2015 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Shortstop (SS)

Jean Segura and Danny Santana's consensus rankings came as a shock to me, to be perfectly honest. While Santana is unlikely to repeat the .405 BABIP that drove his .319 batting average last season, I see no reason a .260-.265 line isn't possible for him. Toss in 20-25 stolen bases and ten or so home runs-- numbers entirely within his ability-- and you have something of a rare find at the a shallow shortstop position.

My reasons for liking Segura are similar. A poor 2014 makes it quite likely he'll come at a bargain for fantasy owners in drafts next season. While he might never show the same kind of power he displayed in the first half of 2013 again, he can still return value at shortstop without the extra home runs.

Josh Leonard (MLB Writer)

So, Javier Baez isn’t getting any love and Chris Owings is? Let me go on record as saying you are officially taking crazy pills if you draft Chris Owings over Baez. That is, unless I'm missing something? Do Brad J (@BaseballATeam), Alex R (@TheRotoMechanic) and both Kyles (@KBraver and @amoralpanic) know something I don’t?

I decided to do a little research on Owings. After delving into the farthest reaches of the interwebs, I could find absolutely zero reasons why a sane human being would consider him as even a top top 15 shortstop. Sure, he's young, but other than that, what has he done to garner all this support? Was it his .261/.300/.406 slash from ‘14? Is it his 2015 Steamer projection of eight HR and 39 RBI with nine SB? If you like Stephen Drew, you're going to LOVE Chris Owings.

Yes, Baez will probably strike out a lot but c’mon, Baez put up an entire season of Owings numbers in just 52 games last season. Look it up on the Google.

Oh, and I ranked Jung-Ho Kang at #38 because I had no idea who he was. Now that I'm properly apprised, I'd have definitely slotted Kang in higher than Chris Owings. The Korean hit 40 HR with 117 RBI for the Nexen Heroes last year. Through the magic of math and foresight, I've calculated that Kang’s Korean numbers will translate into roughly double the production of whatever Owings does. That’s a fact.

Alex Roberts (RotoBaller Co-Founder)

I have Dee Gordon as the fifth-ranked shortstop for 2015, significantly higher than his 11.3 composite ranking. I've explained why I love Gordon (if he's being discounted down to the 11th-best shortstop) in my 2nd base rankings analysis, so I'll use this space for someone else. But let's be frank: this is the most uninspiring position of all. Even catcher has way more enticing names than shortstop.  After Xander Bogaerts (whose ranking as the sixth-best shortstop speaks volumes about the absolute lack of depth at the position), it's tough to find real upside in these picks.   That is why I will be waiting, and waiting, and waiting to draft a shortstop, unless Gordon falls to me ;-).

Two players I like are Alexei Ramirez and Jean Segura. I could also see both falling to the mid-teen rounds, and that would represent a nice buying opportunity for either player. Segura has a composite ranking of 13.8, which means my fellow rankers expect him to have a year as bad as 2014, during which he finished as the 16th overall shortstop. I will take the chance that Segura's BABIP rebounds a bit, and that he can split the difference between 2013 and 2014 and put up a line close to 270-7-40-70-30. While he's projected to hit eighth, a little hot streak could vault him into the Brewers leadoff role, which currently does not have a natural occupant.  If Segura can net 300 AB as the leadoff hitter, he will easily return value and likely finish among the top 10 shortstops.

Ramirez, unlike Segura, is coming off a great season of .273-15-74-82-21, which ranked him fourth among shortstops and 57th overall. He's been very consistent year-to-year, and you can bank on at least eight HR, 18 SB, a .270 AVG, and ~130 R+RBI.  That is very close to a top-10 shortstop season, and it's not far off from Ramirez's floor. Ramirez will be batting in a run-producing position (likely sixth) in a revamped White Sox lineup, so if he falls into the mid-teen rounds of your draft, that's a very nice value.

(Rankers are: BJ = Brad Johnson, AR = Alex Roberts, KBr = Kyle Braver, KBi = Kyle Bishop, AI = Alex Isherwood, JL = Josh Leonard, JK = Jeff Kahntroff, HY = Harris Yudin, JB = Justin Berglund)

2015 RotoBaller Fantasy Baseball Shortstop (SS) Rankings