Here’s what I said last year, “We’re gonna find out if the top 20 shortstops are as Ken Bonerific as the top 20 2nd basemen. Hint: they are. Damn, I gotta work on building suspense. That hint pretty much gives the whole kit away and tacks the kaboodle onto its back as it’s walking out the door. Goodbye, kit and kaboodle, I just gave you away for nothing.” And that’s me quoting me! This year? Not so much. Without further Machado, to recap, this final ranking is from our Fantasy Baseball Player Rater with my comments. The Player Rater allows me to be impartial while looking at how I ranked them in the preseason. Anyway, here’s the top 20 shortstops for 2017 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:
1. Elvis Andrus – I’ll go over shortstops, in general, in Machado’s blurb. Okay, one quick generalized thought, hitting was good this year, but shortstops weren’t and Andrus is the lowest ranked number one at a position outside of catchers by a big margin. He scored $30.4 worth of fantasy value; no other position’s number one scored less than $37. $7 is a large difference. Any hoo! Now, let’s shine the fleshlight on Andrus. Never before has he hit more than eight homers in a season, last year he hit 20. That’s where the anomalies stop. And, I’m not sure homers are really an anomaly for him either. Anomalie was a great movie, by the way, and neither am I sure if I mean Amelie or that weird Charlie Kaufman movie. HR/FB% was up from previous years, but not something insane. He only hit five ‘Just Enough’ or ‘Lucky’ homers. He is a .280-ish hitter too, which should give runs. His RBIs are due to lineup placement. Overall, his season doesn’t look as crazy as I thought going into this blurb. Preseason Rank #11, 2017 Projections: 75/8/69/.302/24, Final Numbers: 100/20/88/.297/25
2. Francisco Lindor – Honestly, the most surprising thing about Lindor’s huge jump in homers from 15 to 33 is why I didn’t expect more than 17 in the preseason. That feels like a Mr. Bungle, in retrospect, which is different than a PBS retrospective about Mr. Bungle. Preseason Rank #4, 2017 Projections: 103/17/82/.308/19, Final Numbers: 99/33/89/.273/15
3. Manny Machado – As promised, we know Machado, so I wanna speak on the state of shortstops. Chris Taylor was the 10th best 2nd baseman, here he’s 4th; Segura was the 17th best 2B, here he’s 12th; Jose Reyes was the 20th 2B, here 17th; semi-colons are fun. Guys/5 girls, shortstops were deep last year. The 20th best shortstop last year, Asdrubal, went 65/23/62/.280/5 would be around that of Tim Beckham this year. So, there’s five less shortstops this year that were as valuable last year. Some of those names: Aledmys — member him? Gone. Addison Russell — Oh, who again? Jonathan Villar? Um, yeah, buh-bye. Brad Miller makes good last year, this year makes terrible. Ian Desmond? Well, he lost eligibility, but was still awful. There was offense this past year, but not from shortstops. Preseason Rank #1, 2017 Projections: 102/35/107/.292/5, Final Numbers: 81/33/95/.259/9
