It's Fantasy Baseball Season so it's time to do some Prep Work. Bare in mind that these Preps are as much for me as they are for any other schmuck that happens to read them. If perchance you are in any of my leagues please avoid reading all of this until after our respective drafts. Thanks.
Short Stop has a lot of similarities with 2nd base when it comes to fantasy. There certainly more depth at Short Stop than at 2b but there is once again a similar cut off line where everyone remaining is a complete scrub. If you only need 1 SS than fear not there are enough to go around. Need 2? Than you might have to jump at your 2nd short stop early.
The 1st round is littered with short stops this season. Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins will go in the first round in basically every draft. Despite owning Rollins in my keeper league, he is a clear 3rd here. If you're looking to sure up steals take Reyes if you're looking for well rounded stats take Hanley. It's pretty much that simple.
After the top three there is a significant drop off to a large group of players that aren't that far off. The list starts with Jeter whom everyone tends to overvalue. His power #s are a thing of the past. I would tend to value Tulowitzki higher than Jeter on straight power potential and the benefit of playing in Coors field. After that there are a slew of similar hitters Carlos Guillen, Tejada, Michael Young, Edgar Renteria all of whom offer similar stats.
Then there's a next level and a level which you should really try to sure up your 2nd SS if needed. JJ Hardy, Khalil Greene and Jhonny Peralta all hit over 20 home runs last year at SS. None particularly offer a stellar average or steals but the runs, rbis and homers were a nice bonus. Personally I would target Peralta above the other two due to his surrounding lineup.
One thing that you'll notice when looking at 2B and SS rankings are the cross overs such as Felipe Lopez and Ryan Theriot. These guys help with flexibility and steals and wouldn't make a terrible late round steal however their numbers are much more suited for 2B than SS. The additional thing that these players do is make the SS decline that much bigger. If you look at a typical ratings page, both are rated higher as SS than as 2B. The reason being there are a lot more mediocre but usable 2B than SS. Once you get past the previous three names I mentioned you get to a group of players that honestly you want no part in.
Short Stop has a lot of similarities with 2nd base when it comes to fantasy. There certainly more depth at Short Stop than at 2b but there is once again a similar cut off line where everyone remaining is a complete scrub. If you only need 1 SS than fear not there are enough to go around. Need 2? Than you might have to jump at your 2nd short stop early.The 1st round is littered with short stops this season. Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins will go in the first round in basically every draft. Despite owning Rollins in my keeper league, he is a clear 3rd here. If you're looking to sure up steals take Reyes if you're looking for well rounded stats take Hanley. It's pretty much that simple.
After the top three there is a significant drop off to a large group of players that aren't that far off. The list starts with Jeter whom everyone tends to overvalue. His power #s are a thing of the past. I would tend to value Tulowitzki higher than Jeter on straight power potential and the benefit of playing in Coors field. After that there are a slew of similar hitters Carlos Guillen, Tejada, Michael Young, Edgar Renteria all of whom offer similar stats.
Then there's a next level and a level which you should really try to sure up your 2nd SS if needed. JJ Hardy, Khalil Greene and Jhonny Peralta all hit over 20 home runs last year at SS. None particularly offer a stellar average or steals but the runs, rbis and homers were a nice bonus. Personally I would target Peralta above the other two due to his surrounding lineup.
One thing that you'll notice when looking at 2B and SS rankings are the cross overs such as Felipe Lopez and Ryan Theriot. These guys help with flexibility and steals and wouldn't make a terrible late round steal however their numbers are much more suited for 2B than SS. The additional thing that these players do is make the SS decline that much bigger. If you look at a typical ratings page, both are rated higher as SS than as 2B. The reason being there are a lot more mediocre but usable 2B than SS. Once you get past the previous three names I mentioned you get to a group of players that honestly you want no part in.
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