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Second base is a position for the Cincinnati Reds that would seem to be locked up for a while as Brandon Phillips is locked up through 2017 and has 10-and-5 rights to veto any trade. Even though it sounded like the Reds wanted to trade Phillips I don’t believe things ever got serious in moving him.
Historically second base is a position that is often made up from as many former minor league shortstops as it is made up of minor league second baseman. For the purposes of this series I will only be talking about players at the positions that they played the most in the minor leagues during that season. If a player looks to be moved to another position I will note that.
Triple-A saw a majority of their games played at second base by guys in their 30’s. Down in Pensacola there was a decent sized group of guys splitting up the playing time at second base but Ryan Wright topped the list. He began his season in Bakersfield and hit quite well in the first half as he posted a .311/.345/.498 line in the first half before getting promoted to the Blue Wahoos for the second half. The promotion was a struggle though as he posted a .536 OPS as his power dried up and his strikeout rate went way up. Defensively he was strong at both stops though. He’s not going to be confused with a former shortstop in terms of range but he is very sure-handed and will make the play on anything he gets to.
Once Wright was promoted it cleared room in Bakersfield for Juan Perez to slide over from shortstop where he had been splitting some time . It was his second year with the Blaze but his first season where he spent real time off of the shortstop position. At the plate he showed improvements over the 2013 campaign as he hit .267/.307/.427 with a similar walk rate but a lower strikeout rate and more power. His low walk rate is the one thing that seems to be keeping his offensive game from being well rounded. Perez showed no problems making the move to the other side of second base from a defensive side of things.
Jamodrick McGruder got a majority of the starts in Dayton at second base. After being released by Seattle in 2013 the Reds picked him up. McGruder hit .235/.347/.350 on the season with the Dragons. The average wasn’t there for him but he got on base at a strong clip and showed more power than ever before. For a guy who was known for speed he struggled to steal bases as he went 12-20 on the season. Defensively he struggled at times to make even the routine play, but wound up with a .954 fielding percentage on the season.
Down in Billings there were three guys who saw at least 13 games at second base but it was Ty Washington who got more than 50% of the time at the position. Washington returned to Billings for a second year and the 20-year-old improved on the offensive side of things as he posted a higher average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage with his .288/.336/.424 line. His walk and strikeout rates were nearly identical in both years but he showed more power than the previous year. Defensively he saw his error total jump from four all the way to 10 in just three more chances on his way to a .944 fielding percentage.
The Arizona League Reds saw two guys make up a majority of the starts at second base but Shane Mardirosian had more than half of the teams games played at the position. The 7th round pick in the most recent draft struggled as he hit just .164/.261/.230 on the season. His walk rate and strikeout rate were solid enough but the lack of any power and a .206 batting average on balls in play led to a debut with offensive struggles. He did play a bit banged up during the season though which could be a reason for some of the struggles. Defensively he made 12 errors in 34 games as he posted a .922 fielding percentage, but complex level defensive stats, or even offensive ones for that matter don’t give us a ton of insight into the future.
Overall Thoughts
The position is a bit weak. There isn’t a standout prospect at this point in time from the position. While a lot of the guys have something working for them no one has really put the whole package together at this point. There were several guys that will show up on the shortstop list who did spend plenty of time at second base and may eventually make the move in the long run to the position which could strengthen this group, but for now I plan to keep guys at the position they spent the most time at in 2014.
Grade: D+
Top Second Baseman Tools
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| Tool | Top Player |
| Defense | Juan Perez |
| Arm | Juan Perez |
| Hitting | Ty Washington |
| Power | Ryan Wright |
| Runner | McGruder/Mardirosian (tie) |
These tools are based on future grades rather than current grades. It was tough to call on the power as no one really stands out in that category and both Perez and Wright are similar there. Speed was also a tough call as McGruder and Mardirosian both timed out as plus runners. Ty Washington came in well above-average there as well.
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