SS used to be a P.O.S. fantasy position now you've got 8 guys who provide terrific production and another tier of 6 players who will provide solid production. It's much deeper than either 2B or Catcher.
1. Jose Reyes, New York Mets - Jose Reyes developed into the #1 fantasy shortstop in baseball last season and arguably top 5 overal. He's a threat to lead the league in both runs scored and stolen bases and showed surprising power numbers by hitting 19 homers last season.
2. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees - Coming off arguably the best season of his careerDerek shows no signs of slowing down and will maintain his perfect #2 hole slot in the lineup which on the Yankees equals massive production.
3. Miguel Tejada, Baltimore Orioles - The debate between Tejada and Jeter for the 2nd SS is a difficult one but I gave Jeter the edge because of his increasing steal totals. Tejeada will get you more homers and rbis than Jeter, the average is comprabable, runs might be a little behind. Anyway you have either and you're in good shape at SS.
4. Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies - Jimmy Rollins was so bad in the first half of the season that I was able to snipe him for Jose Lopez just prior to the all star break. Than the second half of the season he was fantastic. Which if you look at his splits, happens every year. So if you don't get him on draft day come mid june attempt to trade for him.
5. Carlos Guillen, Detroit Tigers - Guillen is an incredibly consistant hitter. He's hit .318 or above in each season with the Tigers and last season had by far his best year where he even through in 20 steals. He gets overlooked way too much at this position.
6. Michael Young, Texas Rangers - Very consistant. .300+ hitter around 100 runs and rbis. The power numbers and speed numbers could certainly be improved.
7. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins - Evryone is tagging Ramirez as either a top flight #4 SS or bound for a sophomore slump. I'm somewhere in the middle. I don't know if he keeps the power numbers but the one thing that shouldn't slump is speed. And 51 steals in 06 could easily be replicated in 07, which is a big time # in roto leagues.
8. Rafael Furcal, LA Dodgers - Picking between Ramirez or Furcal is just a matter of taste. Ramirez has a bigger upside while Furcal will consistantly get you low double digits homer, 40 steals and around a .300 average.
9. Julio Lugo, Boston Red Sox - There are always positives and negatives of getting dealt. First Lugo sucked in LA, he was thrown around the field and was obviously uncomfortable so the move to SS in Boston will help. Additionally hitting in front of Papi and Manny means a lot of runs scored. But will his SBs suffer? The Red Sox rarely run and without steals Lugo is devalued in spite of what should be a significant up turn in runs scored.
10. Felipe Lopez, Washington Nationals - The power numbers plummeted in 2006 but the speed numbers jumped significantly. Leading off for the Nats should provide plenty of times where he is off and running. I think Felipe will end up with almost the same numbers he put up in 2006, which makes him great help for steals.
11. Bill Hall, Milwaukee Brewers - 35 Homers is that really going to happen again? I can't say I expect that in the slightest. He has the benefit of playing in Milwaukee, overly homer friendly, as well as position flexibility but he won't provide the steals you may need from you SS.
12. Jhonny Peralta, Cleveland Indians - Bring back the 2005 stats? Perhaps. Atleast Peralta should be slotted by Wedge in a spot in the order where he's comfortable. Last season Wedge's biggest mistake was leaving Peralta in the 3 whole for so long even though Peralta was struggling mightily.
13. Edgar Renteria, Atlanta Braves - Renteria had a nice bounce back season with the Braves, apparently he likes the NL much more. We'll just figure that the one season in Boston was an aberration and that he'll continue to hit close to .300 with mid teen steals and homers and decent rbis and runs.
14. Stephen Drew, Arizona Diamondbacks - Had a very productive introduction into the majors last season, when he hit .316 with 5 HRs in 203 at bats. Extrapolate that out to 500+ at bats and you have some solid stats. One has worry that he might have the same motivation/drive as his brother though.
