He entered the season as the league’s premier second sacker and he will head into the break with the same honor. Roberts, not known for his power outside of that white-hot start back in 2005, has been a stolen base machine with 26. His .410 on-base is ninth in the American League. Though he almost wins by default, it does not take away from his incredible numbers.

National League Second Baseman – Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies (.322/.402/.572, 15 HR, 66 RBI, 59 R, 6 SB)

Even more so than Roberts, Utley was the class of his position coming into 2007. In fact, Utley over his peers at second base was said to be the largest margin between the best player at a position and the rest of the field. Utley has lived up to the high praise with a great first half. He is two home runs behind Dan Uggla for first place, but he holds a significant margin in everything else. Simply put, he is the best fantasy baseball second baseman in the game and easily one of the top overall producers as well.

Biggest Bust – Robinson Cano (well off of his career numbers across the board)

Best Value – Aaron Hill (a find on the wire with 46 RBIs already this season; he has 50 all of last year)

OBP-League Boost – Jeff Kent (sees an 86-point rise when shifting to the better league format)

American League Shortstop – Carlos Guillen, Detroit Tigers (.320/.389/.560, 12 HR, 59 RBI, 45 R, 6 SB)

Guillen fought off Jhonny Peralta’s resurgence to grab the title as best shortstop in the American League. But Peralta’s 66 strikeouts against 33 walks pales in comparison to Guillen’s 35-to-30 ratio. He has been caught stealing five of the eleven times he has tried, but few leagues penalize caught stolen base attempts anyway. Derek Jeter has had a solid first half as well, but he has far fewer home runs than Guillen and Peralta, just a few more steals and a negligible lead in average and on-base over Guillen.

National League Shortstop – Jose Reyes, New York Mets (.316/.397/.453, 4 HR, 49 RBI, 57 R, 40 SB)

The most hotly contested battle yet is at the NL shortstop position with several deserving candidates, but in the end, Reyes’ 15 more stolen bases were worth more than Ramirez’ seven extra home runs. Everything else is pretty much a wash and you can’t go wrong with either, but there is such a premium placed on stolen bases that Reyes had to get the nod.

Biggest Bust – Julio Lugo (he has been just awful despite the 20 stolen bases)

Best Value – J.J. Hardy (most expected his first half line to be a season total line. Hats off to Brendan Harris in an honorable mention role here)

OBP-League Boost – Troy Tulowitzki (Rookie of the Year candidate gets a 77-point increase)

American League Third Baseman – Alex Rodriguez (.318/.416/.662, 28 HR, 80 RBI, 74 R, 9 SB)

The American League MVP thus far, A-Rod has annihilated opposing pitchers in the first half of the season. He has more home runs than the second and third place home run hitters at the hot corner in the AL. His OPS is over 200 points higher than the second best at third (Mike Lowell, .851). Simply put, he is having possibly his best season ever. Lowell and Casey Blake have been very adequate, but no one touches A-Rod in 2007.

National League Third Baseman – David Wright (.290/.377/.502, 14 HR, 45 RBI, 46 R, 18 SB)

Chipper Jones might have snatched this honor from Wright had he not missed time, but the completeness of Wright’s numbers gave him the nod rather easily. Jones, Miguel Cabrera, and Aramis Ramirez give third base in the National League significant depth, but no one mixes the power and speed like Wright. He doesn’t have the average of the other three, but his .290 is hardly something to get bent out of shape over and then you factor in the 18 stolen bases and completely forget about the 20-25 point difference in batting average. If your league is smart enough to use OBP, then Wright is just as good as his peers with a robust .377.

Biggest Bust – Garrett Atkins (he’s trying to atone for his sins with his tremendous June in which he hit .305 with eight home runs, but he needs a strong second half to justify his draft slot/dollar value)

Best Value – Melvin Mora (fell of the map with the power drop in 2006, but putting together a solid campaign thus far)

OBP-League Boost – Brandon Inge (a 96-point difference erases the .247 average)

Tomorrow, I will finish up with the outfielders and pitchers.

Have a question or comment for Paul? If so, drop him an email at paulsporer@sportsgrumblings.com.