There’s no doubt fantasy owners will be closely monitoring Chase Utley’s offseason hip surgery.  Estimates for his return are as broad ranging from April 1 to the All Star Break.  He’s the number 1 fantasy 2B without injury questions, but owners will have to contend with possible setbacks even after he returns.

Kinsler turned in a monster statistical season .319-18-71-102-26.  It could have been even better if he didn’t miss the last 1½ months of the year with a groin injury.  Durability might be the biggest question surrounding him since he averaged only 124 games per year over his career.  His production in the abbreviated time still tops most second basemen.

Last year’s AL MVP scored 118 runs and batted .326 over 653 ABs.   Pedroia displayed the combination of power and speed that owners love from a middle infielder (17 HRs, 83 RBI and 20 SBs).  Although he benefited from Fenway with a .344 AVE, he batted .309 on the road and he hit more homeruns (10).  Another 15-15 season with a .300+ average are good bets for 2009.

Phillips posted another 20-20 season but saw his average drop from .281 to .261.  He was limited to 141 games in 2008 after breaking his finger, but the injury shouldn’t be a concern for the 2009 season.   Phillips’ free-swinging ways allow him to generate the power but owners have to prepare themselves for a .265-275 average and erratic in-season production.

Uggla is one of the few second basemen to average 30 HRs and 90 RBI over the past 3 years.  After batting .282 in 2006, his average bottomed to .245 in ’07 and .260 in ’08.  However, he still turned in career high OPS (.360) & SLG (.514) in 2008.  Last year, a sore ankle hampered Uggla for a large part of the season, so you might see owners being hesitant to select him on draft day.

Ramirez showed serious power in his 2008 rookie campaign by belting 21 HRs in 480 ABs.  He’ll play shortstop after Orlando Cabrera’s departure giving him a little extra flexibility in your roster.  Ramirez stole 13 bases out of 22 attempts (59%), so there’s plenty of room for improvement in the speed category.

Roberts’ power will likely never return to his 18 HR mark in 2005, but his career .284 average and 40+ stolen base pedigree provides exceptional value.  He’s commonly mentioned in trade rumors, so AL-only owners have to keep that fact in the back of their minds.  He’s a reliable selection after the top-level second basemen are gone.

In 2008, Lopez took a significant leap forward in offensive production hitting .297-17-89-6.   Safeco Field usually doesn’t lend itself to big offense stats, but Lopez hit 13 of his 17 homeruns at home.  At age 25, he has five years of big league service so he still has plenty of upside. 

After a career year in Chicago, DeRosa begins 2009 as the Indians’ everyday third baseman.  Wrigley Field was very kind to DeRosa (.316 AVE & 11 HRs) and he scored 103 runs in the potent Cubs lineup.   The move to Cleveland will likely cause a drop in production, but he’s a decent multipostion player.

Johnson’s not a spectacular second baseman, but he’s a serviceable fantasy option.  Owners saw his HR total drop from 16 to 12 in 2008, and he walked 27 fewer times causing his OBP to drop from .375 to .349.  The rest of his stat line remained relatively the same.  Low double-digit HRs and SBs with a .275-.285 average are reasonable expectations.