Initial 2009 rankings: Second basemen

In preparation for our early mock draft, we go position-by-position with some preliminary rankings for Draft Day 2009. We continue here with the second base position.

Our rankings are based on position eligibility for next season, which requires 20 games at a position to be eligible. If a player has not played 20 games, his primary position will be defined as what position he has played the most games at -- unless it is a current AL player (that player -- ie, a Dan Johnson -- will be listed at DH).

Initial second base rankings for 2009
RK	Player	TM	The thinking is as follows ...
1	Chase Utley	PHI	Pedroia has outplayed him in the second half, but Utley's power is legendary at the position.
2	Ian Kinsler	TEX	Hernia surgery ended his season early or else we might have seen him go 20-30.
3	Dustin Pedroia	BOS	So much for him having a sophomore swoon. Can D-Ped go .300-20-100-100-20 annually?
4	Brian Roberts	BAL	He is a pick here for one of the most underrated players in baseball and Fantasy.
5	Brandon Phillips	CIN	After looking like a 30-30 player in '07, he barely made it to 20-20; still rare at the position.
6	Dan Uggla	FLA	A poor second half gives cause for concern. At times he can look like the best at his position.
7	Alexei Ramirez	CHW	One of the year's breakthrough players could be higher on this list, but is he a sure thing?
8	Robinson Cano	NYY	This season has been a disaster, but if he is not traded, you should expect a rebound.
9	Mark DeRosa	CHC	He is top five at the position in the power categories, so he is a bit underrated at this spot.
10	Jose Lopez	SEA	You might not trust his numbers, but we figure this overlooked commodity will only get better.
11	Kelly Johnson	ATL	He is much better than he has shown this season; the Braves need to let him go vs. LHP.
12	Placido Polanco	DET	Doesn't have much power or steals potential but he can be as steady as they come.
13	Rickie Weeks	MIL	Annual disappointment has to be ranked this low because he has turned so many off on him.
14	Mike Aviles	KC	This 27-year-old surprise can really hit and likely earned himself the everyday shortstop's job.
15	Orlando Hudson	ARI	If not for another season-ending injury, he could have been in the top 10. Injury risk remains.
16	Howie Kendrick	LAA	If you could only put Weeks and Kendrick together to make one good one ... a lot of upside still.
17	Jeff Kent	LAD	We are not sure the vet will play next season, but he can still impact any Fantasy format.
18	Freddy Sanchez	PIT	Scorching hot second half helped him make a market correction; he was cooler with versatility.
19	Akinori Iwamura	TB	Import was supposed to have a lot more power, but his bat is serviceable at this thin position.
20	Aaron Hill	TOR	Post-concussion syndrome has cost some their career, but Hill should be able to rebound.
21	Kazuo Matsui	HOU	If he ever put a full season together ... oh, who are we kidding? Expect a half-season player.
22	Brendan Harris	MIN	We are not convinced he will be an everyday player long term, but there is more pop in his bat.
23	Clint Barmes	COL	It was a nice renaissance year for the one-time NL ROY candidate who fell down the stairs.
24	Mike Fontenot	CHC	Numbers warrant a regular job, but he has to share at-bats with a top-10 guy on this list.
25	Alexi Casilla	MIN	Somehow, the slap-hitting base-stealer popped some homers but didn't steal enough for us.
26	Luis Castillo	NYM	The steals rebounded some, but the Mets are not playing him and might find him a new home.
27	Felipe Lopez	STL	Speed and power are still there and showed better with the Cards, but where does he play?
28	Asdrubal Cabrera	CLE	Sophomore bust will never be a great Fantasy player, but he should prove more steady in '09.
29	Chris Getz	CHW	Sum of the whole is greater than the value of the parts; Getz can start if Ramirez moves to SS.
30	Mark Ellis	OAK	Shoulder surgery tends to be troublesome for sluggers; it could completely sap Ellis' value.
31	Mark Grudzielanek	KC	His bat isn't finished but his age suggests he could be as an everyday player.
32	Ronnie Belliard	WAS	He could always hit, but his suspect glove will keep him from being an everyday player again.
33	Matt Antonelli	SD	He was an elite prospect coming into the year, but he had a year to forget; he should rebound.
34	Alberto Callaspo	KC	Great contact hitter looks like a .300-hitter long term, so Royals need to give him the job.
35	Blake DeWitt	LAD	We like his pop and he will be a nice sleeper in NL-only formats if he earns a starting job.
36	Marco Scutaro	TOR	Super sub earns more at-bats than he deserves, but never bother with him in mixed leagues.
37	Nick Punto	MIN	Slap-hitting, base-stealing, glove man is a deeper AL-only Rotisserie sleeper but that's it.
38	Maicer Izturis	LAA	Yet another good-glove middle infielder who can chip in steals but does little else.
39	Omar Infante	ATL	He is a good bat who deserves more at-bats than he will get, but something might happen.
40	Jeff Baker	COL	He is as streaky as they come, but until he gets a full-time job, he just cannot be rated highly.

Did we sell someone short? Overrate someone? You can e-mail Emack your Fantasy Baseball comments about our rankings to DMFantasyBaseball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Second base rankings in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we cannot guarantee personal responses to all questions.