21 replies to this topic

[iAugust]

Thoughts?

1. Tulowitzki
2. Hanley
3. Zobrist
4. Castro
5. Reyes

6. Desmond
7. A. Cabrera
8. Espinosa
9. Rollins
10. Andrus
11. Jeter
12. Rutledge
13. Peralta
14. Hardy
15. Al. Ramirez

16. Lowrie
17. Aybar
18. Cozart
19. Scutaro
20. Y. Escobar
21. A. Escobar
22. E. Cabrera
23. Furcal
24. R. Tejada

[LyondellBasell]

I'm happy to wait for alcides ... no one at the top seems worth it, and the middle is barely good enough to tip the scales

[baltimore_boy]

SS really is thin this year. Not even the ones at the top are that inspiring. Tulo is never healthy and Hanley is just another year older. There are a lot of question marks this year. Rollins is getting older. Jeter is coming off a bad injury. Rutledge is unproven. Hardy's coming off a rough year. Alexei Ramirez had bad stretches.

Alcides is actually one of the best SS playing right now, but is extremely underrated. Should be bumped up to around 15. It doesn't really reflect what he does, but that is where his value will likely be. He is someone to wait for and target in drafts.

[Blood Brother]

Aybar could be interesting. He was horrendous in April but from Mid May-End of season the guy hit over .320 with an .831 OPS and 8 HR, 18 SB. He may be ticketed to hit 2nd in the Halos lineup, which looks to be one of the best jobs in MLB(hitting behind Trout and in front of Pujols).

[motown magic]

I would swap Scutaro and Peralta. JP is way overrated. What we saw last yera is probably what we get again this year.

[PRoSPx]

Why so low on Elvis? Jeter too?  Jeets got one last good hoorah in him.

[BigPapi44]

Bang for buck, I would go with Desmond.  Average will likely be closer to .270, but speed/power for where you can get him (and not waste a high pick on Tulo, Hanley, etc.), is the guy for me.

[Armalite]

I'm stuck with Tulo, but I'll take Aybar as a late round flier any day. He's Elvis Andrus at a discount.

[parrothead]

iAugust, on 21 December 2012 - 10:19 PM, said:

Thoughts?

1. Tulowitzki
2. Hanley
3. Zobrist
4. Castro
5. Reyes

6. Desmond
7. A. Cabrera
8. Espinosa
9. Rollins
10. Andrus
11. Jeter
12. Rutledge
13. Peralta
14. Hardy
15. Al. Ramirez

16. Lowrie
17. Aybar
18. Cozart
19. Scutaro
20. Y. Escobar
21. A. Escobar
22. E. Cabrera
23. Furcal
24. R. Tejada

I just finished my SS list.  Pretty close to mine, I have to double check Espinosa, I had him on 2B list.

I would role Nakajima or Segura before Furcal and Tejada.
Ive got Hanley ranked no.1 I like him this year to bounce back to elite level.  I also have Rollins higher, I realize he is aging but he led SS in HR last year and had 30+ stolen bases.

[Max Rockatansky]

iAugust, on 21 December 2012 - 10:19 PM, said:

Thoughts?

1. Tulowitzki
2. Hanley
3. Zobrist
4. Castro
5. Reyes

Reyes with the Jays should be Top 3

[iAugust]

That's Jed Lowrie, not Brett Lawrie.

And Espinosa appeared at 36 games at SS last year, should be eligible in all leagues.

[Nick Mitchell]

I accidentally hit enter so if someone could delete my other post, as it was not finished and it will not let me edit it now, I would be appreciative. Thank you. Here's my rankings (revised now that I realized it's Jed and Espinosa is eligible, though I am missing some players I'm sure... I didn't put too much time into this).


1. Jose Reyes
Take two things into effect: 1.) he is only going on 30 and he hasn't lost his wheels yet, and he is coming off of a year in which he did have a very good 2nd half (really, take away his March/April and May months, or even replace some of the donuts with something, and he probably has a much sexier year) hitting close to .320 I believe, with 8 HR after only 3 in the first half. 2.) the new lineup:Hitting in front of Melky, Bautista, Edwin, and a combo of Lawrie, Rasmus, Arencibia, Lind, and Bonifacio in the 9 hole acting as a 2nd leadoff hitter of sorts (OK, I know they are saying they will start Izturis, but let's figure Bonifacio, then acting as a super-sub gets at least 5 starts a week and bats #9 in each game).... he is going to score a lot of runs. Or at least he should. Unless he falls off a cliff completely, he should be in line for a big season. Great source for runs, SB, will hit .300+ or give you a .350 OBP (I would hope), and maybe playing half of his games in Toronto will help his power numbers go up. .315, 15 HR/70 RBI and a lot of stolen bases (remember: Rajai was 2nd in the league with 44 in limited playing time as a pinch runner and 4th OF for most of the season... the Jays like to run) while batting lead-off for the Jays seems perfectly doable. He is my #1 right now and by a good chunk.

