Fantasy Baseball - Shortstops

Shortstop is a bit of a tough position to pick this year. Unless you get one of the top five shortstops, everyone after that is pretty much a crap shoot. I'll go over the top ten shortstops, but one sleeper to keep an eye on is J.J. Hardy from Minnesota. He is in a contract year and is a quality player. If he hit 20 home runs, I wouldn't be surprised. Moving right along....

1. Hanley Ramirez - Fla - Usually the number two overall pick in drafts to Albert Pujols, Hanley has a great mix of speed and power. He is a lock to hit over .300 and consider yourself lucky to have him on your team.

2. Derek Jeter - NYY - Jeter is coming off an amazing season where he hit .334 with 18 HR and 30 SB. I wouldn't look for that this year, but a .320 average with 20 steals and 15 HR is easily attainable.

3. Troy Tulowitzki - Col - Tulowitzki definitely has some pop in his bat, coming off a 32 HR season. I would say 25-30 HR with 100 RBI and a .280 average is doable for double T.

4. Jimmy Rollins - Phi - J-Roll is one of the more consistent shortstops in the league. He will hit for power, get you steals, and usually has some of the better corn rows in the National League.

5. Jason Bartlett - TB - Bartlett is pretty solid... 12 home runs, 30 steals, and a .300 average. Not bad if you can get him in the mid to late rounds of your draft.

6. Jose Reyes - NYM - This is a tough pick. With his health concerns, Reyes could play very little, or if he does play, he could be a non factor. But if his health is good enough, Reyes is easily the second best SS in all of baseball. He steals a ton of bases, hits for a decent .280 average, and has a little pop in his bat, at least enough to get you double digit home runs. He will be starting the year on the DL and looks to return around April 10^th.

7. Yunel Escobar - Atl - Escobar has plenty of power for a shortstop. 15 home runs and around 100 runs is a good bet for Escobar.

8. Alcides Escobar - Mil - The 'other' Escobar doesn't have the pop of Yunel, but he will get you 30 steals with 90 runs. A decent .280 average is also within his grasp.

9. Alexei Ramirez - CHW - Ramirez is a pretty well rounded player. Decent power, decent average, and decent speed. You could do a lot worse. And by worse I mean Jhonny Peralta. Seriously Jhonny, 'o' before 'h' except if you can't spell. Get it together kid.

10. Stephen Drew - Ari - Pretty consistent 15-20 HR with 80 RBI and a .275 average. Not bad as a number 10 SS late in the draft.

REFS:

http://www.cbssportsline.com