Home > Articles > Shortstop Rankings

Shortstop Rankings

February 18th, 2009
Goto comments Leave a comment

commish@fantasybaseballgeeks.com

The 2009 fantasy baseball season is in full swing and our long awaited position-by-position rankings are finally here.  The following rankings are based on a standard mixed-league 5X5 rotisserie format.  Players must have played at least 20 games at the position in 2008 to qualify.

For those of you are learning how to separate your rankings into tiers, and I highly recommend doing so, the SS position is one of the easiest positions to practice this useful draft tool.  You have the 2 studs at the top in Hanley Ramirez & Jose Reyes (some might say that they are actually 2 separate tiers).  The next tier would have Jimmy Rollins all by himself, a big step below the top 2, but still a step above the next tier which is home to Troy Tulowitzki, Stephen Drew & Rafael Furcal.  This is the “upside with question marks” tier.  These guys are followed closely behind by a large group that includes Derek Jeter, Jhonny Peralta, Michael Young & J.J. Hardy.  From there you can group them as Orlando Cabrera – Mike Aviles then Jason Bartlett – Elvis Andrus, and so on and so forth.  Tiering your players by position or overall is a smart way to keep you from reaching on players when there is no need to do so.

Hanley Ramirez - Icon SMI

Hanley Ramirez - Icon SMI

Potential Bust:  Michael Young, Texas Rangers…Young is one of those players who spent the prime of his career in the shadow of a player that did similar things at a higher level.  While Young was a huge force in 2 categories (R & BA) and helped out in the other 3, Derek Jeter was doing the same thing at a slightly higher level.  The good news then was that Young was always a better value than Jeter, but the days of Young being a value pick seem to have gone as his ADP in 2009 shows that he is the 5th SS being drafted.  A couple of years ago that would have made sense but now, with higher upside options in Drew & Tulowitzki coming off the board later than Young, he has become a post-sleeper bust candidate.

Other Bust Candidates:  Miguel Tejada, Houston Astros…HRs by year since 2004 – 34, 26, 24, 18, 13.  2009 = 8?  Doesn’t tell the whole story but is a sign that his relevance in shallow leagues is coming to an end.  Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers…Getting a lot of off-season hype.  Don’t buy into it in redraft leagues, and don’t think he is a future Top 5 talent in keeper leagues.  Might be a fringe top 10 guy for a couple years but not elite.  Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies…His short-lived run as a 1st round talent has come to an end.

Potential Sleeper:  Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies…I have nothing to back this up other than a gut feeling.  Many people feel that his rookie season in 2007 was a high water mark and his injury-filled and subpar 2008 goes a long way to back up that claim.  I think he can become what Michael Young was in 2004 & 2005 – a 20-25 HR hitting, 100 R scoring, .300 hitting staple at SS for many years.  I think you can add in 80+ RBI and 7-12 SBs to his line as well.  He will be only 24 in 2009.

Other Sleeper Candidates:  Jhonny Peralta, Cleveland Indians…Similar stats as but going a couple rounds later on average.  He is also entering his prime as MY exits his.  Khalil Greene, St. Louis Cardinals…2008 was atrocious but I have seen many other reclamation projects find glory in St. Louis.  BA will be a killer but can be a J.J. Hardy-lite type player for a minimal investment.

Best Bet to Jump into the Top 10 a year from now:  Yunel Escobar, Atlanta Braves

Best Bet to Fall from the Top 10 a year from now:   Michael Young, Texas Rangers

 

