Rays long-time infielder gets deserved respect in MLB.com's top 10 second basemen

The Rays seven-year second baseman has received some well-deserved praise from MLB network. Despite his injury concerns over the last few seasons, this power threat has been one of the staples of the Rays offensive efforts.

And as with the 3rd base position, Rays Colored Glasses has their own top 10, with a little blurb on each player.

Unfortunately Jose Altuve has to be included, as much as it pains the writer to do so, because the position is a bit thin and, well, he's pretty good.

Here are the top 10, without too much disagreement with the list, but a few tweaks here and there.

1. Ketel Marte

He's the best second baseman in baseball right now, by a pretty wide margin.

Offensively he's a monster, hitting for pop, leading the position with a whopping 36 homers, and getting on base at a high clip, leading the position with a .372 OBP, and he fields the position well enough even be a Gold Glove candidate in the NL. Easy selection.

2. Marcus Semien

The model of consistency, Semien is one of the healthiest players in baseball, consistently racking up high games played totals.

He fell of quite a bit with the bat this year, only posting a 99 wRC+, but was as good as ever defensively, with a 19 OAA mark, the best of his career, making him a fine choice for runner-up.

3. Jose Altuve

He's still good offensively, but he's become a liability defensively, with a OAA mark really low in the negatives.

If he's to keep up his ranking on this list, he'll have to continue to hit at a pretty high clip, as his defense has been regressing for a few years now, not inspiring confidence that he can turn it around.

4. Nico Hoerner

Hoerner is the class of the position defensively, as he should really be a shortstop but since the Cubs have Dansby Swanson they instead have one of the best defensive middle infields in baseball.

Hoerner is one of the worst power hitters in baseball, as he has one of the lowest hard-hit rates in the game, but he gets on base at a fine rate and runs the bases extremely well, making him a near-4 WAR player. By next season he could be ahead of Altuve.

5. Andrés Giménez

Giménez is now a Toronto Blue Jay after being dealt from the Guardians, and his status as a second baseman could be up in the air as Bo Bichette hits free agency after this season.

Giménez came up as a shortstop but was forced over to second as Amed Rosario played short for Cleveland after the Francisco Lindor trade, but defense is most certainly Giménez' calling card, as he posted a 14 fielding run value this past season. Ridiculous stuff.

Unfortunately, his bat has fallen off a cliff, but if he ever returns to even average he'll be one of the more valuable players in baseball.

6. Brendan Donovan

More of a utility man, Donavan posted a 3.2 fWAR season last year on the strength of a 115 wRC+ and good defense at second.

If he's able to play second more full-time next year he could become even more valuable, as that seems to be his best position defensively.

7. Jazz Chisolm, Jr.

Is he truly a second baseman, or is he going to play third again?

Either way, Chisolm could be poised to shoot up this list if he plays more second next season. He was always good at that position on defense, and playing in New York seemed to really help him regain some of that production he had lost over the years for a middling Marlins club.

The low ranking is really due to doubt over where he's going to play; if he consistently plays second, he'll be in the top-5 pretty easily.

8. Ozzie Albies

Health. Health. Health.

That's the biggest thing for Albies, because when he's right like he was in 2023, he can be a game-changing player on both sides of the ball with his switch-hitting and good enough glove.

9. Brandon Lowe

B-Lowe is a great hitter. There is no doubt about that.

He can play a serviceable second, and isn't exactly a liability out there on the base paths.

The one issue is if he can stay on the field, and if will he be able to actually play second base full time? Those are questions that need to be answered for him to regain his foothold on this list. We certainly believe that Lowe should be on this list, but No. 9 is a more appropriate position for the former third round pick.

10. Jackson Holiday (WC)

He's a former top prospect, so saying he's a "wild card" pick is kind of cheating, but his talent is immense.

If he can settle in a bit at the major league level, No. 10 could seem like a ridiculously low ranking for the former first overall pick.