Hanley Ramirez’s Updated Fantasy Value
While we aren’t sure whether or not Hanley Ramirez is going to stick around in Miami now that Jose Reyes has come to town to take over the shortstop gig, but if he stays in South Florida, how does the Reyes’ signing affect Hanley’s fantasy value?
It’s a safe bet that Hanley’s HR and batting average aren’t likely to be affected by Reyes’, but other aspects of his fantasy value will undergo some slight changes. Let’s look at them, shall we?
Position Eligibility
In the short-term, Hanley will be adding third-base eligibility to his resume, but it won’t really matter. Hanley is going to be more valuable as a shortstop, and it will only help owners that have another good shortstop (for some reason or another). In the long-term, Hanley could end up losing his SS eligibility for 2013, but I’m willing to take a chance on Reyes missing at least ten games a year and Hanley filling in for him. Even if he does become solely eligible at 3B, he’ll still be worthy of a top-20 pick if he returns to his old offensive self.
RBI
Hanley will almost certainly be hitting behind Reyes, so he should be able to grab a few more RBI when both are healthy and on the field on the same time. We can’t be exactly sure how many more RBI opportunities Hanley will have, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Hanley ended up with ten extra RBI in 2012.
Stolen Bases and Runs Scored
Last year, the Marlins hit Hanley third or fourth for a majority of his season, and he still attempted an average of a stolen base every three games in those lineup spots. If Hanley plays 150 games this year, that comes out to over 50 stolen base attempts. As of now, the players batting behind Hanley are the same as last season, so his SB and R numbers should stay in line with his past performance.
Health
There’s a chance moving away from shortstop will help keep Hanley on the field longer. He gave us all a scare with his back problems last season, and playing a less physically demanding defensive position could allow Hanley to stay in the lineup on a more regular basis.
If you own Hanley in a dynasty league, be sure to go out and take a flier on a couple of young SS options, at the very least. Like I said before, I’m willing to bet Hanley will be SS eligible for the next couple of years — assuming he stays in Miami — but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared in case he isn’t. Overall, the Reyes signing should boost Hanley’s fantasy value in 2012 in beyond.
Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.
No offense, but this article seems pretty amateurish.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Hanley ended up with ten extra RBI in 2012.”
Okay – but instead of an opinion, why not do a little research here?
Basically, this article says Hanley will play 3B, have a better player hitting in front of him, won’t change his R/SB numbers and may be healthier than last season.
The real issue with Hanley isn’t his position or Jose Reyes – the real issue is whether he will hit like he did from 2007-2010 or like he did last season.
Honestly, I get your point but there are a 100 articles that already discuss Hanley’s up and down career on this site. Pretty easy to find the research without having to rehash it EVERY article.
Two separate issues entirely, which is why I didn’t want to touch on it.
Riddle me this, Daniel. What amount of research could possibly determine whether or not Hanley Ramirez will have 10 extra RBI next year?
If there’s no way to tell, then it really shouldn’t be included.
I’m just saying I expect more from FanGraphs (or RotoGraphs) than “he should be about the same but now he has someone better hitting in front of him”. Why even write the article if that’s all you’re going to say…?
How do you not mention his current injury? That will be the biggest factor in his success this year, not the quality of the guy hitting two spots ahead of him.
Also, I am very skeptical that you would be able to produce empirical evidence that a move to 3B will impact his health going forward.
The Defensive Spectrum is pretty well established. SS is more demanding than 3B. You are more likely to get injured when you do more demanding things.
Hooray.
Injury “experts” on competing sabresites have established that while some positions are more demanding (read: cause more injuries) than others, it is also true that ANY position switch will raise a player’s chance of injury, even if going to a nominally less demanding position.
The theory is that a player at a new position is doing things he is not as used to doing, and thus more likely to hurt himself doing them.
Wow, guys … this article is about Reyes’ effect on Hanley. It’s just an update based on the recent news.
You shouldn’t expect Zach to go give Hanley a physical and report back with how many home runs his back problems can withstand.
I still don’t get why either reyes or hanley don’t try second base. It’s not like the marlins have anyone good there
Remember when Jeter wouldn’t move from SS?
yea I think he won some GGs or something
Omar Infante is a good 2B. And he can hit at the top or bottom of the order, that’s why there’s no discussion on Reyes or HanRam moving to 2nd.
they can play him in the of