-Star appearance last season. That came on the heels of him posting a .305 average as a rookie in 2014. 

Frankin has hit four homers and driven in 18 runs in nearly 200 at-bats over the past two seasons. He entered the 2016 campaign as a career .203 hitter with a .277 on-base percentage. He's also put up a negative defensive WAR over the past two seasons. Not exactly what many had envisioned when the Seattle Mariners took him in the first round of the 2009 MLB Draft. 

Sure, Phillips has lost some of his fielding prowess in his latter years, but he's still an above-average defensive second baseman with darn good range. At the plate, here's a guy who's put up double-digit homers in nine of the past 10 seasons, posting 30-plus doubles five times during that span. Again, these are not normal numbers for a middle infielder. 

The good news here is that Johnson can play anywhere on the diamond outside of catcher. The bad news? He doesn't necessarily do any of it all too well. Johnson did put up a decent .265 average between the Mets and Braves last season. This came after a 2014 campaign that saw him post a .215 average and a sub-.300 OBP. He's also posted a negative WAR in four of his past five seasons.