Reader Mock Draft: Shortstop ADP Analysis

Yesterday we looked at the current average draft position of shortstops*, according to MockDraftCentral. Today, since you all were kind enough to provide us with a mock draft of your own, we can discuss your selections.

*When I say average draft positions I mean that solely in the context of the position, not overall

I only looked at the top 10 yesterday because, lets be honest, shortstop is one of the more boring positions. Today we’ll go a bit deeper, looking at the top 16 from the reader mock draft.

Reader Mock Draft, with current positional ADP in brackets:

1. Troy Tulowitzki (1)
2. Hanley Ramirez (3)
3. Jose Reyes (2)
4. Starlin Castro (4)
5. Elvis Andrus (5)
6. Asdrubal Cabrera (6)
7. Jimmy Rollins (7)
8. J.J. Hardy (9)
9. Derek Jeter (8)
10. Emilio Bonifacio 3B, LF, SS (N/A)
11. Dee Gordon (10)
12. Erick Aybar
13. Alexei Ramirez
14. Stephen Drew
15. Yunel Escobar
16. Jhonny Peralta

The inclusion of Bonifacio is the only real surprise in the top 10. With shortstop filled by newly acquired Jose Reyes, third base belonging to Hanley Ramirez and the corner outfield positions manned by Logan Morrison and Mike Stanton, the only position left for Bonifacio is centerfield. However, as Eno Sarris pointed out in December, that’s not a sure thing. Whoever drafted him must be real confident that he’ll get 500+ plate appearances next season.

Once again the potential of Dee Gordon out-kicks the steady production of an Alexei Ramirez or Yunel Escobar or Jhonny Peralta. Speed is the ultimate opiate, no pun intended. Brown has something the other players don’t, however, and that’s a .gif of him being rocked like a baby by Rod Barajas. Speaking of Peralta, he seems to be getting criminally undervalued.

There are concerns about his ability to repeat his 2011 performance, but is that enough to pick him 16th? What’s the difference between J.J. Hardy and Peralta? Last season Hardy had nine more home runs and scored eight more runs than Peralta, while the latter drove in six more, hit 30 points higher and got on base more. Neither man stole a base so that’s a wash. Peralta is one of the more durable players around while Hardy has missed time due to injury in each of the past three seasons. The difference is minimal. It’s not like Hardy has a long track record of great success, either. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of Hardy this season, but there’s little reason that he should be getting so much love while Peralta slips.

The group of Aybar, Ramirez, Drew and Escobar are fairly interchangeable. None give you a big lift in a particular category, but all will give solid production across the board.