15. Bobby Crosby, Oakland Athletics - Is this guy ever going to live up to his potential as a .285, 25 HR, 90 Rbi guy or will he get injured yet again. Last year he was terrible and hit .230. Call me a sucker but I'm probably going to take the bait this season.
16. Orlando Cabrera, LAA Angels - Cabrera put up some good stats around the board but where are the power numbers, just 9 homeruns? The .280 batting average, 25 steals and some decent run and rbi totals make him a solid #2 SS however.
17. Jason Bartlett, Minnesota Twins - Hit .309 last season in 333 at bats once he was given the starting job. He also had 10 SBs. If you draft him you're hoping on him getting 500 at bats and possibly running more while maintaining the average.
18. Juan Uribe, Chicago White Sox - Putrid average but he did hit 21 homers last season, probably because he swings for the fences and plays at the #1 home run friendly park of 06.
19. Yuniesky Betancourt, Seattle Mariners - One could hope this guy develops a little bit. But most likely Betancourt won't get you much other than not sinking your batting average like Uribe will.
20. Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies - Had very good numbers in AA last season but didn't perform too well in the majors. Draft him and you're getting a talked about prospect who could boom or bust and there's not much pointing in either direction right now. Watch him during the spring.
21. Khalil Greene, San Diego Padres - Spicoli hits 15 home runs every season but provides no steals and hit a putrid .245 last season. Ugh.
22. Omar Vizquel, San Francisco Giants - Omar had a very good season last year, up until his poor September, but forgive me if I think that a 40 year old SS is bound to start dipping in production.
23. David Eckstein, St. Louis Cardinals - Midget. One would have thought he atleast steals bases. Nope. His average was decent .292, but the remainder of his stats are putrid. 2 HRs, 23 rbis, 7 SBs. He doesn't contribute anything.
24. J.J. Hardy, Milwaukee Brewers - JJ really hasn't done anything of note in his first two seasons, he's not really the 2nd SS of dreams.
25. Alex Gonzalez, Cincinatti Reds - He's a bum if you have him on your roster, ugh. Good Luck with that. Atleast he'll play in homer friendly Cincy.
1. Jose Reyes, New York Mets - Jose Reyes developed into the #1 fantasy shortstop in baseball last season and arguably top 5 overal. He's a threat to lead the league in both runs scored and stolen bases and showed surprising power numbers by hitting 19 homers last season.2. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees - Coming off arguably the best season of his careerDerek shows no signs of slowing down and will maintain his perfect #2 hole slot in the lineup which on the Yankees equals massive production.
3. Miguel Tejada, Baltimore Orioles - The debate between Tejada and Jeter for the 2nd SS is a difficult one but I gave Jeter the edge because of his increasing steal totals. Tejeada will get you more homers and rbis than Jeter, the average is comprabable, runs might be a little behind. Anyway you have either and you're in good shape at SS.
4. Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies - Jimmy Rollins was so bad in the first half of the season that I was able to snipe him for Jose Lopez just prior to the all star break. Than the second half of the season he was fantastic. Which if you look at his splits, happens every year. So if you don't get him on draft day come mid june attempt to trade for him.
5. Carlos Guillen, Detroit Tigers - Guillen is an incredibly consistant hitter. He's hit .318 or above in each season with the Tigers and last season had by far his best year where he even through in 20 steals. He gets overlooked way too much at this position.
6. Michael Young, Texas Rangers - Very consistant. .300+ hitter around 100 runs and rbis. The power numbers and speed numbers could certainly be improved.
7. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins - Evryone is tagging Ramirez as either a top flight #4 SS or bound for a sophomore slump. I'm somewhere in the middle. I don't know if he keeps the power numbers but the one thing that shouldn't slump is speed. And 51 steals in 06 could easily be replicated in 07, which is a big time # in roto leagues.
8. Rafael Furcal, LA Dodgers - Picking between Ramirez or Furcal is just a matter of taste. Ramirez has a bigger upside while Furcal will consistantly get you low double digits homer, 40 steals and around a .300 average.
