Updated Shortstop Rankings – July

It’s been a little while since we’ve updated the shortstop rankings. There’s been some substantial movement since the last edition, including a new number one. Please feel free to debate the rankings/call me an idiot in the comments.

Tier 1:
Jose Reyes
Asdrubal Cabrera
Troy Tulowitzki

Reyes has easily jumped to the number one spot rankings, taking his place back amongst the fantasy elite. He’s easily having the best season of his career, hitting .354/.398/.529 which would all shatter his previous highs. Even though the slugging percentage is excellent he’s only hit three home runs, which may have to do with CitiField more than anything as Reyes is on pace for career highs in triples and doubles. The BABIP is .375, which is likely to go down, but Reyes is the type of player who could sustain that for a single season. Ranking Cabrera second over Tulowitzki and Peralta was tough for me, but his 12 steals was the deciding factor. I’ve written enough about him this season, and as long as he keeps up the power numbers he’ll maintain a high ranking. Tulowitzki has the potential to make a run at Reyes with a strong second half, but until he can improve on his current .256 BABIP that’s going to be hard.

Tier 2:
Jhonny Peralta
Elvis Andrus
Starlin Castro

The only thing keeping Peralta out of Tier 1 is his utter lack of speed. He’s having a career best season, but adding even 10 steals would improve his stock dramatically. It’s just not how he’s built. Conversely, the main reason for Elvis Andrus’ inclusion in this tier is his 25 steals. He’s actually hit three home runs, which is utterly shocking, but the .271 average isn’t impressive. If he continues to run he’ll keep his spot. If you’re in a league that counts BB%, Castro and his 4.2% wouldn’t be a good pick. However, most leagues count hits, and thanks to his lack of walks Castro has 110 of them. Add that to his .307 average and 10 steals and you have a very solid fantasy shortstop.

Tier 3:
Erick Aybar
Jimmy Rollins
Yunel Escobar
Alexei Ramirez
Hanley Ramirez

I finally had to move Hanley down. I know his past two weeks have been very good, and maybe that’s a sign he’s breaking out of his long slump. If that’s the case I’ll be happy to add him back to the elite. Until then he’s relegated to this collection of solid yet unexciting players. Rollins and Aybar steal bases while Escobar and Ramirez have brought more home runs to the table. I’ve been on the Escobar bandwagon all season so it’s nice to see him succeeding again.

Tier 4:
Stephen Drew
J.J. Hardy
Ryan Theriot
Orlando Cabrera
Darwin Barney

There is room for Hardy to move up considerably. An injury has limited him to only 214 AB thus far, which is a main reason for his placement in this tier. He’s got 12 HR and a .294 AVG. He plays in a great hitters’ park, so if he can stay healthy he could climb fast. Drew has been a big disappointment, his .266/.336/.416 line all considerably less than last season. His current SLG and ISO (.150) numbers would be his lowest since 2007.

The Rest:
Ian Desmond
Alcides Escobar
Jason Bartlett
Derek Jeter
Alexi Casilla
Jamey Carroll
Alex Gonzalez
Emilio Bonifacio
Yuniesky Betancourt
Cliff Pennington
Brendan Ryan
Jeff Keppinger
Omar Infante
Juan Uribe
Nick Punto

This is a collective grab bag of terrible.