Jose Altuve has the greater reputation — no doubt about that — but Marcus Semien was the better second baseman during the past three seasons.
Semien, in fact, was the very best second basemen over the span from 2020 through 2022, according to ratings generated by my 10-part formula.
I’m devoting successive Thursdays to a position-by-position review of the top players in contemporary baseball. Previous installments focused on catchers and first basemen. Today’s rankings are confined to the 30 players who made at least 750 plate appearances in the three-year period and spent more than half of their time as second basemen. (The formula took all of each player’s statistics into account, even when he was at other positions.)
Click here to learn about the inner workings of my formula. It ranks the players at each position from top to bottom, then assigns scores of 1,000 points to the leader and 0 points to the tailender. Everybody else’s scores are determined by their relative placements between top and bottom.
Semien had an outstanding season with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021, bashing 45 homers and driving in 102 runs. He then joined the Texas Rangers as a free agent, proving his durability last year by leading the majors in plate appearances (724).
Altuve’s 2020-2022 batting average for the Houston Astros (.278) was far superior to Semien’s .252. But Semien led in wins above replacement (13.3 vs. 9.4), defensive WAR (3.3 vs. minus-1.1), total games played (376 vs. 335), and hits (383 vs. 367).
Rounding out the top five at second base are Tommy Edman of the St. Louis Cardinals, Jake Cronenworth of the San Diego Padres, and Jeff McNeil of the New York Mets.
Baseball’s top 15 second basemen are listed below, with statistical breakdowns for the five leaders.
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1. Marcus Semien (2020-2022)
Score: 1,000 points
WAR: 13.3 total, 4.0 per 500 PA, 3.3 defensive
Averages: .252 BA, .468 SLG, .781 BPO
Scoring: 374 R generated, 111 per 500 PA
Totals: 376 G, 383 H
Notes: Semien pulled off a strange feat, finishing first in these rankings while playing for three different franchises in three years. He spent 2020’s Covid-shortened season with the Oakland Athletics, slipped to Toronto on a one-year free-agent deal, then decamped for Texas.
2. Jose Altuve (2020-2022)
Score: 888 points
WAR: 9.4 total, 3.2 per 500 PA, -1.1 defensive
Averages: .278 BA, .486 SLG, .842 BPO
Scoring: 346 R generated, 116 per 500 PA
Totals: 335 G, 367 H
Notes: Altuve, who is currently on the injured list, has starred for the Astros for a decade. His laurels include the American League’s Most Valuable Player Award in 2017, a Gold Glove, and three batting titles.
3. Tommy Edman (2020-2022)
Score: 836 points
WAR: 11.2 total, 3.6 per 500 PA, 4.5 defensive
Averages: .262 BA, .390 SLG, .682 BPO
Scoring: 325 R generated, 105 per 500 PA
Totals: 367 G, 372 H
Notes: Edman is the top-rated defender among all current second basemen, and he has a Gold Glove to buttress his case. Second base is his primary position, but the Cardinals have also played him at short, third, and all three outfield positions.
4. Jake Cronenworth (2020-2022)
Score: 833 points
WAR: 10.5 total, 3.5 per 500 PA, 1.3 defensive
Averages: .256 BA, .431 SLG, .753 BPO
Scoring: 345 R generated, 114 per 500 PA
Totals: 364 G, 340 H
Notes: Cronenworth finished second (to Milwaukee’s Devin Williams) in balloting for the National League’s 2020 Rookie of the Year. He was named to the league’s All-Star teams in both subsequent seasons.
5. Jeff McNeil (2020-2022)
Score: 726 points
WAR: 8.6 total, 3.5 per 500 PA, 1.5 defensive
Averages: .298 BA, .421 SLG, .738 BPO
Scoring: 240 R generated, 98 per 500 PA
Totals: 320 G, 328 H
Notes: McNeil led the National League in two statistical categories last season. He won the batting championship with a .326 average. And he finished as the contact king, striking out only 11.4 percent of the time, the lowest figure in the NL.
Next 10
6. Brandon Lowe
7. DJ LeMahieu
10. Whit Merrifield
11. Ozzie Albies
12. Kolten Wong
13. Jean Segura
14. Adam Frazier
15. Brendan Rodgers