Washington Nationals: Where Daniel Murphy Ranks Among NL East 2nd Basemen

Our position-by-position rankings continue as we look at where Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy ranks among second basemen

Leading up to spring training, we have been ranking the National League East by position. So far, we have looked at catcher and center fielder with Washington Nationals Derek Norris and Adam Eaton ranking fifth and third on their respective lists. Today, we continue with second base.

Last offseason, the Washington Nationals and New York Mets each acquired new second basemen when the Nats signed former Met Daniel Murphy and the Mets traded for Neil Walker, who was the Pirates.

When you look at this offseason around the division, there aren’t any changes that have been made at the position. Dee Gordon is back for the Marlins after missing 80 games last season due to a PED suspension and should be the everyday second baseman in 2017.

As for the other two teams, Cesar Hernandez is back at second base for the Phillies. If there is one team that made some changes, it’s the Braves. Atlanta signed Sean Rodriguez to a one-year deal as their utility man. He could see sometime at second base along with Jace Peterson (projected starter on Roster Resource).

Heading into last season, our staff writer Matt Weyrich had Gordon as the top second baseman in the league ahead of Walker and Murphy. How will our rankings look this season? You are about to find out. Feel free to share your rankings of the NL East at second base with us in our comments section:

5. Jace Peterson

2016 Stats: .254/.360/.366, seven home runs, 29 RBI’s, five stolen bases in 115 games

This will be Peterson’s third season with the Atlanta Braves organization. In December 2014, Peterson was traded along with two other players from the San Diego Padres to Atlanta in the Justin Upton trade.

The 26-year-old left-handed hitter (turns 27 in May) played in 37 fewer games in 2016 than in 2015. Despite having higher home run and RBI totals last season, Peterson has only hit .245 in his two seasons with Atlanta.

One of the areas that he has struggled at is in the field. He has made 20 errors the last two seasons and his 11 errors in 2016 were the fourth most among National League second baseman (one lower than Hernandez if you rank by division). From a sabermetric standpoint, Peterson dropped from -1 run saved in 2015 to -6 in 2016 (according to Fangraphs).

While Peterson did have a great month of June last season (.352, two home runs, seven RBI’s), he failed to hit higher than .250 in any of the other months of the year. Now, heading into 2017, Peterson may not have that role for long if his production doesn’t pick up.

As I mentioned earlier, Atlanta signed Sean Rodriguez as their utility player. Rodriguez is coming off of a 18 home run year with the Pittsburgh Pirates (a career high) and he has played in 139+ games each of the last two seasons.

If Rodriguez doesn’t take that spot, keep an eye on Ozzie Albies at triple-A Gwinnett. With Dansby Swanson set as the Braves shortstop of the future, the 20-year-old could get a call-up late in the season if he excels in the minor leagues (.248 in 56 games last season).

4. Cesar Hernandez

2016 stats: .294/.371/.393, six home runs, 39 RBI’s, 17 stolen bases in 155 games

After playing in 100 combined games in his first two seasons in the big leagues, Hernandez appeared in 127 games in 2015 and 155 last season. His 3.3 WAR last season (according to ESPN) was the fourth highest among all second baseman in the National League.

When you look at Hernandez’s game, he doesn’t have much power, but he can play a factor on the bases. He was tied with Brandon Crawford (Giants) and Chris Owings (Diamondbacks) for the most triples in the NL in 2016. Plus, his 17 stolen bases were the third most among NL second basemen.

As a switch hitter, Hernandez hits better from the right side. He had a .341 average as a right-handed batter compared to hitting .279 as a left-handed hitter. During the second half of last season, he had an on-base percentage of .413 and he ended the season strong as he hit .317 in the month of September.

If you go by defense, Hernandez does make a good amount of errors (12 last season – third among NL second basemen), but the advanced stat show a different picture. His four runs saved last season were second among NL second basemen behind only Josh Harrison from the Pirates with eight (Fangraphs).

As the projected leadoff hitter (courtesy of Roster Resource), Hernandez will look to set the tempo for the Phillies offense this season. The 26-year-old (turns 27 in May) struggled against the Nats last season (.222 in 19 games), but it looks like he has a good future ahead of him.

3. Neil Walker (NYM)

2016 stats: .282/.347/.476, 23 home runs, 55 RBI’s, three stolen bases in 113 games

This offseason, the Mets offered Walker the qualifying offer of one year, $17.2 million and he chose to accept it. There’s a little bit of uncertainty around Walker since he had to undergo back surgery in September last year.

Before the back injury, Walker had 15 home runs in the first half of the season. Out of those 15 home runs, nine of them came in the month of April when he hit .307 with 19 RBI’s. As Murphy was doing well for the Nats, the Met fan was equally pleased with Walker to start off the year.

Over the last four seasons, Walker has hit 16 home runs or more in each year. Plus, he has been at least a two win player if you go by WAR in every season since 2011 (according to Baseball Reference).

Defensively, Walker is an upgrade over what the Mets used to have in Murphy. He has zero runs saved (according to Fangraphs), so he is not going to be one of those players that will cost his team a game because of his defense.

With the Mets relying on power to score runs last season, Walker is of high value to their team. If he can stay healthy and the back problem doesn’t persist, he could easily be a top two player at this position in the division. New York brings back the same lineup as last season as of right now, so they will need the 31-year-old (turns 32 in September) to have another 15-20 home run season.

2. Dee Gordon (MIA)

2016 stats: .268/.305/.335, one home run, 14 RBI’s, 30 stolen bases in 79 games

In late April last season, Gordon was suspended 80 games for PED use. Before the suspension, he was hitting .266 with five RBI’s and was 6-for-8 in stolen bases. Once he came back, Gordon hit .268 in the second half of the season.

The one home run that Gordon hit last season ended up being one of the moments of last season. In the first Marlins game played after the tragic death of Jose Fernandez, he hit a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the first inning against the Mets.

Despite playing in just 79 games, the 28-year-old (turns 29 in April) was one of the best base stealers in the National League. His 30 stolen bases were the second most among NL second baseman (Jean Segura of the Diamondbacks led with 33).

In the field, Gordon made seven errors in 78 games in 2016, which is one more than he made in 145 games back in 2015. However, if you go by his defensive runs saved number from 2015, he is one of the better defenders in the league. His 13 runs saved were the highest among NL second basemen (Fangraphs).

Gordon is just one year removed from leading the entire NL in hits with 205 and having 58 steals (122 stolen bases combined in 2014 and 2015). If Miami is going to contend, they need Gordon to be on the field at an everyday basis.