Coming into the season, I ranked Marlins shortstop as the #1 fantasy shortstop and he has, thus far, disappointed fantasy owners, and that is being kind. I published my pre-season Fantasy Shortstop Rankings back in early March here and there are several guys in my Top 12 who have either underperformed or been injured this season including Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal, Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond and Giants shortstop Miguel Tejada.
If you're looking for more rankings, head on over to Fantasy Rundown, where they provide links to all the other fantasy writers across the net.
Let's take a look at my Mid-Season Shortstop Rankings:
1. Jose Reyes, NYM-Reyes is not only the top fantasy shortstop this season, but he is in the discussion for league MVP. He is currently leading MLB in batting average and owns a triple slash line of .354-.398-.529 with 3 HRs, 32 RBIs, 65 runs and 30 SBs. He is currently sitting out with a hamstring injury,
2. Troy Tulowitzki, COL-Tulowitzki was probably drafted in the first round in some drafts this season, and he has not disappointed, as he is hitting .271-.339-.495 with 17 HRs, 57 RBIs, 44 runs scored and 6 SBs. He has overcome a cold May where he hit just .209 with 4 HRs and 14 RBIs. He has proven to be a streaky hitter and one has to look no further than his monster September, so fantasy owners need to be patient with him and ride out the cold streaks.
More Mid-Season Shortstop rankings after the jump:
3. Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE-is there anyone who is a bigger surprise than Asdrubal this year? Cabrera was Jason's All Value All Star shortstop in his article yesterday, and is hitting .293-.342-.499 with 14 HRs, 49 RBIs, 53 runs and 12 SBs this season. Prior to this season, he never hit more than 8 HRs at any level, and 11 HRs in any one season, and hit just 3 HRs last season.
4. Jhonny Peralta, DET-Peralta is another surprise in 2011, as he has followed up his 15-81-.249 season with another solid power season, along with a solid BA. This season, he is hitting .314-.365-.542 with 14 HRs, 49 RBIs and 39 runs. He has lowered his K rate from 27% back in 2007 to just 17% this season.
5. Elvis Andrus, TEX-I was not high on Andrus in preseason, and it appears that I was wrong on him. Andrus is hitting .271-.321-.335 with 3 HRs, 30 RBIs, 49 runs and 25 SBs. He is on pace to steal around 50 bases this season. I wonder how many bases he could steal if he could ever improve his 5.6% walk rate.
6. Alexei Ramirez, CHW-Alexei is as consistent as they come as he is on pace to hit mid double digit HRs, and drive in between 70-80 runs this season, which he has done each of the last 3 years. His SBs are down from previous years, but he could still get to 10 by the end of the season.
7. Yunel Escobar, TOR-Escobar is proving that his 2010 season was just a down year for him, as he is hitting .289-.363-.440 with 9 HRs, 29 RBIs, 44 runs an 3 SBs. He doesn't strike out much-12.4%, has a good walk rate-10.2%, and his ISO of .151 is the highest of his career. He is well on his way to eclipsing his career high in extra base hits as he already has 24 XBH vs his high of 40 in 2009.
8. Jimmy Rollins, PHI-J-Roll has overcome nagging leg injuries from last season to steal 18 bases already this season, after swiping just 17 in 2010. He will never hit for a high BA again, but still has decent power for a shortstop and is on pace to steal 35+ bags.
9. Stephen Drew, ARI-Drew may never hit for the power he displayed in 2009, where he had 76 extra base hits, but he is on pace for 55-60 at this point. He is currently hitting .266-.336-.416 with 5 HRs. 45 RBIs, 43 runs and 4 SBs.
10. Starlin Castro, CHC-Castro started the 2011 season in fire as he hit .348 in the month of April, and followed that with a .287 May and a .305 June, so he can hit for average, but the power has yet to show up yet, but he does have 21 doubles and 7 triples so far. For the season, he is hitting .307-.337-.427 with 2 HRs, 38 RBIs, 46 runs and 10 SBs. He has surprised with the speed and looks like he will steal 20 bags this season.
11. Erick Aybar, LAA-Aybar is well on his way to having the best year of his career, as he is hitting .277-.311-.415 with 5 HRs, 36 RBIs, 35 runs and 17 SBs. He has already equaled his career high in HRs, and should easily eclipse his career highs in runs, RBIs and SBs.
12. Hanley Ramirez, FLA-as stated before, Hanley has disappointed many this season to the point that some baseball writers discussed the chances that he would be dealt this season. He has started to hit better of late. After putting his owners through a .200 BA in April, and .219 BA in May, he hit .260 in June and is hitting .333 thus far in July. For the season, he is hitting .228-.317-.350 with 7 HRs, 29 RBIs, 42 runs and 14 SBs.
Here are the rest of my Mid-Season Rankings: