MLB: The game’s most valuable second basemen
By Bill Felber
MLB’s most valuable 2B of 2019
6. Whit Merrifield, Kansas City Royals, $7.717 million value; $1 million salary
Like Alberto and Villar – and also like a couple of guys yet to come on this list – Merrifield split time between second and another position or two during 2019, in his case those other positions including right and center field.
Indeed he divided time almost evenly between second and the outfield, logging only 40 more innings at second than chasing down flies.
In 2019, Merrifield’s value primarily derived from his production at the plate. He batted .302, always a nice number for somebody considered a middle infielder, with a league-best 206 base hits. Beyond that, he did while playing in all 162 games.
That equaled a 4.0 WAR amounting to $4.263 million in value for his offense alone. The 1,331 innings he played was fifth best, generating nearly another $1 million in value.
Merrifield also displayed the best range of any second baseman in MLB,. He was the only one to average more than 5 chances per nine innings at the position, equating to $1.495 million in value and raising the question of why the Royals ever moved him into the outfield.
The only reason he doesn’t rank even higher on this list was his certainty with the ball when he got to it. He carried a .979 fielding percentage, on the low side of mediocre for the position and ranking only 21st among the 35 players assessed as second basemen. It equated to $970,000 in value for that skill.