The top 20 shortstops for 2012 fantasy baseball are a shallow bowl of dung and even the catchers are ranked ahead of them for depth. All the 2012 fantasy baseball rankings can be found under that thing that says 2012 fantasy baseball rankings. (Don’t worry, one of my New Year’s Resolutions is to link to things a little more seamlessly). Shortstops usually get the short end of the stick when I’m drafting. If I don’t get a top guy from the first two rounds, I’ll probably just take a flyer on some late round player. Honestly, I don’t even really want to mess with Tulo, Reyes and Ramirez. So, to amend what I just said, I usually just take a late flyer on a shortstop. I honestly can’t remember the last time I drafted a 1st or 2nd round shortstop, and I play in about ten leagues per year. In leagues that play a middle infielder, then you might need two of these schmohawks. Hopefully, you can grab two decent 2nd basemen and only need one of these guys. As with the other top 20 rankings, I point out where I think tiers start and stop and my projections. Anyway, here’s the top 20 shortstops for 2012 fantasy baseball:
1. Troy Tulowitzki – His projections are found at the top 10 for 2012 fantasy baseball.
2. Jose Reyes – His projections are found at the top 20 for 2012 fantasy baseball.
3. Hanley Ramirez – His projections are found at the top 20 for 2012 fantasy baseball.
4. Elvis Andrus – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Asdrubal. I call this tier, “Only four shortstops in and it’s your last chance for a decent one. Yay.” Maybe it’s Arlington, maybe it’s the lineup around him, but I still think he can hit 7 to 10 homers and be the new Reyes. He’s still only 23 years old and he’s shown durability and speed. All he needs is to find a little power stroke and we’re looking at a guy that is gonna shoot up a few rounds next year. 2012 Projections: 105/7/60/.285/40
5. Starlin Castro – Castro’s gonna be the Jeter of the Cubs. Players on the Cubs are gonna come and go and Castro’s gonna be there, hitting .300, teen homers and steal 20-ish bases. For a long time. (Note #1: I wrote the preceding then decided to use my Google machine to see if anyone’s made that comparison before. Sure enough, yup. Dozens of people. There’s even a crappy Bleacher Report slideshow of Jeter and Castro that has five pictures total that are flip-flopped five times to drive up pageviews.) (Note #2: If you skipped the first note, let’s act like I invented the Castro/Jeter comparison.) (Note #3: There’s no note number three.) I’m sure I’m the first person to think of the Jeter vs. Castro comparison. Prescient isn’t just a word I can’t spell without a spellchecker! (Note #4: Thanks for ignoring the first note.) 2012 Projections: 100/12/70/.310/20
6. Jimmy Rollins – You know when you show up at a party early and no one else is there and you’re stuck talking to people you don’t know? That’s like drafting a player the year before he breaks out. “So, how do you know the host of the party? You met him at AA? Cool. You know, I actually have another party I have to get to.” It’s equally bad showing up sober to a party late and everyone is drunk and acting a fool. That’s like drafting an older player who finally becomes useless. “So, you put flash frames of Masonic imagery in your home movies? Interesting… I think I’m gonna head home.” And before you know it you’re cleaning up vomit off your shoes because of the random guy who couldn’t resist the Jager. No one wants to be the first or last person at the party. I get it. You’re running the risk of being last on Rollins and having to clean up his puke, but I think a car load of girls is about to show up and the party has one more rally left in it. 2012 Projections: 80/14/55/.270/24