2. Ben Zobrist
He is more is less Tulowitzki or putting up number close to it, only without the injury risk that's now associated with him. Retaining value at SS was great for Zobrist and fantasy owners- and the SS category. It looks pretty bleak as I get out of the top 10-15 or so.

3. Starlin Castro
I think he should have a much better season. He was great for stretches last year, and terrible during others, but keep in mind the turbulence of that team (and they should be better this year, even if it's only 10-15 wins better- and Castro should benefit from growing throughout it all. It was his weakest season overall and he's only 23- that's saying something, when you hold the record for hits in one season as a 21-year-old- and he has just hit since he came up. The best has definitely yet to come. Right here is where I waver on putting Andrus based on SB potential, but I think if the Cubs run more Castro could easily swipe 30 in the new super speed-friendly MLB. 20/30 is easily attainable with a .300 average- perfect numbers from a SS if I can get that.

4. Troy Tulowitzki
Had to put him somewhere.I mean, I don't trust him and he's on my don't draft list already, but his talent is undeniable. But can he stay healthy? He drops all the way to 4 for me because I don't trust him anymore. He was on the verge of being 6 on my list, but I changed my mind.

5. Hanley Ramirez
He has to still be top-5 based on the past performance that isn't that long ago. Maybe a full year with the Dodgers will help him out, Make or break year for sure, but he's on my avoid list unless he comes cheap. Too worried to go all-in or anything. One thing that helps his value anyway is his 3B eligibility too. That's a nice little caveat to keep in mind, given when he is on, his type of numbers at 3B would be nice.
.
6. J-Rollins
I kind of wanted to put him 5, but he's just gotta fall off dramatically one day given his style of play. But until it happens, he's a nice get.

7. Elvis Andrus
If he is not traded and the Rangers either use Profar off of the bench, move Kinsler to 1B and Profar to 2B (what I would try, at least, especially with Young gone finally). When I give reason for why I think Reyes is in line for a monster fantasy season, similar logic applies with Andrus. He should get on base at a decent clip and while not hitting lead off, with Kinsler batting in front of him may take away some SB attempts, I think it can actually help his overall value in this scenario (should the lineup have the looks of something like: Kinsler, Andrus, Beltre, Nelson, AJ, Murphy .....). Andrus is sandwiched between Kinsler- an extreme doubles hitter (and one who can and will take the lead  off walk and swipe a bag too, putting him in RBI position for a single) and that should lead to RBI or at least his normal average of around 60, and in front of Beltre, who had 116 RBI or something nice last year. And then the rest of the Rangers' lineup. Andrus should be a great source of R and could get his RBI total closer to 75 this year. He needs to steal 30 bases to be worth higher positioning, though. He has the speed to do it- but will he? I could justify putting him somewhere like 4th, and almost did.... but after considering that the Rangers are probably a lock to sign Bourn (well they aren't, but I think it will happen), and Bourn will lead-off, that could make Andrus expendable or drop him in the order to 9 even- and all of this can hurt his value. I'm putting him at 7 after typing all of this, basically having talked myself out of it given all of the possible scenarios and uncertainty. But if I can get him cheap, I would value him like the 4th best SS on the board, ahead of the likes of Tulo, Hanley, and J-Roll too maybe- he just feels safer because you should know what you're getting. Too early to see how he projects with that team (or another?..) right now.

7 Derek Jeter
I feel one more good year, at the least, and he should be under-valued because of age. 5-10$ pick and he could be a nice get at that cost, IMO.

8. Ian Desmond
Last year was great, and I hope he can build on it- but owning him before and seeing stretches of inconsistency, I think people may forget about that side to him and overbid or draft on him. (Avoiding, personally.)

9. Asdrubal Cambrera
Personally, I am not that high on him, but he has put numbers up so I think he's a safe top-10 SS until he shows otherwise. He sat on waivers for a good chunk of 2011 in my 14-team league and that league was highly competitive, honestly. Sneaky pick, maybe.

10. Marco Scutaro
He's top-10 for me- what he did to end the year, and the $ he is making, with him being a hard-worker I think he should at least be in line for one very good year during that contracgt... and it's not like he's been a scrub or anything... his past few  seasons have all been solid.


