The fantasy shortstop crop of 2013 featured established superstars continuing to put up big numbers, youngsters making positive strides and middle-of-the-pack middle infielders pushing their way into the upper echelon. With a good mix of speedsters, sluggers and all-around solid performers, the top ten fantasy shortstops of this season are - if not the Jeter/A-Rod/Nomar triumverate of the late nineties - a skilled and diverse group.
1. Jean Segura, Milwaukee Brewers
Entering the season, expectations for the 22-year-old Segura were that of a seriously speedy shortstop who, in a best-case scenario, could enjoy a .270 season with some pop. Fantasy owners watched in awe as he blasted 11 home runs through the first half of the season, maintaining a .325/.363/.487 line into mid-July. While inevitable regression set in after the All-Star break, Segura's totals remain excellent, with 44 steals and a very respectable .296 average, 74 runs scored and 12 home runs. Expect him to be a consistent 40-steal threat, and don’t be surprised if the power comes back on.
2. Ian Desmond, Washington Nationals
Desmond enjoyed his first 20-homer, 20-steal campaign in 2012, making him a well-rounded option at shortstop heading into the 2013 fantasy draft. However, opinions were not unanimous that he would be able to repeat in 2013. While his .285/.337/.463 line is down a tick from last season, he’s put up 20 home runs, 38 doubles, 21 stolen bases and a career-high 80 runs batted in. Plate discipline remains a bugaboo for the 28-year-old, but he is a consistent performer and the rare speed/power player at shortstop.
3. Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
Once again, Tulo’s playing time was cut short - this time due to a broken rib - causing his overall numbers to suffer. Still, he enters the final few games of the season batting .316/.395/.546, the true mark of an All-Star shortstop. The 28-year-old hit 24 home runs, scored 70 runs and drove in 80 in an abbreviated 121 games this season, and remains the most prolific power hitting shortstop in his class. Though it is likely we will never see Tulowitzki run wild the way he did when he swiped 20 bags in 2009, his ability to hit for a high average, get on base consistently and contribute a ton of pop will put him among the first shortstops taken in the fantasy draft next season, whether or not he remains in Colorado.
4. Hanley Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers
It’s fair to say that the Dodgers’ transformation from underperforming superstars to undisputed Division Champions was due to two events: the callup of Yasiel Puig and the return from injury of Ramirez. With an undisputed set of tools, the knock on Hanley has always been his inability to stay healthy. A thumb injury in the World Baseball Classic caused him to miss the month of April, and only two games into his return, he injured his hamstring, putting him out of action in May. Through only 82 games this season, Ramirez has compiled a .350 batting average, 62 runs scored, 20 home runs, 57 runs batted in and ten steals. It doesn’t take a genius to double those totals and imagine what could have been over the course of 162.
5. Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers
Andrus has become a dependable fantasy shortstop in his age-25 season. While fantasy owners may have been spoiled a bit by his .286/.349/.376 line last season, he enjoyed a breakout 2013 in the steals category. Andrus won’t offer much in terms of home run pop, and his extra-base hits are down across the board this season, but with 40 steals in 149 games this season, he has extraordinary value as a speedster. If success rate counts in your league, be encouraged that Andrus was caught only eight times this season, down from ten in 2012 where he only robbed 21. At the top of a potent Rangers lineup, he’s scored 87 runs and even driven in a career-high 66 himself. Andrus is in his prime and should remain there for years to come.
6. Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox
If it seems like ages ago that Cuban defector Ramirez was putting up numbers that made fans reminisce about the Jeter/A-Rod/Nomar era, you are correct. Now five years removed from a .290, 20-homer, 77-RBI campaign, the 32-year-old is a solid, if not spectacular shortstop. Through Tuesday, Ramirez has batted .280 on the season with 66 runs scored and 30 stolen bases. Home run prowess has been largely replaced by doubles power over the past few seasons, though Ramirez maintains his free-swinging approach at the plate, consistently atop the league leaders in total outs made. His .309 on-base percentage, despite only striking out 66 times, is the result of swinging at bad pitches, a trend that has shown no evidence of slowing.
7. Jed Lowrie, Oakland Athletics
The biggest question about Lowrie entering the 2013 season was his ability to stay healthy for a full season. The 29-year-old not only took the field for 150 games, he led the Athletics’ offense for a good length of time. Lowrie hit 16 home runs in 387 at-bats for the Astros in 2012, a clear sign that he possessed home run power, but found his pop more suited to hitting line drive doubles at the Coliseum. He is second in the American League in doubles (behind only Manny Machado) with 44. Moderate home run power and little inclination to steal bases make Lowrie a better ballplayer than he is a fantasy player, but a .288 average, 78 runs scored and 74 runs batted in are certainly reasons to start him in your mixed league.
8. Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay Rays
Zobrist’s fantasy value is no longer a secret. His ability to produce in all categories, combined with his eligibility at seemingly every position on the field, make him a commodity. This season, his home run total is down from the 20 he averaged over the past two years to 11, but his numbers across the board have remained consistent. The 32-year-old hits consistently for a near-.270 average and gets on base at a clip of around .350. He has 35 two-baggers on the season and stole 11 bases, while displaying more discipline at the plate - and fewer strikeouts - than in years prior. Hitting at the top of the Rays’ lineup, Zobrist scored 74 runs and drove in 70, and has missed no significant time since 2009 when he solidified himself as an everyday player.
9. Brian Dozier, Minnesota Twins
In his sophomore season with the Twins, Dozier has shown flashes of promise as a power-hitting shortstop with speed. In 141 games, he’s scored 72 runs and driven in 65, contributing 18 home runs to go along with 13 steals. Strikeouts are a problem for the youngster, who has whiffed 112 times on the season, but with improved plate discipline, his average could easily surpass the .248 he put up this season. This is a skill he will need to perfect as the Twins leadoff hitter going forward, though with the loss of Justin Morneau and a rebuilding project going on in Minnesota, he won’t have the big names batting behind him come 2014.
10. Jose Iglesias, Detroit Tigers
The final spot on this list was a difficult pick between Everth Cabrera, Marco Scutaro and Iglesias, but the rookie’s performance in a small sample size proved enough to put him here. Entering the 2013 season, Iglesias was ranked the tenth-best prospect in the Red Sox organization, but the impending suspension of Jhonny Peralta led the Tigers to deal for the young shortstop as part of the three-team Jake Peavy trade. In 105 games this season, the 23-year-old Cuban native put up a .310/.357/.395 line. What does 2014 and beyond hold for the Tigers’ shortstop of the future? Word on Iglesias was always a big-league glove and a slower-to-develop bat, though his minor league numbers indicate a solid speed game and his early exposure in Detroit has shown that he can hit pitching at this level.