27-year old lefty swinging 2B Robinson Cano is one of the best hitters at his position in all of baseball and that won’t change anytime soon. Cano played in 161 games for the Yankees last season and he was 204 for 637 (.320 avg, .872 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 25 homers, 85 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Ex-Yankees’ hitting coach Don Mattingly once predicted that Cano would win at least one batting title in his major league career and I believe him as Cano has a very nice hitting stroke. Plus, he’s in such a loaded lineup that teams can’t afford to pitch around anyone in their batting order giving Cano a lot of good pitches to hit. He does need to improve his defense some as he made 12 errors in 161 games at 2B last season while showing slightly below average range. Still, that is nitpicking as Cano is one of the best 2B in all of baseball.

24-year old switch-hitting Ramiro Pena will be Cano’s primary back-up at 2B in 2010. He played in 8 error-free games at 2B for the Yankees last season while showing slightly below average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: A