Mocking the Shortstops
As you all are aware by now, us Rotographers held a very early mock draft this past Sunday. The team has done a great job breaking down and analyzing the selections at the respective positions they cover. Now, it’s my turn to take a look at the shortstop selections. I’m not going to talk about every player picked, only the ones I found interesting.
R1 P1: Troy Tulowitzki
R1 P11: Hanley Ramirez
R2 P7: Jose Reyes
These three are the consensus best at the position. Tulowitzki is a top flight player at a Kate Moss-thin position, so going number one overall isn’t a surprise. Some may prefer Reyes over Ramirez due to the latter’s poor 2011 season and surgery to repair his left shoulder, but either way it’s hard to quibble with any of these selections.
R3 P4: Starlin Castro
R4 P11: Jimmy Rollins
The selection of Rollins was a curious one since it’s a dynasty draft. Apparently the selector, Mike Podhorzer, has admitted he didn’t realize it was a dynasty draft at the time of the selection, so that makes more sense. I’m the one who selected Castro, partly because good, young, shortstops are hard to find and partly because my strategy was to only pick players under 30 years of age.
R5 P9: Asdrubal Cabrera
R6 P1: Elvis Andrus
R7 P8: J.J. Hardy
Nothing too out of the ordinary here. If you’re selecting Cabrera this high then you’re a believer that his newly found power is sustainable for a second season. Andrus is bereft of power but makes up for it by scoring plenty of runs and stealing plenty of bases. I had Hardy in the third tier of my shortstop keeper rankings, behind everyone already listed, so this is a good place for him.
R11 P3: Jhonny Peralta
R11 P6: Stephen Drew
R12 P1: Alexei Ramirez
R12 P3: Zack Cozart
One of my favorite selections in the entire draft was that of Peralta. He was in the third tier of my keeper rankings and the only thing keeping him from the second tier was his total lack of stolen bases. Getting a shortstop that can hit 25 home runs and is a lock to drive in 80-90 in the eleventh round is a steal. Cozart was a surprise, but not a bad pick at all considering the dearth of shortstops remaining at that time. The 26-year-old rebounded nicely from a sub-par 2010 in Triple-A Louisville to hit .310/.357/.467 in 77 games there this season before the Reds called him up to the majors. Unfortunately his season was cut short as he needed Tommy John surgery on his non throwing elbow. Since it is his non-throwing elbow he should be ready to compete for a job in spring training, with little standing in his way. He has 10-15 home run power and playing in the Reds’ bandbox of a stadium won’t hurt.
R13 P5: Yunel Escobar
R13 P6: Derek Jeter
R13 P8: Dee Gordon
R14 P6: Erick Aybar
R15 P7: Rafael Furcal
R23 P8: Jed Lowrie
R24 P4: Emilio Bonifacio
I put Bonifacio in my third tier of keepers before the Marlins’ signing of Jose Reyes. Obviously things have changed and Bonifacio doesn’t have a defined position at the moment which is he why dropped so far. He’ll be fighting for the centerfield job with two others. If he wins it then his value will increase, but until then he’s nothing more than a bench player. Blocked by Marco Scutaro in Boston, Lowrie now finds himself with little to no competition for the starting shortstop job in Houston. Had this trade been made before Sunday I imagine he would have gone in the 13-15 round range.
Erik writes for DraysBay and has also written for Bloomberg Sports. Follow him on Twitter @ehahmann.
The Dee Gordon pick is a potential steal. I’ve seen him go 7th round in a 20-team dynasty draft and 5th round in a 16 team dynasty draft in the past month. Especially in a non-OBP league the guy has the wheels to turn in a high babip campaign along with tons of steals and a modicum of runs scored.
No Desmond? I know the shine is off some, but give him to me after RD 20 or so…
I don’t understand how Yunel Escobar is so low. How can he not be counted on for a 280/350/400 line? He’ll probably be better than that too. Plus with Corey Patterson not batting behind him for half the year, he’ll probably be driven in a lot more considering the Jay’s lineup has improved so much. Even if he misses a few games is he not still more valuable then Jimmy Rollins or a complete unknown?
Was going to say the same thing. The guy is leading off, has a reputation for staying healthy, and on a fairly good offensive club. I think he’d be a steal going that late.
Yunel goes so late because it’s a fantasy draft and he isn’t that valuable in fantasy. .290, 11HR, 77R, 48 RBI and 3SB. yawn. I’ll take him in the 15th or so because he is a pretty solid player but he really doesn’t offer much. Aybar put up similar stats but stole 27 more bases. He might be my target this year because I dislike most of the early/mid rd SS’s. too mediocre for what the stats they bring to the table.
Aybar doesn’t even come close to the OBP skills Yunel has. I reall dont think an .800 OPS is a stretch for him if he’s healthy all year, and scoring close to 100 runs if he’s leading off in that new lineup.
kab21 if you decide to pick your shortstop after tulo, ramirez, and reyes are off the board, you should be hoping for .290 11HR 77R 48RBI 3SB (even though i think yunel is capable of way more this year, like .280, 17HR, 80+R, 60 RBI, 8SB)
If you don’t pick your shortstop early the goal is maximization.
lol @ the shortstops & their faces
Desmond’s 20-30 SB’s 12-15 homers and guaranteed starting job make him very draft-able late to me. Now he is off being called a Sophomore you can expect a .260 BA and more power upside as well.