Here’s what I said two years ago, “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! Then last year, the shortstops collapsed like every piece of furniture you’ve ever put together from Ikea. This year? Rebound, baby! 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 2018 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:
1. Francisco Lindor – I nailed Lindor six ways to Sunday and seven ways to Monday and seven and a half ways to Muesday and eight ways–Okay, you get the point. My Lindor projections were conservative, but I ranked him higher than anyone I saw, and, when ranking him, I wrote, “Last year Lindor went 33/15/.273 and now he’s 24 years old. Yup, no place for him to go. Only down. He’s done. Put a fork in him. Not in his eye, you sicko. Poke the fork in his thigh or something. I mean, you’re trying to hurt him but not seriously injure the guy. Glad the Lindor party is over, makes that easy. So, how was your winter? Get anything good for Christmas? Make any new friends? File any sexual assault charges? WAIT A SECOND! The Lindor party is not over! Holy crap, this is the biggest comeback since Joey Fatone’s star redefining tour de force on Dancing with the Stars! Wow, Lindor was over for five even six sentences, and then, bam, right back. Crazy. Honestly, I can’t even figure out why Lindor’s being under-drafted in leagues I’ve seen so far. He’s a top 12 player if I’ve ever seen one. And, let me tell you, you old so-and-so, I’ve seen one! His HR/FB% was 14%, far from ridiculous. He didn’t hit his homers very far (397 feet on average), but he upped his fly balls and hard contact. He also pulls a decent amount and, if you’ve ever watched him, he can Major Lazer a baseball just over any fence. Maybe his power comes down to 27 HRs, but he’s more of a 15-20 steal guy vs. a 10-15 steal guy.” And that’s me quoting me! So, I not only foresaw Lindor would be terrific, but also saw that he was being way under-drafted. At this point, that seems obvious. It was not obvious last January. For what it’s Werth, ESPN ranked him 20th overall vs. my 11th. Preseason Rank #2, 2018 Projections: 112/27/81/.294/17 in 601 ABs, Final Numbers: 129/38/92/.277/25 in 661 ABs
2. Trevor Story – Something I didn’t mention a ton during the season, but I wrote a Trevor Story sleeper back in December. Here’s the key takeaway, “(Story) missed sixty games the previous year, and maybe he was rusty in the 1st half of last year, that would also explain his better 2nd half. Finally, as he stopped hitting everything in the air, his Hard Contact percentage went from 31% to 49%. 49% would’ve been the best Hard Contact rate in the entire major leagues, to give you an idea how well he was seeing the ball in the 2nd half. Story was a tale of two halfs, and the worst of times and the best of times, until he started hitting the Dickens out of the ball. All of this is positive, and I haven’t even mentioned Coors, except in passing. Oh my God, Coors passed away?! Shut up, Random Italicized Voice. This, my over-the-internet friends, is a sleeper.” And that’s me quoting me! Of Coors, I never saw 27 steals coming from Story. What a lovely narrative twist. Preseason Rank #11, 2018 Projections: 78/31/89/.247/8 in 575 ABs, Final Numbers: 87/36/107/.291/27 in 594 ABs
3. Javier Baez – Went over in the 2nd basemen recap.
4. Manny Machado – For those that aren’t students of rap history, you can’t mess with anyone with a monetary illusion in their name: Chamillionaire, 50 Cent, Money B, Eddie Money. This is why I’m renaming this shortstop, Money Muchado. It was super random that Money Muchado wasn’t being drafted higher last year, maybe people don’t like guys with 40-homer power and 15-steal speed as much as me. Apizzarently not, I ranked him 8th overall last year which was highest for any ‘pert. Yahoo ranked him 20th. Oops upside your head! Preseason rank #2 for 3rd basemen, 2018 Projections: 103/36/93/.288/9 in 617 ABs, Final Numbers: 84/37/107/.297/14 in 632 ABs
5. Trea Turner – Forcing myself to make this about 2018 vs. 2019, but I already know I’m going to own Turner in literally every league next year. Here’s what everyone else does: what did this player do last year? Okay, will now rank him. At Razzball (Rudy does this too), what is the player going to do for the year we’re ranking him for? Things can be illuminated by what a player just did, which is why I’m pointing out their past year, but it’s about what a player will do vs. just did. Except for the recaps. Turner had a low BABIP year, which hurt his average. If he has a high BABIP (something he has less control over), he’s an MVP candidate. Seriously, 20/40/.290 vs. 20/40/.270 is the difference between disappointment and MVP because the stakes are so high for Turner and De La Soul. By the way, member when he couldn’t stay healthy for a full season? He just played in 162 games. Preseason Rank #1, 2018 Projections: 110/16/63/.302/47 in 581 ABs, Final Numbers: 103/19/73/.271/43 in 664 ABs
