Let’s take a look at some early season surprises and disappointments at the shortstop position:

Surprises:

Derek Jeter

Anyone that had Jeter hitting .411 through 16 games raise your hand. Now put your hand down because you’re a liar. After two “down” seasons he’s hitting like its 1999 again. He has nine multi-hit games He already has four home runs. He hit six all of last year. It’s not likely he’ll be able to keep up this good of a pace considering his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is currently over .400. He’s swinging at more pitches inside and outside of the zone but making the same amount of contact he always has. According to Mock Draft Central he was the eighth shortstop taken on average. If he can maintain anything close to this line, say .310/.360/.400 with 15 homers and 15 steals for the season he’ll easily eclipse that pre-season ranking.

Emilio Bonifacio

Bonifacio’s good production isn’t really a surprise. He showed last year that he was capable of having a productive season, but the acquisition of Jose Reyes lead to uncertainty about the amount of playing time he’d receive. With shortstop, third and second base filled he was pushed to the outfield where he’s won the starting centerfield position, at least for now. He already has nine steals in 16 games, but no extra base hits. He’ll never have much of a slugging percentage, but to see his Isolated Slugging (ISO) at .000 is amusing to look at. Like last season he’s been able to maintain a good average thanks to a high (.386) BABIP. He’s been keeping the ball out of the air again (21.1% FB rate), allowing him to maximize his speed. With consistent playing time he should be able to steal 35+ bases again unless his bat completely disappears.

Disappointment:

Alexei Ramirez

Having a career high strikeout rate and career low walk rate are great things for a pitcher. They’re far less great when you’re a hitter. That’s what Ramirez has done so far this season. He’s normally a lock for ~15 home runs, ~70 runs batted in and ~75 runs scored, and still may very well reach those totals. So far, though, he’s been awful. His one home run and four RBI seem out of place for someone that plays his games in hitter friendly US Cellular Field. That’s not out of the ordinary for him, though. His career wOBA for March/April is .254. The lowest it is in any other month is .315.  His issues look to stem from a lack of patience. He’s swinging at more pitches outside the zone (39.0%) and more pitches period (53.2) than at any point since his rookie season. That’s something to keep an eye on going forward.

Jhonny Peralta

Coming off a 21 home run season, a bit more was expected of the pudgy shortstop. Through 15 games he has zero home runs and five runs batted in, though he does have seven doubles. His BABIP is .326 but his OBP is .298 thanks to a 5.3% walk rate. He’s a better hitter than that. Even in his worst year his walk rate was above seven percent. He’ll need his power to return, though, if he’s going to have much fantasy value. He doesn’t steal bases so he relies heavily on extra base hits to keep his head afloat. A 15 homer, 75 RBI campaign may be more realistic than the 21/86 he put up last season. If he struggles a little while longer he could turn into a nice buy-low candidate if a frustrated owner makes a rash decision.

Between all of the injuries and slow starts, it’s expected that everyone in your league is scouring the waiver wire and looking for players to fill in the gaps.  The trick though, is to do it on the cheap this early in the season.  There are far too many people blowing their FAAB budget too soon or wasting a decent waiver priority on a quick-fix band-aid that won’t be playing in a month’s time, so while you need to stay active, you need to be smarter than the next guy in the way you do it. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re back with another dive into the deep blue sea where we hunt for hidden treasures. Many owners are likely still hurting for a replacement for Jacoby Ellsbury and I have uncovered an outfielder and a possible outfielder (depending on your league’s eligibility rules) who may be worth a look.

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Six games into the 2012 season, Kyle Seager has a .333/.360/.417 line and is owned in approximately 40% of ottoneu leagues. And that rate is dropping.

Seager is playing every day right now, but with Mike Carp on the verge of a rehab assignment and Franklin Gutierrez on his way back, the Mariners outfield is about to get awfully crowded, which will push the resurgent Chone Figgins back to third, and Seager to…probably the bench. On top of that, his bat probably isn’t good enough to play everyday at 3B. But I am not ready to sell.

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Reliable middle infielders have always been my white whale. I overvalue them on draft/action day and somehow always end up getting burned. Whether it’s Rickie Weeks‘ wrist or Dustin Pedroia‘s foot or Chase Utley‘s knees, I always seem to wind up scrounging for infield help. This year I decided to cast a wide net in our staff league, loading up on various $1 options in addition to keepers Utley and Yunel Escobar.

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The shortstop position has held pretty steady over the past year. There’s been no impact rookies that have hit the scene and sky rocketed up the rankings. We break them down into tiers below which we will update periodically throughout the season.

First Tier:

Troy Tulowitzki
Jose Reyes
Hanley Ramirez

Barring any type of injury, Tulowitzki is going to hold the crown as the top fantasy shortstop for some time. His combination of power and average is unrivaled at the position. He’s a top five overall pick regardless of league format. Reyes came on extremely strong last season after a rough two years, hitting .337 with 16 triples and 39 steals in just 126 games. His hamstrings will always be a concern, and are a major reason why Tulowitzki is going to keep his shortstop crown for years to come. Even though he’s sliding over to third to accommodate Reyes, Ramirez retains his shortstop eligibility for at least one more season and picks up another. He’s included in this first tier thanks to a stellar track record and hope he can come back healthy after injuries nagged him last year. If healthy there’s no reason he can’t put up a 20HR/30SB season at minimum.

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After a particularly boring stretch, we actually have some shortstop news to report. Let’s start with what’s happening out in Arizona.

After coming off a very good 2010 season which saw him hit 15 home runs and steal 10 bases, Stephen Drew suffered a broken ankle in July, ending his 2011 campaign early. The 29-year-old had been hopeful for opening day but it’s now being reported that he’ll miss that target date, and no timetable has been set on his return. That leaves Willie Bloomquist and John McDonald in the backup roles.

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Currently, Erick Aybar is being touted as the lead off hitter for the Angels. Even though he has held this position in the batting order before, it is even more important with Albert Pujols on the team. If he is able to get on base at any decent clip, he will be an excellent source of Runs.

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Position battles are always a hot topic this time of year. It’s highly unlikely that all 30 teams are set at a particular position this early in spring training. Rookies and veterans alike are always snatching each other’s jobs as they vie for a coveted spot on the major league roster. Today we’ll be looking at shortstop battles, where there are surprisingly few thus far.

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Consensus Ranks: OF, C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, and RP and SP.

Tiered Ranks: C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, NL OF, AL SP, NL SP, Holds.

Oh Dee Gordon! Expect more Dee Gordon coverage. Because that guy is a buck-twenty-five soaking wet, can’t take a walk to save his life, and might have problems getting out of a paper bag with a bat. But he’s got elite speed and plays shortstop, so he’ll be an important player worth considering from different angles. Emilio Bonifacio might not actually play the position in real life, but he can join this particular party.

The rest of the list features a lot of agreement, even if some of us like Tyler Pastornicky a little more than others. Jhonny Peralta could regress and still be pretty valuable, so it’s not surprising that he showed up in different slots on the list. Oh, and look at this — the Mets fan once again hates on the Mets guy on the rankings. Something something self-hatred. But Ruben Tejada has maybe .280/20 upside, and even if Ryan Theriot (lite) with a glove is useful for a Major League team, it might not be great for your fantasy team.

The shortstops!

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