Updated Shortstop Rankings

It’s only been 30+ games into the season, but there have been a few substantial changes so far. Let’s take a look at who has moved, and how the stalwarts have fared.

Tier 1:
Hanley Ramirez
Troy Tulowitzki
Jose Reyes

Despite his awful start, I refuse to move Ramirez from Tier 1. He’s too young and his track record is too good to give up on yet. If he’s still hitting below .200 with one home run come July, then we’ll talk. After a torrid start Tulowitzki has cooled off, but he still leads all shortstops in home runs with 8 and will likely end the season as one of the best players in all of fantasy baseball. Reyes is the newcomer to the Tier. Originally in Tier 2, his outstanding play, coupled with the overall blah-ness of the position propelled him up. A .329 average with 12 steals will do that for a person.

Tier 2:
Starlin Castro
Alexei Ramirez
Stephen Drew
Jimmy Rollins

We have a newcomer to Tier 2. Castro narrowly missed being included here to start the season, but he’s shown enough thus far to earn the promotion. Drew has picked up more RBI that expected at this point (23), and while Rollins isn’t hitting for any power, he has contributed with 8 steals and 20 runs scored.

Tier 3:
Elvis Andrus
Derek Jeter
Ian Desmond
Yunel Escobar
Rafael Furcal
Asdrubal Cabrera
Jed Lowrie

Obviously, the biggest inclusion in this group is Captain Groundball, Derek Jeter. So far, he ‘s proven that his sub par 2010 season wasn’t a fluke, hitting just .256/.315/.282 with 3 extra base hits and an astounding GB% of 70. Cabrera has had a good start, but I’m not a believer in his power. He already has 5 home runs, or four less than he had over the past two seasons combined. Furcal is hopeful he’ll return soon, and unless he goes into the tank upon arrival I’m leaving him in this tier. Lowrie makes the cut due to his .337 average. Everyone here at RG was high on him coming into the season. Now if only Terry Francona would stop benching him so often.

Tier 4:
Alcides Escobar
Jhonny Peralta
J.J. Hardy
Erick Aybar
Ryan Theriot
Juan Uribe
Mike Aviles
Jason Bartlett
Cliff Pennington
Macier Izturis

Mike Aviles is currently the second ranked shortstop in Yahoo! standard leagues due to his 5 home runs, 25 RBI, and 8 steals. Aviles’ pre-season ranking – he wasn’t in the top four tiers – generated more questions than any other player. I don’t believe his current pace is sustainable, he’s getting on base at under a .310 clip, but I can see him keeping himself in the top four tiers for the remainder of the season. Izturis, mostly a utility bat in his years with the Angels, has been making the most out of his extended playing time, hitting .333 thus far. The rest of this group can collectively be described with one word: meh.

The rest:
Alex Gonzalez
Yuniesky Betancourt
Clint Barmes
Alexi Casilla
Orlando Cabrera
Edgar Renteria
Ronny Cedeno
Omar Infante
Reid Brignac
Angel Sanchez
Miguel Tejada
Marco Scutaro
Darwin Barney

The most exciting players in this group have been Alex Gonzalez, due to his 4 home runs, and Darwin Barney due to his .316 average and 14 RBI. Former Tier 4 members, Miguel Tejada, Marco Scutaro, and Reid Brignac have provided nothing this season.