The rest:

11. A. Escobar
12. Danny Espinosa
13. J.J. Hardy
14. Everth Cabrera (44 SB last year- if he can just hit .300, he could go up a few spots on this list for sure)
15 Josh Rutledge (I personally believe he is being over-hyped quite a bit, but maybe that is just my thinking)
16. Andrelton Simmons
17. Jed Lowrie (bad team, really bad- or he would be higher)
18. A. Ramirez
19. Trevor Plouffe (he will be elligble at SS and could be a bargain at $1 if he can hit for some power and holds eligiblity at any other positions as last yr he was a super-UTL type.. if he's multi-position eligible, then he shoots up 2-3 spots on my list here)
20. Segura
21. Y. Escobar
22. Cozart
23. Aybar
23. J. Peralta (not a fan at all)
25. Dee Gordon (maybe higher, maybe off the radar in 2013 completely- worth the risk as a stash though)
--
This list is simply going off of who is eligible (didn't know Lawrie or Espinosa were- what leagues/formats?), and who is locked into a role. I'm sure I'm forgetting someone or another.

Edited by Nick Mitchell, 23 December 2012 - 03:44 PM.

[Nick Mitchell]

iAugust, on 23 December 2012 - 02:29 PM, said:

That's Jed Lowrie, not Brett Lawrie.

And Espinosa appeared at 36 games at SS last year, should be eligible in all leagues.

Thanks, didn't realize it was Jed (d'oh) and had no idea about Espinosa. That's a nice thing to now know. heh.

[parrothead]

Nick Mitchell, on 23 December 2012 - 03:37 PM, said:

I accidentally hit enter so if someone could delete my other post, as it was not finished and it will not let me edit it now, I would be appreciative. Thank you. Here's my rankings (revised now that I realized it's Jed and Espinosa is eligible, though I am missing some players I'm sure... I didn't put too much time into this).


1. Jose Reyes
Take two things into effect: 1.) he is only going on 30 and he hasn't lost his wheels yet, and he is coming off of a year in which he did have a very good 2nd half (really, take away his March/April and May months, or even replace some of the donuts with something, and he probably has a much sexier year) hitting close to .320 I believe, with 8 HR after only 3 in the first half. 2.) the new lineup:Hitting in front of Melky, Bautista, Edwin, and a combo of Lawrie, Rasmus, Arencibia, Lind, and Bonifacio in the 9 hole acting as a 2nd leadoff hitter of sorts (OK, I know they are saying they will start Izturis, but let's figure Bonifacio, then acting as a super-sub gets at least 5 starts a week and bats #9 in each game).... he is going to score a lot of runs. Or at least he should. Unless he falls off a cliff completely, he should be in line for a big season. Great source for runs, SB, will hit .300+ or give you a .350 OBP (I would hope), and maybe playing half of his games in Toronto will help his power numbers go up. .315, 15 HR/70 RBI and a lot of stolen bases (remember: Rajai was 2nd in the league with 44 in limited playing time as a pinch runner and 4th OF for most of the season... the Jays like to run) while batting lead-off for the Jays seems perfectly doable. He is my #1 right now and by a good chunk.

2. Ben Zobrist
He is more is less Tulowitzki or putting up number close to it, only without the injury risk that's now associated with him. Retaining value at SS was great for Zobrist and fantasy owners- and the SS category. It looks pretty bleak as I get out of the top 10-15 or so.

3. Starlin Castro
I think he should have a much better season. He was great for stretches last year, and terrible during others, but keep in mind the turbulence of that team (and they should be better this year, even if it's only 10-15 wins better- and Castro should benefit from growing throughout it all. It was his weakest season overall and he's only 23- that's saying something, when you hold the record for hits in one season as a 21-year-old- and he has just hit since he came up. The best has definitely yet to come. Right here is where I waver on putting Andrus based on SB potential, but I think if the Cubs run more Castro could easily swipe 30 in the new super speed-friendly MLB. 20/30 is easily attainable with a .300 average- perfect numbers from a SS if I can get that.

4. Troy Tulowitzki
Had to put him somewhere.I mean, I don't trust him and he's on my don't draft list already, but his talent is undeniable. But can he stay healthy? He drops all the way to 4 for me because I don't trust him anymore. He was on the verge of being 6 on my list, but I changed my mind.

5. Hanley Ramirez
He has to still be top-5 based on the past performance that isn't that long ago. Maybe a full year with the Dodgers will help him out, Make or break year for sure, but he's on my avoid list unless he comes cheap. Too worried to go all-in or anything. One thing that helps his value anyway is his 3B eligibility too. That's a nice little caveat to keep in mind, given when he is on, his type of numbers at 3B would be nice.
.
6. J-Rollins
I kind of wanted to put him 5, but he's just gotta fall off dramatically one day given his style of play. But until it happens, he's a nice get.

