Fantasy Baseball: Shortstops

The 2017 Major League Baseball season is just around the corner so you know what that means, right? That means that it’s almost fantasy baseball 2017 time as well so over the next couple of days I will be going over a few fantasy baseball related topics to get you ready for your draft. I do these every year so if I’ve helped you in the past or if this is your first time taking my advice then keep this and my many fantasy related posts bookmarked and be sure to tell me know how the information works out for you, good or bad. I can take criticism, especially when I ask for it on a day-to-day basis. For this post we will focus on the shortstops around the league and who you need to grab, and potentially how early you need to grab them, before all the good ones are gone. 

If you’re going after the top shortstop in the league one would have to think you would be looking at Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa. Correa, just 22-years old, has hit over 20 home runs in each of his last season while also stealing nearly 14 bases a season in that same span. If you miss on Correa there are many other young and top shortstops to be had including the Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Jonathan Villar, the Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, the Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor, the Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson and my hometown pick from the New York Yankees, Mr. Didi Gregorius. 

Also on the top shortstops list is the Los Angeles Dodgers Corey Seager, the Colorado Rockies sensation Trevor Story, the Chicago Cubs Addison Russel, the Toronto Blue Jays Troy Tulowitzki and the Texas Rangers Elvis Andrus. Also don’t sleep on, especially as the calendar draws near June and July, the Yankees top prospect Gleyber Torres and New York Mets best shortstop prospect Amed Rosario. 

Villar finished the 2016 campaign with a .285 average with 19 home runs and 62 stolen bases while Bogaerts finished with a .294 average with 21 home runs and 13 stolen bases. Lindor hit .301 with 15 home runs and 19 stolen bases on his way to the World Series while Anderson hit .283 with nine home runs and 10 stolen bases in just 99 games. 

Those are the “locks” but in every class there is a Freddy Galvis who comes out of nowhere and hits 20 home runs in a season so the sleepers of the 2017 class include Jose Reyes, Marcus Semien, Ketel Marte and Jedd Gyorko. Gyorko is eligible at shortstop but likely won’t play there much in 2017 while Semien could provide 20-30 home run power with little in the way of batting average. Reyes could be had late in your draft for obvious reasons and could provide a spark after having a normal offseason in 2017.  

So there it is, my fantasy baseball help for the shortstop position. I hope it helps and if I missed anyone, ranked anyone too highly or not highly enough then please be sure to let me know down below in the comments section or on Twitter by giving @GreedyStripes a follow. Thanks!