Now that we’ve recapped the top 20 catchers, top 20 1st basemen and top 20 2nd basemen, we’re starting to see clarity on depth of positions, and this is an M. Night unexpected twist. Shortstops are not as deep as 2nd basemen. The 2nd basemen benefited from some guys (Semien, Trea) getting 2nd base eligibility, but it still leaves the shortstops, a position considered extremely deep, shallower. *sings Bradley Cooper/Lady Gaga “Shallow” for 15 minutes on repeat* That’s a bit of a shock. Not how beautiful my voice is. That’s not shocking at all. So, here’s the final ranking 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 2021 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:
1. Bo Bichette – His Launch Angle is a little concerning. Not incredibly so. He can and just did hit 25+ homers with it, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s more 20/25 vs. 25/20 or, and, dare to drool, 30/30. Thinking about Mookie Betts here. Bichette’s real attribute that makes him so special is how he will contend for multiple batting titles. He’s only 23 and he has a career (three seasons now) .301 average. That’s unheard of in today’s game. If he gets better — at his age he should — he’s a .320 hitter for seven or more years. Show me Boba Chette and I’ll show you a colon filled with tapioca balls. Also, to defend myself from the haters, which there are legion, I pretty much nailed his projections, and was the high man on him, ranking him 12th overall. I saw recently someone rank him only 10th overall for next year, so, yes, I loved him more than everyone. As for his projections, you can really only get close to HRs/SBs. Average, Runs and RBIs are varying shots in the dark. So, I absolutely nailed his projections. Preseason Rank #5, 2021 Projections: 102/27/81/.294/25 in 597 ABs, Final Numbers: 121/29/102/.298/25 in 640 ABs
2. Trea Turner – Already went him in the recap of the top 20 2nd basemen for 2021 fantasy baseball.
3. Fernando Tatis Jr. – Okay, we about to have some Fun. *joins a chorus line of Rockettes and kicks across the stage* Be the best, be the best! Shortstops put our love to the test! *stops* Wait, does putting your love to the test mean they make it hard or easy? Because I can see it both ways. If a position is so good, it tests us by forcing us to reconcile with how much love we can give it. If a position is bad, it tests us to love it. This is not that sorta test. Tatis test us (almost stutterer!) for the better. The Tatis Test Us says blow your love up as big as you can get it because you’re gonna need it with this guy. That’s right, shortstops is a Tatis Test Us about blowing up love, and Semien’s right under him. Fellas, are we Randy from South Park? So, this is interesting, in Tatis’s 1st year he went 34/21/.298. I fooled you! That was Tatis Sr. in 1999. Yes, he was great for one year. What if Tatis Jr. were to fall off like his pops and get replaced by Albert Pujols Jr.? That would suck. Any hoo! Fun The Jewels is in the top 1% of every meaningful category, and, outside of his wonky shoulder, it’s hard to see how all of this isn’t as real and FUN as it gets. Also, and this is the part that truly blows my mind. Tatis is the 3rd best shortstop and the 6th best for all of fantasy baseball and, here’s the part where you’re gonna wanna sit down, he didn’t have enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title. That is Fun’ing nuts. Preseason Rank #1, 2021 Projections: 114/37/98/.274/27 in 581 ABs, Final Numbers: 99/42/97/.282/25 in 478 ABs
