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AL East Positional Rankings: Baltimore Orioles’ Jonathan Schoop Joins Long List of All-Star Second Basemen

By Nate Wardle

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - SEPTEMBER 30: Jonathan Schoop
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - SEPTEMBER 30: Jonathan Schoop /
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2. New York Yankees

Second basemen: Starlin Castro, Ronald Torreyes, Tyler Wade

Castro had a fantastic year offensively, proving his role in the Yankees’ offense. Castro hit .300/.338/.454 with 16 home runs, 18 doubles, 63 runs batted in and 66 runs in 112 games played.

Castro made the All-Star Game at second base, rewarding him for his high season.

I remarked in my preseason post that his defense is something that has struggled since his time in Chicago, and 2017 was no different. Castro had a 2.6 offensive WAR, but a -0.3 defensive WAR.

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To add to that, he had 11 errors in 110 games, which was tied for third-most in the American League. His range factor is below league average, and his fielding percentage of .973 was not good.

Ronald Torreyes did an admirable job feeling in at numerous positions for the Yankees. Like most utility players, Torreyes doesn’t have any power, but he hit .292/.314/.375 with three home runs, 15 doubles, 36 runs batted in and 35 runs in 108 games played and 336 plate appearances.

Torreyes played 54 games at second, 36 at shortstop and 26 at third base, highlighting his utilityman nature. The defense he provided was average, not that sticks out either positively or negatively, which is to be expected from a utility player.

Wade made his major league debut in 2017, playing 15 games at the position and starting 11. Both the offense and defense were not good for the 22-year-old utility player.

Castro has several more years on his contract, so the Yankees will likely have the same second baseman in 2018 as they did in 2017.

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