Shortstop Profile: Jhonny Peralta

It's a new team and a new league for Jhonny Peralta as he joins the St. Louis Cardinals. This will be Peralta's first season playing for a National League team and he will be surrounded by what some think is the best lineup in baseball.

In just 107 games last year with the Detroit Tigers, Peralta hit .303-.358-.457 with 11 HRs, 50 runs and 55 RBIs.

Let's take a look at both sides of the argument when it comes to choosing Peralta for your team:

Positives

- His batting average and slugging percentage last year were up significantly from the previous few years. (In 2012, he hit for .239-.305)

- He's now playing in front of the WORLD'S GREATEST FANS!!!! (No, just joking. Cardinals fans are the worst.)

- Looking more at his stats, his OBP shot up by 15% last year while his OPS rose 16%.

- The lineup around him is ridiculous.

- Despite 122 less at-bats last year, his homerun and RBI production almost matched that of 2012.

- Now in the NL Central, he will be playing a lot of games at hitter-friendly ballparks, including 81 at Busch Stadium.

Negatives

- You can't talk about Peralta this year without mentioning the Biogenesis scandal and the 50-game suspension he served last year. Will his numbers start to dwindle?

- His strikeout rate rose last year, striking out at 24% of at-bats. That was a 5% raise over the previous year.

- He's 31 and not exactly a spring chicken.

Overall, Peralta will benefit from a new league and a good lineup around him. He would be a good value to get in a late round.