Good day, All,
Things have been interesting as usual as we are approaching the end of the first calendar month of the MLB season – future Hall-of-Famer Miguel Cabrera reached 3,000 hits, the Rays threw nine no-hit innings in a game that ended up not being a no-hitter, and MLB is allegedly using two different kinds baseballs in games.
While batting averages are down, there is still plenty of value to be found at the shortstop position. Here’s a look at the shortstop rankings so far, keeping in mind the season is only a few weeks old:
Tier 1 –
1) Trea Turner – Dodgers – Turner’s 27 game hit streak came to an end, but he’s contributing across the board and should ramp things up shortly.
2) Wander Franco – Rays – Franco owns a +1.000 OPS to start the year and is looking like a player well beyond his years. Hall of Fame Class of 2047 haha
3) Bo Bichette – Jays – Bo has started the season slow, but I’m still a believer in the talent and I’m sure these few weeks will be a small blip when we look at his stats at the end of the year.
Tier 2 –
4) Francisco Lindor – Mets – Lindor looks way more comfortable in his sophomore season in New York, with 4 homers, 3 steals, hitting over .300 and an OBP of +.400.
5) Trevor Story – Red Sox – Another slow starter but I’m not ready to panic and assume this is a repeat of Lindor’s first year with the Mets.
Tier 3 –
6) Tim Anderson – White Sox – Anderson is batting over .300, exhibiting the power and steals combo we’ve seen from him the past few years. He’s been among the few dependable bats in the banged-up Sox lineup that just lost Eloy Jimenez for the foreseeable future.
7) Xander Bogaerts – Red Sox – The X-Man is off to a great start and has 200+ million reasons to earn a fat contract if he (likely) opts out after the year.
8) Marcus Semien – Rangers – Well, that’s a rough-looking Savant page. I’m gonna give Semien another few weeks before dropping him from this tier.
Tier 4 –
9) Jorge Polanco – Twins – A mixed bag for Polanco, as he’s walking and striking out at career highs. He’s still batting in a premium spot in the Twins lineup and I’m giving the veteran the benefit of the doubt that he will rebound.
10) Javier Baez – Tigers – Baez has roughly 20 AB’s, as he’s recently been activated from the Injured List.
11) Adalberto Mondesi – Royals – Mondesi has been ice cold. Here’s to hoping the steals rise as the temperature does for the sake of the Razzball fam.
12) Jazz Chisholm Jr. – Marlins – Smooth Jazz has been outperforming his expected stats thus far and I’m sure we’ll see some negative regression. However, he’s been everything and more for his owners as of now.
13) Jake Cronenworth – Padres – Although Cro has been slumping, he’s walking at a career-best rate and his BABIP is roughly 100 points below the league average. Jake can be one of the biggest risers from his current stats over the next couple of weeks.
14) Chris Taylor – Dodgers – Taylor continues to do his thing, be a productive cog in the wheel that is the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Tier 5 –
This tier of players is pretty much interchangeable. We know what kind of players these guys are, and while they’re currently underperforming, they are safe bets to rebound.
15) Corey Seager – Rangers
16) Carlos Correa – Twins
17) Willy Adames – Brewers
Tier 6 –
This group of players has the potential for big moves up the rankings in a month or so. Lux has been getting plenty of playing time. Rodgers has an ice-cold Savant page, but I’m giving him some time to heat up. Witt has been for now due to a 4/0/4/.184/.216 line, but hey, even the great Mike Trout struggled in his first go-around in the majors. Look for Witt to settle in shortly.
18) Gavin Lux – Dodgers
19) Brendan Rodgers – Rockies
20) Bobby Witt Jr. – Royals
Tier 7 –
Tyler Wade and Thairo Estrada make the list due to their strong starts. Grey told you to BUY Wade and Estrada. We’ll see if they’re just schmotatoes or not.
21) Brendan Crawford – Giants
22) Jeremy Pena – Astros
23) Tyler Wade – Angels
24) Thairo Estrada – Giants
25) Gleyber Torres – Yankees
Have a great week and keep an eye out for the next big MLB milestone, which should be Clayton Kershaw becoming the all-time Dodgers strikeouts leader.