7. Asdrubal Cabrera – Let’s put what I have to say aside for one second. Bill James says Asdrubal should go 16/15/.273. He gives Rollins 16/25/.262, Castro 8/21/.312 and Andrus 4/39/.281. Those are relatively the same with Rollins getting the edge because of steals and power. Rollins is obviously the most likely to get those numbers or get injured. Castro doesn’t have huge power, but he’s better in steals and average. Andrus is way better in steals and slightly better in average. So why is Asdrubal last? He never hit more than 6 homers in any other professional season. He just pulled a 25 homer, “Hey, look I’m Ben Zobrist!” season out of his back pocket. All of those other shortstops have done all of those numbers before. Andrus easily has speed, Rollins has done those numbers for multiple seasons and Castro is five years Asdrubal’s junior and he just went 10/22 and hits .300 like it’s his job (which it is), i.e., I’m not drafting Asdrubal with his current price tag. 2012 Projections: 80/14/70/.270/15
8. Derek Jeter – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Bonifacio. I call this tier, “Where’s all the freakin’ shortstops?” What a mess this position is. That’s it; only 7 shortstops? For serious? That’s ridiculous. Fold the position and move everyone on the field thirty feet to their right. Or count pitchers’ hitting for fantasy and forget about shortstops. Last three years, Jeter’s homers have been 18, 10 and 6. As we know from 3rd grade math problems, next year Jeter’s gonna hit a negative two homers. Hey, Garrett Atkins, get out of Jeter’s earth skin?! 2012 Projections: 90/10/60/.275/15
9. Alexei Ramirez – I dislike this guy a shizzload. His end of the year stats of 17-ish homers and 10-ish steals look all right, but to get there it’s, like, 3 homers and 1 and a half steals per month. Who even steals half bags? Fat and/or lazy guys, and Alexei isn’t fat the last time I checked. Oh, and when you’re waiting for 3 homers and 1+ steal a month, it’s utterly yawnstipating. 2012 Projections: 75/17/80/.270/10
10. Erick Aybar – The best thing Aybar has going for him is Scioscia loves him like a fat kid loves cake. When the best thing for you is when a Sciosciapath likes you, you’re in trouble. He gave Jeff Mathis 2000 ABs! 2012 Projections: 80/6/50/.280/24
11. J.J. Hardy – You trusting J.J. Hardy as your shortstop? Not rhetorical! Seriously, are you? He wasn’t even drafted last year and he’s ranked 11th, and it’s not like he was this prospect that suddenly emerged and that’s why he wasn’t drafted. He’s 29 years old and has played 7 years in the majors. You think he’s going to repeat last year or do you think he’s gonna disappoint like his other years? Oh, God, this position is terrible. 2012 Projections: 60/19/75/.255
12. Emilio Bonifacio – A utility man who just had a career year isn’t my idea of a great draft pick. Maybe I’m old fashioned! Maybe when I curse I say drats! Maybe I call my breeches knickerbockers! Maybe I’m afraid of planes because I think they’re giant birds! I don’t buy Bonifacio at all on the average. That was bolstered by luck and a hitting streak where things were falling in for him…. Hmm, that’s sorta the same as luck. I also don’t buy the power, even if it was only five homers last year. The speed is real though, so if you can get him at a bargain and you need speed, go for it. Remember, you’re drafting a guy that you will almost definitely want to drop two weeks into the season. 2012 Projections: 70/2/40/.260/30
13. Dee Gordon – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Alcides. I call this tier, “Honestly, I don’t even think these guys are that great, but compared to what’s left after this, this is your last chance for exciting.” If you don’t have a shortstop by the end of this tier, then you are punting shortstop and will end up with a waiver wire carousel of Cliff Pennington, Rafael Furcal and Jason Bartlett. Otherwise known as Clafson Barcal, who only sounds like a character from The Wire. Gordon is Juan Pierre at shortstop. He’s so skinny if you put a sesame seed on his head he looks like a thumb tack. I don’t think Gordon could hit a homer if they move the fences to standard Celebrity Softball regulation. But he does have speed to burn, so there’s that. 2012 Projections: 80/0/30/.265/45
