I recently signed up for The Athletic because Keith Law joined them. I was extremely surprised and delighted how robust their fantasy draft kit is. I randomly found it last night and I spent 2.5 hours reading the material. I recommend subscribing.

I was reading their round table on second base. Michael Salfino said, “He (Ozzie Albies) seems terribly overrated as a hitter.” I was surprised to read that because I think of Albies as one of the most consistent second basemen available. For his career he’s hit .279 and provides 24 home runs, 14-15 stolen bases with 100-plus runs all before he turned 23 years old.

In the month of February at NFBC he’s going as the third second basemen at pick 40.5. Albies is my first rated second baseman but he’s barely above Jose Altuve and Gleyber Torres so it’s all about preference among these three hitters.

Below is my projection for Albies. Other than a regression in batting average and RBI I projected similar numbers to last year.

I don’t understand why some people would see Albies as overrated. Maybe it was because he was never a “big” prospect coming up through the minors? Or maybe it’s because he’s not overly flashy in real life and in fantasy. He’s kind of like owning a Volvo in the early 2000s. (I was in college at this time so my analogy is based on my personal experience.) It drove and handled well, had more steel than most other cars and therefore was safer and you never impressed a woman with it.

I’m projecting 24.5 home runs but it’s possible Albies could hit for more power because his hard hit rate shot up 23 percent last year and he’ll only be 23 this year so it’s possible he got stronger in the offseason.

Since he’s still very young the stolen bases should be relatively safe. I’m projecting 15 stolen bases. If only steals seven he goes from my number one second basemen to my seventh—that’s how closely bunched up the top seven second basemen are ranked.

The bottom line is Albies could finish the season as the best second baseman or the 8-9th because the difference between all the players is marginal. However, if he does finish as the 8th best second baseman I don’t think you’re losing value at his current ADP.