9. Julio Lugo, Boston Red Sox - There are always positives and negatives of getting dealt. First Lugo sucked in LA, he was thrown around the field and was obviously uncomfortable so the move to SS in Boston will help. Additionally hitting in front of Papi and Manny means a lot of runs scored. But will his SBs suffer? The Red Sox rarely run and without steals Lugo is devalued in spite of what should be a significant up turn in runs scored.
10. Felipe Lopez, Washington Nationals - The power numbers plummeted in 2006 but the speed numbers jumped significantly. Leading off for the Nats should provide plenty of times where he is off and running. I think Felipe will end up with almost the same numbers he put up in 2006, which makes him great help for steals.11. Bill Hall, Milwaukee Brewers - 35 Homers is that really going to happen again? I can't say I expect that in the slightest. He has the benefit of playing in Milwaukee, overly homer friendly, as well as position flexibility but he won't provide the steals you may need from you SS.
12. Jhonny Peralta, Cleveland Indians - Bring back the 2005 stats? Perhaps. Atleast Peralta should be slotted by Wedge in a spot in the order where he's comfortable. Last season Wedge's biggest mistake was leaving Peralta in the 3 whole for so long even though Peralta was struggling mightily.
13. Edgar Renteria, Atlanta Braves - Renteria had a nice bounce back season with the Braves, apparently he likes the NL much more. We'll just figure that the one season in Boston was an aberration and that he'll continue to hit close to .300 with mid teen steals and homers and decent rbis and runs.
14. Stephen Drew, Arizona Diamondbacks - Had a very productive introduction into the majors last season, when he hit .316 with 5 HRs in 203 at bats. Extrapolate that out to 500+ at bats and you have some solid stats. One has worry that he might have the same motivation/drive as his brother though.
15. Bobby Crosby, Oakland Athletics - Is this guy ever going to live up to his potential as a .285, 25 HR, 90 Rbi guy or will he get injured yet again. Last year he was terrible and hit .230. Call me a sucker but I'm probably going to take the bait this season.
16. Orlando Cabrera, LAA Angels - Cabrera put up some good stats around the board but where are the power numbers, just 9 homeruns? The .280 batting average, 25 steals and some decent run and rbi totals make him a solid #2 SS however.
17. Jason Bartlett, Minnesota Twins - Hit .309 last season in 333 at bats once he was given the starting job. He also had 10 SBs. If you draft him you're hoping on him getting 500 at bats and possibly running more while maintaining the average.
18. Juan Uribe, Chicago White Sox - Putrid average but he did hit 21 homers last season, probably because he swings for the fences and plays at the #1 home run friendly park of 06.
19. Yuniesky Betancourt, Seattle Mariners - One could hope this guy develops a little bit. But most likely Betancourt won't get you much other than not sinking your batting average like Uribe will.
20. Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies - Had very good numbers in AA last season but didn't perform too well in the majors. Draft him and you're getting a talked about prospect who could boom or bust and there's not much pointing in either direction right now. Watch him during the spring.21. Khalil Greene, San Diego Padres - Spicoli hits 15 home runs every season but provides no steals and hit a putrid .245 last season. Ugh.
22. Omar Vizquel, San Francisco Giants - Omar had a very good season last year, up until his poor September, but forgive me if I think that a 40 year old SS is bound to start dipping in production.
23. David Eckstein, St. Louis Cardinals - Midget. One would have thought he atleast steals bases. Nope. His average was decent .292, but the remainder of his stats are putrid. 2 HRs, 23 rbis, 7 SBs. He doesn't contribute anything.
24. J.J. Hardy, Milwaukee Brewers - JJ really hasn't done anything of note in his first two seasons, he's not really the 2nd SS of dreams.
25. Alex Gonzalez, Cincinatti Reds - He's a bum if you have him on your roster, ugh. Good Luck with that. Atleast he'll play in homer friendly Cincy.
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