14. Ian Desmond – I feel like Desmond and Espinosa both get a bad rap. Speaking of bad rap, imagine Nicki Minaj guest rapping on a Pitbull song. Man, they are both terrible. You’re not rhyming Kodak with Kodak, you are just repeating the same word! Desmond was actually a bit lucky with his average last year and he strikes out a lot. It’s not a great sign, but all the players this low have some drawbacks. 2012 Projections: 70/10/65/.250/22
15. Zack Cozart – I already went over my Zack Cozart fantasy. I wrote it while defriending anyone that ruined Boardwalk Empire’s finale. 2012 Projections: 55/14/70/.245/20
16. Alcides Escobar – This is it. No more upside at shortstop after this. Unless you’re related to Everth Cabrera and you promised to draft him so he stops threatening to walk into traffic. Alcides has the promise of 40 steal speed in those luscious gams of his. Whether he ever wants to make good on that promise is up to him. BTW, luscious is a totally normal adjective to describe another man’s legs. Alcides looks like a poor man’s Aybar. Or a Sawdust-On-The-Floor-bar. 2012 Projections: 75/5/50/.250/30
17. Jhonny Peralta – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until the end of the post. I call this tier, “If you draft from here, you will rotate out your shortstop at least 5 times this year.” I guess Peralta could be J.J. Hardy this year and bash 30 homers. More than likely he’ll hit 17 homers and a .250 average. I don’t buy the .299 average last year at all. I think the God of Extra H’s came to him in April and bestowed on him his one wish — a pony that craps gold. Then he got lucky and hit .299. (You didn’t think he’d wish for a .299 average, did you? I mean, wouldn’t he just wish for a .300 average? C’mon, use your brain!) 2012 Projections: 60/17/75/.250
18. Yunel Escobar – I never know what to make of Yunel. One year he hits 11 homers and another year he hits 14 and another year he hits 10 homers. Will he hit 11 this year? Maybe 12? Or even 13? So much to think about! /sarcasm 2012 Projections: 70/12/45/.280/3
19. Jason Bartlett – I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bartlett traded to a team that uses him as a backup. Luckily, that wouldn’t change his fantasy value. Because to change values, you need value — snap! 2012 Projections: 50/3/35/.255/20
20. Rafael Furcal – Member when Furcal was one of the top shortstops in the game? Yeah, I don’t either. I have a bad memory. Who are we talking about anyway? Ryan Klesko? I love his sideburns! 2012 Projections: 60/7/35/.245/12
After the top 20 shortstops for 2012 fantasy baseball, there’s a lot of names but these standout:
Tyler Pastornicky – Since the Braves like to throw prospects to the fire (to nice success), I expect they’re going to give Pastornicky, who sounds like the clergyman that Carmela made out with, every chance to play. In the minors, he’s shown decent power for a shortstop and 20-ish speed. I wouldn’t expect much of an average. He might be a very cheap Ian Desmond. That sounded better in my head than it probably did in yours. To read further on Tyler Pastornicky 2012 fantasy, click that link-a-ma-boob. 2012 Projections: 55/7/65/.250/17
Jed Lowrie – The fact that the top 20 2nd basemen for 2012 fantasy baseball and this post both have Astros in the upside flyer section at the end of the post speaks volumes. I share very little enthusiasm for Lowrie that others have. Best case scenario, he hits 15 homers and steals 3 bases. Over the course of the season, you’re looking at a guy that hits about 2 homers per month. That gets boring by April 7th. 2012 Projections: 60/12/65/.260/3
Stephen Drew – I usually like to highlight guys at the bottom of this list to look at late, but we’re talking about shortstops here. If you couldn’t tell from the dozen or so times I said there’s no good shortstops, here’s another indication. For the first time in a while, Stephen Drew will not disappoint because no one is expecting anything from him. The Royal We is not even sure if he’ll be able to play when the season rolls around. Think about all the time we would’ve saved from drafting the two Drew boys if Mother Drew never met Father Drew. Could someone travel back in time and make sure they never meet? 2012 Projections: 60/12/55/.270/5