          2008 Stats
  Player Pos Team Age AB BA R RBI HR SB
1 Hanley Ramirez  SS   Fla  25 589 0.301 125 67 33 35
2 Jose Reyes  SS   NYM  25 688 0.297 113 68 16 56
3 Jimmy Rollins  SS   Phi  30 556 0.277 76 59 11 47
4 Troy Tulowitzki  SS   Col  24 377 0.263 48 46 8 1
5 Stephen Drew  SS   Ari  26 611 0.291 91 67 21 3
6 Rafael Furcal  SS   LAD  31 143 0.357 34 16 5 8
7 Derek Jeter  SS   NYY  34 596 0.300 88 69 11 11
8 Jhonny Peralta  SS   Cle  26 605 0.276 104 89 23 3
9 Michael Young  SS   Tex  32 645 0.284 102 82 12 10
10 J.J. Hardy  SS   Mil  26 569 0.283 78 74 24 2
11 Orlando Cabrera  SS   FA  34 661 0.281 93 57 8 19
12 Miguel Tejada  SS   Hou  32 632 0.283 92 66 13 7
13 Yunel Escobar  SS   Atl  24 514 0.288 71 60 10 2
14 Ryan Theriot  SS   Chi  29 580 0.307 85 38 1 22
15 Edgar Renteria  SS   SF  33 503 0.270 69 55 10 6
16 Mike Aviles  2B,SS   KC  28 419 0.325 68 51 10 8
17 Jason Bartlett  SS   TB  29 454 0.286 48 37 1 20
18 Jed Lowrie  3B,SS   Bos  24 260 0.258 34 46 2 1
19 Khalil Greene  SS   St L  29 389 0.213 30 35 10 5
20 Brandon Wood  3B,SS   LAA  24 150 0.200 12 13 5 4
21 Elvis Andrus  SS   Tex  20 0 0.000 0 0 0 0
22 Clint Barmes  2B,SS   Col  30 393 0.290 47 44 11 13
23 Asdrubal Cabrera  2B,SS   Cle  23 352 0.259 48 47 6 4
24 Jerry Hairston  SS,OF   Cin  32 261 0.326 47 36 6 15
25 Cristian Guzman  SS   Was  31 579 0.316 77 55 9 6
26 Emmanuel Burriss  2B,SS   SF  24 240 0.283 37 18 1 13
27 Maicer Izturis  2B,SS   LAA  28 290 0.269 44 37 3 11
28 Bobby Crosby  SS   Oak  29 556 0.237 66 61 7 7
29 Yuniesky Betancourt  SS   Sea  27 559 0.279 66 51 7 4
30 Julio Lugo  SS   Bos  33 261 0.268 27 22 1 12
31 Erick Aybar  SS   LAA  25 346 0.277 53 39 3 7
32 Brendan Harris  2B,3B,SS   Min  28 434 0.265 57 49 7 1
33 Cesar Izturis  SS   Bal  29 414 0.263 50 24 1 24
34 Jeff Keppinger  SS   Cin  28 459 0.266 45 43 3 3
35 Jack Wilson  SS   Pit  31 305 0.272 24 22 1 2
36 Marco Scutaro  2B,3B,SS   Tor  33 517 0.267 76 60 7 7
37 David Eckstein  2B,SS   SD  34 324 0.265 32 27 2 2
38 Aaron Miles  2B,SS   Chi  32 379 0.317 49 31 4 3
39 Nick Punto  2B,SS   Min  31 338 0.284 43 28 2 15
40 Eric Bruntlett  3B,SS,OF   Phi  31 212 0.217 37 15 2 9

*age as of Opening Day 2009 

Dynasty Rankings:

  1. Hanley Ramirez
  2. Jose Reyes
  3. Jimmy Rollins
  4. Troy Tulowitzki
  5. Stephen Drew
  6. Rafael Furcal
  7. Jhonny Peralta
  8. Derek Jeter
  9. J.J. Hardy
  10.  Michael Young
  11.  Orlando Cabrera
  12.  Yunel Escobar
  13.  Miguel Tejada
  14.  Ryan Theriot
  15.  Mike Aviles
For any questions or comments about these rankings you can email me @ commish@fantasybaseballgeeks.com
 
 

 

Commish Articles , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Copyright © 2007-2010 Fantasybaseballgeeks.com. All Rights Reserved. This site is intended for entertainment purposes only.
No part of this site may be reproduced, redistributed or retransmitted in any way without written permission of the publisher.