4. Marcus Semien – Already went him in the recap of the top 20 2nd basemen for 2021 fantasy baseball.
5. Jorge Polanco – Already went him in the recap of the top 20 2nd basemen for 2021 fantasy baseball.
6. Javier Baez – Already went him in the recap of the top 20 2nd basemen for 2021 fantasy baseball.
7. Brandon Crawford – Couldn’t have been more wrong about Crawford in the preseason. I expected nothing. “You didn’t know about me.” That’s the Giants’ genie, Gene, and he’s right, I didn’t know. I missed on pretty much every Giants hitter. I’m not being facetious. So, Crawford had 18 homers in the first half. Look at his end-of-the-season total. Take that and subtract 18. Oopsie. That’s bad. His hitting, in general, wasn’t bad either in the 2nd half, but again do subtraction. Biggest takeaway from his stats is he became more selective and, according to Statcast, he’d have 35 homers if he were on the Mariners! If only he were J.P. Crawford! What’s odd and I think shows how bad MLB pitching is on the fringes, Crawford has major exploitable holes in his swing, but he’s not exploited. At least not enough. Preseason Rank #47, 2021 Projections: 54/12/61/.234/4 in 507 ABs, Final Numbers: 79/24/90/.298/11 in 483 ABs
8. Tim Anderson – His chase rate has him on such a tightrope it feels precarious at best, and falling-off-a-cliffy at worst. Yet — again with some stank — YET! he’s got three years now where he’s swinging at everything that is remotely close to the plate, and hitting over .300. You travel through multiple clouds up to his BABIP, but that hasn’t seemed to be a problem for him to maintain. Some guys are just built different. Like me, for instance. *lifts shirt to reveal a six pack* You want a Fanta? I don’t know why I have a six pack of soda under my shirt. Preseason Rank #8, 2021 Projections: 109/22/66/.286/24 in 603 ABs, Final Numbers: 94/17/61/.309/18 in 527 ABs
9. Carlos Correa – Prepare your little fresh-faced punims for 5,000 articles about how great Correa’s gonna be on his next team. It’ll go on and on and on about how a guy who’s career high in homers is this year (26) and is a career .277 hitter with no speed, and most of you will fall for it. Especially you — don’t turn around, I’m talking to you. You’re gonna fall hard. “Correa on his (new team) is gonna be a top 20 player or my name isn’t (your name).” Preseason Rank #17, 2021 Projections: 72/24/83/.268/2 in 533 ABs, Final Numbers: 104/26/92/.279 in 555 ABs
10. Trevor Story – I was all-in this year on Story, and, while it wasn’t Cody Belanger-levels of hate reaped on my head like I was a bad person, it wasn’t fun or Fun. The Story story is quite simple: Expectations. Without them, the Story story is of satisfaction. With expectations, the Story story is that of me throwing my computer out the window, and thrilled to be living on the 1st floor. Story’s story could also scare the bejesussanchez out of you for Tim Anderson. Story’s BABIP finally came down, likely to ‘unlucky’ levels and it all fell apart. Put him in the bin labeled “Unknowable But Will Try To Figure Out For Next Year.” Preseason Rank #2, 2021 Projections: 105/33/98/.288/19 in 589 ABs, Final Numbers: 88/24/75/.251/20 in 526 ABs
11. Xander Bogaerts – As I ponder Chris Pratt as Mario, and wonder how he got into the role: Did he play the game or did he do plumbing? I’m left to stare into the abyss and, in the distance, afar, I see…Bogaerts’s 1st and 2nd half splits. Yikes, my dudes. Pretty sure he had an injury that coincided with his fall from gaerts. His 2nd half, though, if he were to do that over a full season, that’s, like, Luis Urias-type numbers. Preseason Rank #7, 2021 Projections: 94/32/88/.302/15 in 591 ABs, Final Numbers: 90/23/79/.295/5 in 529 ABs
12. Tommy Edman – Already went him in the recap of the top 20 2nd basemen for 2021 fantasy baseball.
13. Chris Taylor – Already went him in the recap of the top 20 2nd basemen for 2021 fantasy baseball.
14. Dansby Swanson – There’s a certain level of frustration with Swanson that is kinda tied to the expectations thing, but a bit deeper. Swanson actually did what I expected from him, and was still kinda meh. That’s not easy when I have positive thoughts about a guy. If Colin Moran lives up to expectations and disappoints it’s, uh, not disappointing. Swanson feels like he might need a team change so he can move up in the order or a lowering of expectations so I can always be pleasantly surprised by him. Preseason Rank #10, 2021 Projections: 79/25/84/.258/12 in 577 ABs, Final Numbers: 78/27/88/.248/9 in 588 ABs
15. Jake Cronenworth – Already went him in the recap of the top 20 1st basemen for 2021 fantasy baseball.
16. Willy Adames – *screaming inside my head* Make this about this year! *exasperated sigh* Willy Adames for next year’s president of the Grey’s His Biggest Fan Club. Willy Adames has been the rare example where I’ve heard an anecdote from a player and it matches exactly with what we’re seeing. Usually you hear shizz like, “I feel better than ever and I want to attempt more steals,” then the season starts and that guy steals two bags. Adames, though, said he didn’t feel comfortable hitting in Tampa, and can see the ball better in Milwaukee, and that is being backed up by the numbers. I’m on board with the narrative! Preseason Rank #23, 2021 Projections: 58/18/72/.253/8 in 489 ABs, Final Numbers: 77/25/73/.262/5 in 497 ABs
17. Jazz Chisholm Jr. – Already went him in the recap of the top 20 2nd basemen for 2021 fantasy baseball.
18. Nicky Lopez – Already went him in the recap of the top 20 2nd basemen for 2021 fantasy baseball.
19. Luis Urias – Already went him in the recap of the top 20 2nd basemen for 2021 fantasy baseball.
20. Amed Rosario – Not that anyone cares, except for me, but this is the 3rd straight recap post where I ranked and projected every guy. That’s pretty unheard of. Previous season was a weird year with 60 games, but there were two shortstops unranked by me in the recap. Also, the 2nd thing no one cares about except for me, but Amed was ranked 15 spots higher in the preseason than 39th, but Cesar Hernandez signed with the Guardians, and I bumped Rosario down. Original thoughts on Amed were, “Not saying he will be Lindor lite, but he might be Andres Gimenez drafted later. Call him Andres 300 ADP.” And that’s me quoting me! Turned out he was more like Lindor-heavy. Call him Fatcisco Not-lithe-dor. Preseason Rank #39, 2021 Projections: 36/7/47/.256/13 in 310 ABs, Final Numbers: 77/11/57/.282/13 in 550 ABs
