Below are my early Shortstop rankings for the 2012 season. You can also find the links to previous position position breakdowns below.
Links to Previous Positional Breakdowns:
Catcher - Initial, In-Depth with Profiles
First Base - Initial, In-Depth with Profiles
Second Base - Initial, In-Depth with Profiles
Third Base - Initial, In-Depth with Profiles
Shortstop really seems like it is a bit of a mess. There is some elite talent at the top of the rankings, but nearly every player from 5 down in my rankings has some sort of question mark or concern going into the 2012 season. If you wanted to change up the rankings I post from 15 through 20, I wouldn't object, as the players in those ranks all have some sort of warts with their production.
I have included players who qualify on a 5 start limit (Yahoo standard), but mentioned if they fall under the 20 game limit which most of the other websites run with.
Here's my early top 20 for shortstops for 2012:
1. Troy Tulowitzki (COL)
2. Jose Reyes (FA)
3. Hanley Ramirez (FLA)
4. Asdrubal Cabrera (CLE)
5. Jimmy Rollins (FA)
6. Starlin Castro (CHC)
7. J.J. Hardy (BAL)
8. Elvis Andrus (TEX)
9. Alexei Ramirez (CHW)
10. Jhonny Peralta (DET)
11. Stephen Drew (ARI)
12. Dee Gordon (LAD)
13. Erick Aybar (LAA)
14. Derek Jeter (NYY)
15. Emilio Bonifacio (FLA)
16. Yunel Escobar (TOR)
17. Ian Desmond (WAS)
18. Alcides Escobar (KC)
19. Zack Cozart (CIN)
20. Jason Bartlett (SD)
HM: Eduardo Nunez (NYY), Cliff Pennington (OAK), Marco Scutaro (BOS), Willie Bloomquist (ARI)