We recently began a series looking at the potential top rookie producers at each position around the baseball diamond. This series should be valuable for anyone participating in a fantasy league that allows keepers. It could also help anyone playing in more traditional formats who may need to fill holes throughout the season or may be in need of a little spark.

If you thought 2015 was an impressive year for rookie shortstops — with the likes of Carlos Correa, Addison Russell, and Francisco Lindor making their debuts — just wait for 2016. As many as six more infield captains could step into starting roles in Chicago (AL), Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Los Angeles (NL), Colorado, and Washington.

Previously:
Catchers
First Basemen
Second Basemen
Third Basemen

Top Targets:

Tim Anderson, White Sox: The Sox made a number of upgrades during the offseason but will open the year with all-glove Tyler Saladino at shortstop. The decision could be a signal that the club is hoping Anderson can be ready at some point early on in 2016. After all, Ian Desmond is still on the open market as of the writing of this piece and Chicago is in win-now mode. The rookie infielder has shown the ability to hit for average, which is good because he rarely walks — something that typically doesn’t bode well for someone who has the ability to steal 20-30 bases at the big league level (and needs to be on base to do so). After spending all of 2015 in Double-A, look for Anderson to appear in The Show around mid to late June.

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We’ve started our annual Depth Chart Discussions, re-branded as Playing Time Battles for 2016. You can catch up on every team we’ve covered in the Playing Time Battles Summary post or following along using the Depth Chart Discussions tag.

Fresh off 98 wins and a third consecutive post-season appearance, the Pirates enter 2016 with an elite outfield and one of baseball’s preeminent pitch framers behind the dish. But the infield, like the Allegheny that flows just beyond PNC’s walls, is both murky and shallow.

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Below is the Second Base and Shortstop installments of our 2016 Ottoneu FGpt rankings.

Previous Rankings: Catcher/First Base/Third Base

In the context of Ottoneu, perhaps rankings are a misnomer, because you really want to know the dollar value each player is worth. We’ve included this information for our benefit. In all, these rankings should help to give you a spread of four dollar values for each player, as well as a comparison to average prices (post-arbitration, pre-cut deadline) within the Ottoneu FGpts universe. Each player’s Ottoneu eligibility (5GS, 10 appearances) is included as well, though players are ranked at their most valuable position. If you have questions on a specific ranking, or a question for a specific ranker, feel free to let us know in the comments.

Consider this your very early, subject to change, Ottoneu pricing cheat sheet.
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Some of this is being repeated from the Primer piece that went up this morning. 

We’re bringing them to you earlier this year, but that also means that they’re far from set in stone so take that into consideration as you peruse them. There are still strong arms on the free agent market, let alone all the moving and shaking that happens once players start reporting to camp.

• Outfielder (Jan. 18)
• Starting Pitcher (Jan. 20)
• Shortstop (Jan. 22-today)
• First Base (Jan. 25)
• Catcher (Jan. 26)
• Second Base (Jan. 27)
• Third Base (Jan. 28)
• DH (Jan. 29)
• Reliever (Jan. 29 courtesy of the Bullpen Report crew)

We’re using Yahoo! eligibility requirements which is 5 starts or 10 appearances. These rankings assume the standard 5×5 categories and a re-draft league.  If we forgot someone, please let us know in the comments and we’ll make sure he’s added for the updates. If you have questions for a specific ranker on something he did, let us know in the comments.

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If all goes according to plan, our next round of rankings will be published later today. As you may have guessed, the position du jour is shortstop. As of this writing, only five out of seven sets of rankings have been entered into our handy shared Google doc.

It’s clear we have some deep disagreements about shortstop values. I’m going to break this into two parts – the guys I like more and the guys I like less than my colleagues. I’ll hunt for some meaning behind the madness. Because our rankings are not final, don’t be surprised if any numbers cited wind up slightly incorrect. We still need to address a couple guys who slipped through the cracks in the first run.

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There was a point earlier in the year when I felt bad for Jose Reyes. He was on a contender until they unceremoniously dumped him for a better declining shortstop. Reyes was decent with the Blue Jays, and many of us thought he could rebound even more in Colorado. Alas, it appears that joining a non-contender ruined his focus. He posted a meager 62 wRC+ in 208 plate appearances with the Rockies.

As I said, there was a point when I felt bad. No longer. While visiting Hawaii this winter, Reyes was charged with abusing his partner. His will be the first major test of MLB’s new domestic abuse policy. In light of the NFL’s consistent mishandling of domestic abuse, look for Rob Manfred to hand down a harsh penalty. And that could open doors in Colorado.

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We know the game is changing and getting much younger as a result. We just watched perhaps the best rookie class ever. One position that has been especially enriched by the youth movement is shortstop. For a few years it has been the worst fantasy position on the diamond and next-worst wasn’t particularly close. The gap has definitely shrunk and may have done so enough to where it’s not even the thinnest position in fantasy.

Obviously the headliners here are Carlos Correa and Francisco Lindor, the two super-phenoms who embarrassed the league’s pitchers for 99 games apiece at the ages of 20 and 21, respectively. Many already see Correa as a first-round fantasy talent thanks in large part to his incredible power at such a premium position. Lindor won’t last too long, either. He went in the fourth round of a 15-team draft I did earlier this month, though he hasn’t yet gone deep into the seventh round of a 12-team mock that I have observed.

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A mixture of beer and orange juice is called a brass monkey. Occasionally, uncreative types will call it a beermosa. A mixture of Miller High Life and Tropicana orange juice is called disgusting. It’s also sometimes referred to as sweetened pisswater. Now that our mixology lesson is over, let’s talk about Brad Miller in his new digs.

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Say what you will about the Cincinnati Reds, but they have some useful middle infield depth. Veteran Brandon Phillips is under contract for one more season. Since he has full 10-and-5 rights (i.e. a no trade clause), the retooling Reds may have trouble swapping him elsewhere. That’s a shame for their two shortstops – Zack Cozart and Eugenio Suarez.

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The little brother of Mariners third baseman Kyle, Corey Seager enjoyed a delicious cup of coffee with the Dodgers after being recalled in early September. He BABIPed his way to a .421 wOBA over 113 plate appearances after heading into the season ranked as the team’s second best prospect.

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