6. Alex Bregman – As I will say below with Didi, it’s disingenuous to say I saw this year coming with Bregman. But I will try! My projections are actually damn close, except for runs and RBIs and you can’t account for those without serious witchcraft, and I’m not getting burned at a stake for you people. Preseason Rank #4, 2018 Projections: 98/25/79/.281/14 in 583 ABs, Final Numbers: 105/31/103/.286/10 in 594 ABs
7. Didi Gregorius – As right as I was with Lindor, Story, Tim Anderson, Machado and others, I whiffed on Didi (and Bregman). Not only buried Didi in my rankings, but didn’t want him. Didin’t? Yes, that is right. Preseason Rank #21, 2018 Projections: 65/19/78/.279/3 in 552 ABs, Final Numbers: 89/27/86/.268/10 in 504 ABs
8. Xander Bogaerts – Only two homers off his career high in homers, but his batted ball profile is saying all the right things. His ground balls went down (not literally), his fly balls went up (literally) and his line drives are still solid (no dur). He is a month-long hot streak with power from being Bregman. Bregaerts? Sure, keep that in mind when Bregman is going in the top 12 next year and Bogaerts is going around top 40. Preseason Rank #8, 2018 Projections: 88/18/94/.283/14 in 614 ABs, Final Numbers: 72/23/103/.288/8 in 513 ABs
9. Jean Segura – In the one league I won, I owned Segura (and Peraza), and there were weeks I didn’t even start Segura, especially in the 2nd half when he hit three homers and stole six bags. The runs were there, but playing a guy for runs is like treating a bottle of water like it’s wine. You swishing water around in your mouth? That’s Segura. Preseason Rank #7, 2018 Projections: 97/14/50/.291/26 in 591 ABs, Final Numbers: 91/10/63/.304/20 in 586 ABs
10. Jose Peraza – Went over in the 2nd basemen recap.
11. Tim Anderson – This was Steve Miller watching Anderson in the 2nd half, “Tim keeps on slippin’…slippin’…slippin’…with his fantasy value.” Anderson was definitely hoisted by his 1st half, then the 2nd half was the petard. Shucks, millennials are telling me I can’t say the word petard anymore. Damn! As mentioned many times before about Tim, I called him a sleeper, due to his power and speed, and it continues to baffle me why more people don’t realize if a guy can steal bases and homer, it’s good. Seems pretty straightforward. Preseason Rank #10, 2018 Projections: 83/21/68/.260/25 in 593 ABs, Final Numbers: 77/20/64/.240/26 in 567 ABs
12. Eduardo Escobar – Went over in the 2nd basemen recap.
13. Jurickson Profar – Never fully trusted Profar this year. The Jurickson store called and they said they’re out of me. One small note on Profar that will undercut everything about this ranking. He was not the 13th best shortstop if you didn’t own him for the entire season, which very few of you will be able to claim. Okay, all of you can claim it, because no one’s checking that shizz, but you’re lying. Preseason Rank #38, 2018 Projections: 39/6/30/.242/4 in 276 ABs, Final Numbers: 82/20/77/.254/10 in 524 ABs
14. Marcus Semien – Only made one trade this year, I traded Brad Boxberger for Tanaka and Semien. Tanaka was decent in the 2nd half, but absolutely destroyed me for the better part of two months and Semien was not the extra shot you would think. Hey now! Then again, Boxberger was priceless by the end of the year, as in I wouldn’t give you any price for him. Preseason Rank #27, 2018 Projections: 64/23/72/.241/10 in 508 ABs, Final Numbers: 89/15/70/.255/14 in 632 ABs
15. Andrelton Simmons – When someone says Andrelton is out of this world, they’re more talking about his birthplace. Preseason Rank #22, 2018 Projections: 62/15/69/.282/14 in 561 ABs, Final Numbers: 68/11/75/.292/10 in 554 ABs
16. Gleyber Torres – Went over in the 2nd basemen recap.
17. Chris Taylor – Went over in the 2nd basemen recap.
18. Amed Rosario – If the Mets weren’t such dinks, Amed would’ve led off the entire year, and he would’ve ranked about seven spots higher — hey, just like in his lineup! I have no faith in the Mets putting it together that when Amed hit leadoff, the Mets went from the 28th best offense in the 1st half to the 12th best in 2nd half. Can you tell I’m already excited for Rosario for 2019? It’s obvious, isn’t it? Amed to that! Preseason Rank #16, 2018 Projections: 61/12/67/.262/20 in 553 ABs, Final Numbers: 76/9/51/.256/24 in 554 ABs
19. Asdrubal Cabrera – Went over in the 2nd basemen recap.
20. Johan Camargo – Stereotypical guy who does okay in spurts — sounds like Semien — but is really a life raft in Only leagues. Luckily, Camargo shook out of his early season platoon with Lane Adams. Though, the loss of Camargo/Adams still upsets Wade Boggs. Preseason Rank #46, 2018 Projections: 51/9/60/.254/1 in 502 ABs, Final Numbers: 63/19/76/.272/1 in 464 ABs