4. Trea Turner – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen.
5. Chris Taylor – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen.
6. Alex Bregman – He never showed 17-steal speed in the minors, but Bregman’s year doesn’t just cast head-scratching on his own season. I had a narrative that said the Astros just don’t run that much — farting in Correa’s general direction — and Bregman throws that narrative out the window. Hey, don’t throw that DVD out the window! I said narrative, not Narnia! Preseason Rank #15 for 3B, 2017 Projections: 73/23/81/.259/8, Final Numbers: 88/19/71/.284/17
7. Carlos Correa – Two steals in three steal attempts! The power wasn’t down as bad as it appears because he did miss 40+ games, so it’s fair to suggest he would’ve hit 30 homers easy this year, but two steals?! Last year, Big Papi stole two bases at the age of 40. Sandoval stole two bases when he was 25 years old, but he was also 289 pounds! I mean, c’mon. Preseason Rank #2, 2017 Projections: 98/26/104/.275/20, Final Numbers: 82/24/84/.315/2
8. Corey Seager – Last preseason, I told you I wasn’t drafting Seager. Didn’t lie, didn’t own him. A guy with 25-homer power and no speed is hard to get excited about as high as he was going last preseason — around 25 overall, and even as high as top 15 overall in some rankings. Wouldn’t be shocked if he’s still too high this coming year. Fantasy baseballers (<–my mom’s term!) love guys with a high average even though it’s one of the most fickle stats. Khris Davis, for unstints, goes later than he should because he hits .245, and Seager will go earlier. Preseason Rank #6, 2017 Projections: 96/28/85/.298/3, Final Numbers: 85/22/77/.295/4
9. Didi Gregorius – The Gregorius D.I.D. surprised me, apparently. I thought he was going to be worse than 2016, he was much better. I know why and it highlights a problem, and illuminates a secret. Wow, I’m really building this up, huh? It’s not that good. All I want to say is you need to put eyes on guys. I didn’t say “eyez” about Didi Smalls or I’d be starting a rap war. I watched Didi in the playoffs and he has power now. Prior, I was going on his previous years’ stats. Preseason Rank #23, 2017 Projections: 63/15/71/.268/7, Final Numbers: 73/25/87/.287/3
10. Andrelton Simmons – This year Andrelton was extra terrestrial. Highlights how poor the shortstops were this year, when the 10th ranked guy had a 2nd half of 5 HRs, 6 SBs and .263. I could prolly find a player that did that in a week. Preseason Rank #37, 2017 Projections: 54/7/59/.262/7, Final Numbers: 77/14/69/.278/19
11. Javier Baez – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen.
12. Eduardo Nunez – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen.
13. Jean Segura – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen.
14. Xander Bogaerts – Wow, what a super garbage season this was from Bogaerts. I’m gonna start calling him Squander Mo’garbagets. (The t’s silent.) On a team that gave Squander fewer counting stats, he would’ve been Yangervis Solarte. “Shut yo’ mouth!” That’s Yangervis being insulted. Preseason Rank #5, 2017 Projections: 107/22/94/.304/11, Final Numbers: 94/10/62/.273/15
15. Zack Cozart – Too bad Rolfgang Omadeus Cozart can’t stay on the field and, at 32 years old, it seems unlikely to change any time soon. Also, he should steer clear of anyone named Salieri when he turns 35. Preseason Rank #29, 2017 Projections: 71/17/54/.258/5, Final Numbers: 80/24/63/.297/3
16. Jose Reyes – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen.
17. Trevor Story – His end of the year numbers don’t appear as bad as he was. At certain points last year, people who owned him were hoping he’d be demoted just to make the drop easier. Unfortch, the Story doesn’t end there — pun points! In the 2nd half of the year, he hit .254 with 13 HRs and 4 SBs. Sorry to everyone that was screwed by him this past year, but the Trevorending Story will go on again next year. Preseason Rank #3, 2017 Projections: 89/31/98/.258/12, Final Numbers: 68/24/82/.239/7
18. Tim Beckham – Went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen.
19. Tim Anderson – I knew I liked Anderson a lot last preseason, but I didn’t realize I was *that* aggressive. Asterisks for emphasis, not aesthetics. I wasn’t that off on his projections either, except steals. Fifteen steals is surprising too. He stole 49 bags in Double-A one year, and he was only caught once all of last year. He’s only 24 years old, and I already want to draft him again for next year. One guy that will be ranked about hundred spots earlier in my rankings than everyone else’s? You’re looking at him. Unless, of course, you’re cross-eyed, and my Google Analytics say that’s true of at least one of you. Preseason Rank #13, 2017 Projections: 75/14/63/.277/25, Final Numbers: 72/17/56/.257/15
20. Jorge Polanco – Fun Fact! Jo-Po is not only Jorge Polanco’s nickname, but also Jo Polniaczek’s from The Facts of Life. Preseason Rank #24, 2017 Projections: 69/10/44/.286/8, Final Numbers: 60/13/74/.256/13
