Athen » Investec Test at Chester-le-Street, Botham can see England

Hes moved across the country, and to a ballpark that isnt as hitter-friendly, but Robinson Cano remains the best of the bunch at second base. Over the past five seasons, Cano has led second basemen with 142 home runs, 496 runs scored, 513 RBI and a .314 batting average. Gaudy numbers at a position that doesnt have a ton of competition, so it would normally land Cano in the first round and it still could, but there is an argument to be made that Cano isnt going to have the same power numbers in Seattle and there is a difference between a .300 hitter with 25 home runs and a .300 hitter with 18 home runs when it comes to assigning relative value. The closest rival to Cano is Bostons Dustin Pedroia, who has hit .297 over the past five seasons, averaging 88 runs, 71 RBI and 18 stolen bases in that time frame. With those two as the established leaders at the position, the rest are definitely a tier behind. Clevelands Jason Kipnis is closing the gap, with back-to-back 30-steal seasons and Cincinnatis Brandon Phillips wont duplicate his 100 RBI season and doesnt provide stolen bases as he did earlier in his career, but hes in the middle of a productive lineup and has registered more than 600 plate appearances in six straight seasons, so he can help many teams. Another longtime productive option at second base is Ian Kinsler, moving to Detroit from Texas. While Kinsler has dipped from his two 30-30 (HR-SB) seasons, hes in prime position to score a lot of runs and hes topped 100 runs in a season four times. Houstons Jose Altuve offers value in terms of batting average and back-to-back 30-steal seasons, but his overall numbers are limited somewhat by the weak Astros supporting cast. Tampa Bays ultra-versatile Ben Zobrist hold more value because he can play more than one position, and even coming off a bit of a down year, still had his fifth straight campaign with double-figure homers and steals. The thing about second base is that, unless youre going after Cano or Pedroia early, you can probably afford to wait and make a value play. Health was an issue for Arizonas Aaron Hill last season, as he was limited to 87 games, but hes been really productive since going to the National League, hitting .300 with an .862 OPS in 1060 at-bats with the Diamondbacks. Veteran standbys Chase Utley, always an injury concern, and Howie Kendrick are worth looking at for middle-infield spots and the Mets Daniel Murphy, a .290 career hitter, added value to his game last season when he stole 23 bases. San Diegos Jedd Gyorko mashed 23 home runs in 486 at-bats as a rookie. If he is healthy enough for 550-600 at-bats, is a 30-homer season within reach? Gyorko is only one of the younger guys that would have potential to help. Milwaukees Scooter Gennett hit .324 in 213 at-bats last season and .297 three-and-a-half minor league seasons. Texas Jurickson Profar is widely considered one of the top prospects in baseball and may be a year or two away from putting up big numbers (and is hurt in camp), but hes going to get a chance to play every day now that Kinsler is gone. Washingtons Anthony Rendon, the sixth overall pick in 2011, is another young player with a chance to break out. He had a .939 OPS in the minors and a .725 OPS in 351 at-bats as a rookie last year. Over a full season, 20-plus homers is possible. For a potential late-round bargain, consider the Dodgers Dee Gordon, the speedster who won the starting job over Cuban import Alex Guerrero and has swiped 66 bases in 182 career games. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Cheap Nike Daybreak . Now, Sarah Burkes legacy will live on in Canadas Sports Hall of Fame. Burke, who tragically died at age 29 from a training accident in 2012, headlined the 2014 class named for induction Wednesday. Womens Vapormax Sale Uk . This was one of them. Omar Infante homered and tied a career high with six RBIs to carry the Kansas City Royals over the Baltimore Orioles 9-3 on Sunday. http://www.vapormaxwholesaleuk.com/wholesale-nike-joyride-run.html . The two were in the batting cage moments before game time. Bautista was taking final warm up cuts. Pillar was hitting soft toss. The one-time utility player turned All-Star pulled aside the clubs young, fourth outfielder and offered him some advice. Mens Vapormax Flyknit Sale Uk . Mladenovics quick hands at the net made the difference while Bencics inexperience in doubles showed. "We took a lot of pleasure," Mladenovic told Sport Plus television. "Its extremely difficult to play in such conditions, but our doubles team showed a lot of quality. Mens Vapormax Sale Uk . With the results, North America claimed 2.5 of the three available points, opening up a 17.5-12.5 lead in the overall standings. A total of 60 points are available, meaning the first team to 30.5 points will win the Continental Cup.Sir Ian Botham has backed England to rise to top spot in the Test rankings after their emphatic innings victory over Sri Lanka. England beat the tourists by an innings and 88 runs inside three days at Headingley with centurion Jonny Bairstow edging James Anderson, who recorded match figures of 10-45, to the man of the match award.However, while totals of 91 and 119 are likely to see the Sri Lankan batsmen come in for criticism, Botham believes their inexperience and Englands quality must be taken into account. A lot of these guys wont have seen anything quite like this, said the former England all-rounder.Theyve got a couple of experienced players and the openers have played about 20 games I think, but after that they really are novices, particularly in English conditions, so you have to give them a bit of leeway. James Anderson ended with match figures of 10-45 as England crushed Sri Lanka by an innings and 88 runs Hopefully theyll learn quickly from their own point of view but its very easy for us too forget that England are a very good Test team.dddddddddddd Theyre a team that I think will go to No 1 in the world in the next year or so, as soon as they can.Theyll be right back up there very shortly and thats what these teams do. England have got an exceptionally good bowling attack - and they were a bowler down dont forget. The bowler in question was Ben Stokes, who was forced to sit out the majority of the third day with an injury sustained on Friday.Should the 24-year-old all-rounder fail to recover in time for the second Investec Test at Chester-le-Street, Botham can see England opting for an extra seamer rather than a batsman to replace him.First and foremost, Id be very surprised if Ben Stokes doesnt play at Durham. Its a home game for him and hell be desperate to do well, said the Sky Sports pundit. Stokes concern England have fitness worry over Ben Stokes ahead of second Test If the injury cant be repaired in time or he isnt match fit then I wouldnt be surprised to see England go with one of the young bowlers theyve got lined up.I think theyre possibly thinking of bringing in a bowler because if youve got three seamers who are going well - Anderson, Broad and Finn - it gives you the opportunity to look at another seamer in that environment.Jake Ball is probably the next cab on the rank and fine, play him. It gives you an opportunity in the actual arena, because the team is playing so well, its much easier to test players and give them an outing than when youre struggling. Itd be a perfect opportunity if thats what they want to do. Also See: Jimmy takes 10 in innings win Scorecard WATCH: Story of day three England v Sri Lanka on Sky Sports ' ' '