Talk is often about how shallow third base is, but one can definitely argue that shortstop is a much tougher position to fill this season. While there have been some pleasant surprises thus far, can we really trust them over the course of 162 games? Let’s take a look at how things currently stand:
- Hanley Ramirez – Miami Marlins
- Jose Reyes – Miami Marlins
- Starlin Castro – Chicago Cubs
- Asdrubal Cabrera – Cleveland Indians
- Elvis Andrus – Texas Rangers
- Jimmy Rollins – Philadelphia Phillies
- Derek Jeter – New York Yankees
- Dee Gordon – Los Angeles Dodgers
- J.J. Hardy – Baltimore Orioles
- Jed Lowrie – Houston Astros
- Mike Aviles – Boston Red Sox
- Zack Cozart – Cincinnati Reds
- Alexei Ramirez – Chicago White Sox
- Ian Desmond – Washington Nationals
- Rafael Furcal – St. Louis Cardinals
- Alcides Escobar – Kansas City Royals
- Erick Aybar – Los Angeles Angels
- Yunel Escobar – Toronto Blue Jays
- Jhonny Peralta – Cleveland Indians
- Marco Scutaro – Colorado Rockies
Currently on the DL – Troy Tulowitzki, Emilio Bonifacio, Stephen Drew
Thoughts:
- Hanley Ramirez has clearly rediscovered his form, showing both power (11) and speed (10). Put that together with a .254 average (which has fallen as he’s struggled lately, going 1-22 in his last 7 games), 37 RBI and 33 R and there is an awful lot to like. This will be the last season he holds shortstop eligibility, so enjoy it while you can.
- While Derek Jeter has played well enough to deserve being ranked seventh on this list, I would remain cautious with him moving forward. His numbers fell significantly from April (.389, 4 HR) to May (.293, 1 HR), not that it should surprise anyone. If he continues to post sub-.300 months without much power and little speed potential (he did steal 3 bases in May), he is going to continue to slip down the rankings. On May 4 he was hitting .404, but now is down to .315. Just keep that in mind.
- I know that I am a glutton for punishment when it comes to Dee Gordon, but there is still too much potential there. He has chipped in 17 SB, despite a terrible average, and there is no reason to think that he can’t improve on a .287 BABIP. He should produce significantly better numbers going forward and it still wouldn’t be a surprise to see him reach 50 SB on the year now that he’s back in the leadoff spot. Obviously, if the struggles continue for much longer he’s going to fall, but for now I remain optimistic as he’s shown signs lately (3 B, 4 R in his past three games).
- Zack Cozart’s overall numbers are not overly impressive (.248, 7 HR, 15 RBI, 35 R, 2 SB), but he’s hitting atop the Reds lineup and brings upside in his power and speed. Given his opportunity and potential, he is well worth using in all formats at this point, especially given the struggles of some of our preseason favorites (like Erick Aybar and Alexei Ramirez). However, I’d consider his spot on these rankings tenuous, at best.
Make sure to check out all of our recent rankings:
- Catchers (as of 5/29/12)
- First Basemen (as of 5/24/12)
- Second Basemen (as of 6/3/12)
- Third Basemen (as of 5/11/12)
- Closers (as of 6/12/12)
I’m surprised Castro is third on the list. In Yahoo!, he is currently the #1 ranked SS. I have him in both a keeper league and a redraft league, and I would definitely take him over Reyes or Han-Ram.
It’s based on what he’s done as well as what I would expect from him going forward. He has taken a lot of criticism in Chicago and has not produced what we expected honestly.
Could he be #1 soon? Absolutely, but I’d like to see him scoring more runs (only 29 right now) and maybe chipping in a little more power (5 HR). He’s also “only” hitting .308… I know, I say only, but we all know what’s possible.
His steals are up a lot and he has always been a slow starter when it comes to hitting homers. Plus, its not really his fault he isn’t scoring more runs…that’s his pathetic teams fault. Hopefully they call up Rizzo soon and he helps fix that problem.
Doesn’t matter who’s fault it is in fantasy. Fact of the matter is that he doesn’t have the numbers. Gonna need more than Rizzo.
I’m wondering if you’ll be posting keeper rankings anytime in the near future.
If not, what would a top 5 keeper list look like?
You looking for Top 5 overall or Top 5 SS keepers?
We will get to keeper rankings soon enough, but I can give you a “quick” list here.
Top 5 Keepers would be almost exactly the same…. Just add Tulo and take out Hanley (because he will lose SS elig after this season)
Top 5
Tulo
Reyes
Castro
Asdrubal
Andrus
The Rest
Rollins
Hardy
Bonifacio
Gordon
Lowrie
Jeter
Aviles
Alexei Ram
Desmond
Cozart
Aybar and Peralta could be in this list if they weren’t so Off-and-On. Alexei has typically shown more consistency than either of these two, which is why I put him in there. But I think youth (and potential upside) prevails in a keeper ranking over a Hot-n-Cold veteran. Also, I just couldn’t put Jeter in the top 10 – just based on principle
May I be so bold as to say that Elliot Johnson should be on this list?
He has almost exactly the same stats as Johnny Peralta (actually slightly better with 8 more SB and 9 points higher in Average), but with 55 fewer ABs.
As an Elliot Johnson owner, my concern is that he will go back to the bench when Longoria returns, with Rodriguez getting the lion’s share of playing time at shortstop. At least Peralta has the job security.
And as Dee Gordon owners and believers, that big sigh of relief you hear is from me and The Professor as we saw Baby Flash explode for three SBs last night in addition to all the other positive things happening with him lately.
Chief, you took the words right out of my mouth on both accounts.
Once Johnson is playing everyday, with Longoria in the lineup, I’ll be a much bigger believer.
As for Gordon, it feels good to get something for our patience, doesn’t it? He’s actually been playing a lot better of late overall (his average is up to .230+) and I would expect him to continue to produce.