Braves rank first in FanGraphs Second Base power rankings

In a weird way, it is easy to forget just how good Ozzie Albies is at baseballing. Part of the problem is that he was hurt last year so we didn’t get to see him do his thing for the entirety of what was already an abbreviated season. The other problem is that he is on one of the more exciting rosters in baseball with Ronald Acuna Jr., Marcell Ozuna, and reigning MVP Freddie Freeman getting a lot of attention. Make no mistake, though...in his short time in the league, Ozzie has established himself as one of the best second basemen in the league and a star in the making overall.

It seems like Fangraphs agrees with that assessment as the Braves were given the first place overall nod in their second base positional power rankings.

FG has Ozzie getting the overwhelming lion’s share of plate appearances at second base with a sprinkling of John Camargo, Ehire Adrianza, and Jason Kipnis. Ozzie alone is predicted to post a 3.9 fWAR next season with an expected wOBA of .347. He takes the crown away from Jose Altuve and the Astros who had dominated this particular category in recent years. No word yet if FG is pricing in diminished returns due to the lack of trash can banging during the 2021 season.

It is worth mentioning that FG does cite some concerns with Ozzie’s strikeout and walk rates, but admits its hard to draw too many conclusions from a small sample size that was marred by injury in 2021 and acknowledged that when he returned from injury, he went wild. Here’s hoping that the Fangraphs folks are right.