Eric at Rays Anatomy has a fun post up debating the relative merits of B.J. Upton and Robinson Cano. I’m pretty squarely in the Upton camp on this one. Cano is a terrific young player, but much of his value is tied into batting average, and second basemen don’t always age well.
Upton, meanwhile, just posted a 136 OPS+ as a 22-year-old, which is ridiculous. In the history of baseball, 48 players have been that productive at that age. Only 11 of those seasons have come in the last 30 years:

Jack Clark, 1978, 152 OPS+
Eddie Murray, 1978, 140
Rickey Henderson, 1981, 150
Cal …read more

Will at Chop-n-Change takes a look at Kelly Johnson’s development as a player. You don’t see a lot of guys make a successful transition from the outfield to the infield, particularly on the middle of the diamond. Kudos to the Braves for taking a chance and to Johnson for making the most of it. If he can continue to build on last season’s success, Johnson should remain near the top of the heap among big-league second basemen.