2009 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers: Second Basemen

1. Mike Fontenot, CHC
Fontenot hit .305 with 9 HRs, 40 RBIs and a .395 OBP. Short (5'8") but compact. About ten percent of every fly ball he hits turns into a homer. Slugged a very respectable .514. Had a very good second half batting .360 after the All Star break. There are problems of course. Chief among them is the fact that he is not the starting second baseman. Newly signed Aaron Miles will start there. But the Cubs will not ignore his numbers, specially his Base on Balls/Strikeout ratio (34-51). Only 28 and with two full years experience in the Majors, Fontenot is already a very solid defensive player which can facilitate his transition into the starting lineup sooner rather than later.

2. Edgard Gonzalez, SD
Edgard's brother, Adrian, is an All Star first baseman for the Padres. After years of struggling down in the minors, big brother Edgard finally made it into the Show last year. In 325 at bat, Gonzalez batted for .274. Showed some pop with seven homers and 33 RBIs in 111 games. Slugged .385 with a 25-76 BB/SO ratio. His biggest contribution came on the bases where he stole 15 of them. At 30, he will probably is too late to have a long term stay in the Majors, but he is a sleeper simply because David Eckstein is the starter. The veteran Eckstein (34 years old) is in the backend of his career. Never blessed with big power, he has lost whatever he had left. Average only 2 HRs and 29 RBIs the last three years. Look for the Padres to give Gonzalez a try at the position early.

3. Ray Durham, FA
At the tail end of a very underrated career. Averaged 14 homers with 68 RBIs the last three seasons, but most of those numbers where made in 2006 and early in 2007. Durham is a lock to bat between .250 and .265 with six to eight HRs and 28-38 RBIs. Still has a very good BB/SO ratio. Will get on base often (.380 in 2008) and can still play good defense, mostly on spurs. He's no longer a "starting" caliber player. but with his experience (14 years in the league) and plate discipline, its hard to figure out why he did not gather more attention in the off season. At 37, the crafty veteran still have one good year on him.

4. Brendan Ryan, STL
Batted .244 with ten RBIs in 197 plate appearances. Had a so-so 16-31 BB/SO ratio and did not have a homer. With those numbers is easy to wonder why he is in the Sleeper list? Well, the answer is Adam Kennedy. Kennedy, who the Cardinals anointed as their 2B for years to come in 2008, went on to struggle for much of the season. In fact, his .219 average was 25 point less than Ryan. The main concern with Ryan is his poor OBP (.307 in 2008) and lack of defining position (he is a Jack of All Trades). If he manages a good spring, he can wrestle the job away from Kennedy.

5. Jayson Nix, CHW
Released by the Colorado franchise after playing a very limited role with their big league club, he displayed very good power in the minors (17 HRs in just 263 at bats). Fast and agile, Nix is a great athlete who happens to play second base. Stole 24 or more bases in the minors. Good range and instincts to play the position. Youth (26 years old) and inexperience could cost him this year. Future look bright and it may come sooner than expected. Could push Chris Getz for playing time. Nix is a .250-.280 type of a hitter who projects as a double digit home run producer. Don't be surprise to see his name being called often by the summer. A real sleeper with ton of potential for more.