8. Cesar Hernandez – Philadelphia Phillies
With five consecutive losing seasons, the Philadelphia Phillies continue rebuilding and are slowly gaining a stronger young core group of guys. One of those players is second baseman, Cesar Hernandez.
From the start of the offseason, Hernandez’s name swirled around in numerous trade rumors but heading into Spring Training games; he remains in Philly. And as long as the Phillies don’t trade him, he’ll man that spot until he hits free agency in 2021.
In 2017, Hernandez hit .294/.373/.421 with nine home runs, 34 RBI, 85 runs and a 3.1 bWAR. Hernandez isn’t much of a power hitter, but he plays well as a gap-to-gap guy. His batting average and on-base percentage led all eligible Phillies players last season.
However, the number of games Hernandez missed in 2017 was a downside to an otherwise terrific season. After playing in 155 games in 2016, he played in just 128 games last season. An oblique injury caused Hernandez to miss over a month. However, if Hernandez can stay healthy in 2018 and continue his growth with the Phillies, perhaps he can find himself higher on this list next year.
7. Dee Gordon – Seattle Mariners
Before Dee Gordon was running outfield routes with the Seattle Mariners, he was playing in the middle infield for the Miami Marlins. And even though the Mariners plan to deploy Gordon in center field in 2018, he played as a second baseman last season, so he makes it on this list at No. 7.
The 29-year-old was one of the first Marlins to find himself on a new MLB team heading into 2018. He was part of the newer ownership fire sale in Miami this offseason.
Gordon hit .308/.341/.375 with two home runs, 33 RBI, 114 runs scored and a 3.1 bWAR in 2017. Gordon also recorded 201 hits, which led the NL. And his 60 stolen bases were the most in all of baseball.
Can Gordon handle the transition to center field? The stress of learning a new position could take a toll on the offensive side for Gordon. However, if he can hit as he did in 2017 and play well in center, Mariners’ GM Jerry Dipoto will look like a genius.