There is no position in fantasy baseball this year more shallow than shortstop. The position is so bad that I got physically ill while doing research for this article.
Even at the very top, where Hanley Ramirez and Troy Tulowitzki are firmly entrenched, there are doubts about the performance you will receive. Hanley hasn’t shown the power he did back in 2008 and Tulo can’t seem to stay healthy for a full season.
Maybe there is help on the way, with some exciting young prospects who are coming up the ranks, so stay tuned and in the meantime we’ll help you search for the diamonds in the rough.
|
PLAYER |
AGE |
2010 TEAM |
NEW TEAM |
|
Clint Barmes |
31 |
Colorado |
Houston |
|
Jason Bartlett |
31 |
Tampa Bay |
San Diego |
|
Yun. Betancourt |
28 |
Kansas City |
Milwaukee |
|
Alcides Escobar |
24 |
Milwaukee |
Kansas City |
|
J.J. Hardy |
28 |
Minnesota |
Baltimore |
|
Edgar Renteria |
35 |
San Francisco |
Cincinnati |
|
Miguel Tejada |
36 |
San Diego |
San Francisco |
|
Ryan Theriot |
31 |
LA Dodgers |
St. Louis |
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Positives
I understand that the Brewers are going World Series or bust and all this year, but they might have made a big mistake in giving up on Alcides Escobar.
Scouts drool over this kid, as he is still a bit raw with the bat, but has all of the tools you would want in a franchise shortstop. For fantasy purposes, Escobar should put more balls in play this year and thus will raise his on-base percentage and consequently stolen bases and runs scored.
This kid has the speed to steal 60 bases, yet when he fills out physically I believe he could be a 12-to-15-homer-per-season guy. There will be little pressure on him in Kansas City, but the one sure thing is that Escobar will help the Royals pitching staff with his superb range and throwing arm.
Negatives
Jason Bartlett is not an exciting fantasy player, and he should not be valued highly in drafts this year at all.
There is upside for some positive batting average there, but otherwise Bartlett is devoid of any skill that could make him a fantasy standout in 2011.
I do not anticipate Ryan Theriot remaining the Cardinals' starting shortstop for the entire season. Tyler Greene is a much better player at this stage of the game, and the only upside the pesky Theriot has is if he hits directly in front of Pujols for the entire season.
I wouldn’t recommend wasting a draft pick on Theriot in mixed leagues, and he's only worth a very late-round pick in NL-only leagues.
Don’t forget to check out our 2011 fantasy player rankings to see how all of the offseason changes will impact your fantasy baseball draft this year.
Also, before you draft be sure to view and print out our 2011 real time fantasy baseball cheat sheets.
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