Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis broke out in 2013 as a five-tool second baseman, and he could be a terrific player to have for your fantasy baseball team since second base is such a thin position.
His 2013 featured a .284 average, seventeen home runs, 84 RBI and 30 steals. Incredible numbers for a second-year second baseman from all around the stat chart.
If you have a late second round/early third round pick, such as first, second or third overall in your draft; the question will arise whether or not to take Kipnis.
You probably already drafted Mike Trout, Miguel Cabrera, Paul Goldschmidt or Andrew McCutchen, and are debating whether or not you want to take a pitcher like Yu Darvish or Cliff Lee, or an offensive player.
Remember, if you are in this position, you will have two picks fairly close to each other, so you will probably have a chance to get both. The question is, are you in need of a second baseman more than another star offensive player like Joey Votto, David Wright or Bryce Harper?
Sure, Kipnis may not have the reputation as those three mentioned, but he plays at a much thinner position. He will give you every single offensive category you need, and if you pass up on him, you may need to wait for a lower-tier second baseman to fill out the hole in your lineup in a later round.
If you pass on Kipnis in the late second round (if, say, you have the third overall pick in a ten-team league) and hope for him to be there in the third, he could certainly be taken before your next pick. This is where Dustin Pedroia comes in.
The Red Sox second baseman may hit for a better average than Kipnis, but he will not put up the same power numbers or steal the same amount of bases. However, he rounds out the trio of baseball's elite second basemen, which also includes Seattle Mariner Robinson Cano.
Pedroia will likely be taken after Kipnis in your draft, so if you want to take another elite player with your second round pick, you may have a cushion in Pedroia as your second baseman. If you want someone who can put up better all-around numbers, though, spending your (late) second round pick on Jason Kipnis will definitely not hurt. You will be able to get solid names at the deeper positions while also shoring up one of the weakest positions in fantasy baseball, leading to more offense all around for your team.