Cubs Quick Hits: Daniel Murphy Projects as NL’s Best Offensive 2B

All this talk about Daniel Murphy as an insurance policy is funny because he projects as the league’s best offensive second baseman. ZiPS projects that no other National League second baseman will finish with a higher wOBA than Murphy’s .352 (120 wRC+) over the remainder of the season. You read that correctly, folks, not even Javy Baez’s projections are better than Murphy’s.

Say what you will about the methodology that goes into projecting one month of baseball. I totally understand the beef. But at the same time, Murphy’s solid projections are a testament to his consistency over the last several seasons.

Acquiring a second baseman with the best offensive projections seems like an okay insurance policy, I guess.