The Case for Dustin Pedroia as the Top Ranked Second Baseman

. Full disclosure, I wouldn’t take Dustin Pedroia over Robinson Cano. I had Cano pegged as the top second baseman last year, and I’ll stand by that claim again this year. . That said, it wouldn’t make anybody question your sanity too significantly if you opted to go with Boston’s little big man over his Yankee counterpart. . Cano probably has a higher batting average ceiling than Pedroia, but you’re looking at a .305 lifetime average for Pedroia and a .308 average for Cano. In three of the past five years Pedroia actually finished with a better average. Cano is a more powerful hitter, but their OPSs (Pedroia .836, Cano .843) are nearly identical. Bottom line, that category is a wash. . The remaining two categories are a split. . Cano has the clear edge in  home runs and RBI, averaging 27.3 long balls over the past three years. He has also averaged 104 RBI, a number that is trending up. Meanwhile Pedroia has averaged 17.5 home runs and 81.6 RBI over the past 2.5 years. Obviously if you were looking for power numbers, Cano would be your guy. . However , as I mentioned, they split the remaining four categories of 5