7. Elvis Andrus
If he is not traded and the Rangers either use Profar off of the bench, move Kinsler to 1B and Profar to 2B (what I would try, at least, especially with Young gone finally). When I give reason for why I think Reyes is in line for a monster fantasy season, similar logic applies with Andrus. He should get on base at a decent clip and while not hitting lead off, with Kinsler batting in front of him may take away some SB attempts, I think it can actually help his overall value in this scenario (should the lineup have the looks of something like: Kinsler, Andrus, Beltre, Nelson, AJ, Murphy .....). Andrus is sandwiched between Kinsler- an extreme doubles hitter (and one who can and will take the lead  off walk and swipe a bag too, putting him in RBI position for a single) and that should lead to RBI or at least his normal average of around 60, and in front of Beltre, who had 116 RBI or something nice last year. And then the rest of the Rangers' lineup. Andrus should be a great source of R and could get his RBI total closer to 75 this year. He needs to steal 30 bases to be worth higher positioning, though. He has the speed to do it- but will he? I could justify putting him somewhere like 4th, and almost did.... but after considering that the Rangers are probably a lock to sign Bourn (well they aren't, but I think it will happen), and Bourn will lead-off, that could make Andrus expendable or drop him in the order to 9 even- and all of this can hurt his value. I'm putting him at 7 after typing all of this, basically having talked myself out of it given all of the possible scenarios and uncertainty. But if I can get him cheap, I would value him like the 4th best SS on the board, ahead of the likes of Tulo, Hanley, and J-Roll too maybe- he just feels safer because you should know what you're getting. Too early to see how he projects with that team (or another?..) right now.

7 Derek Jeter
I feel one more good year, at the least, and he should be under-valued because of age. 5-10$ pick and he could be a nice get at that cost, IMO.

8. Ian Desmond
Last year was great, and I hope he can build on it- but owning him before and seeing stretches of inconsistency, I think people may forget about that side to him and overbid or draft on him. (Avoiding, personally.)

9. Asdrubal Cambrera
Personally, I am not that high on him, but he has put numbers up so I think he's a safe top-10 SS until he shows otherwise. He sat on waivers for a good chunk of 2011 in my 14-team league and that league was highly competitive, honestly. Sneaky pick, maybe.

10. Marco Scutaro
He's top-10 for me- what he did to end the year, and the $ he is making, with him being a hard-worker I think he should at least be in line for one very good year during that contracgt... and it's not like he's been a scrub or anything... his past few  seasons have all been solid.


The rest:

11. A. Escobar
12. Danny Espinosa
13. J.J. Hardy
14. Everth Cabrera (44 SB last year- if he can just hit .300, he could go up a few spots on this list for sure)
15 Josh Rutledge (I personally believe he is being over-hyped quite a bit, but maybe that is just my thinking)
16. Andrelton Simmons
17. Jed Lowrie (bad team, really bad- or he would be higher)
18. A. Ramirez
19. Trevor Plouffe (he will be elligble at SS and could be a bargain at $1 if he can hit for some power and holds eligiblity at any other positions as last yr he was a super-UTL type.. if he's multi-position eligible, then he shoots up 2-3 spots on my list here)
20. Segura
21. Y. Escobar
22. Cozart
23. Aybar
23. J. Peralta (not a fan at all)
25. Dee Gordon (maybe higher, maybe off the radar in 2013 completely- worth the risk as a stash though)
--
This list is simply going off of who is eligible (didn't know Lawrie or Espinosa were- what leagues/formats?), and who is locked into a role. I'm sure I'm forgetting someone or another.

Plouffe played 1 game at SS in 2012.  He was eligible coming off 2011.  Are you a 1-game eligibility league?  I wish he was considering Twins projected SS  like some others is more of defensive guy with little to no fantasy value.

[Nick Mitchell]

Oh wow, blundered that one. I was looking at the wrong column when I typed that up.

in that case, drop Plouffe, move everyone up a spot, and put the guy the A's signed at #25 I guess. Or Stephen Drew. Or Furcal. They're all comparable waiver wire fodder to me.

HOWEVER. To answer your question, I have been in leagues where one start (not one game, though) will qualify players for certain positions. The league I owned Plouffe (and used him most of the year as a fill-in for Tulo, my first pick and most expensive one at that) in you need 5 starts at a position or 10 appearances to qualify, I think. It's Yahoo!'s rules so maybe I'm wrong. But Plouffe was OF, SS, 3B, and almost at one point 2B and 1B eligible last year I think (maybe he was 2B eligible or 1B eligible but not the other- I forget- super useful, though).

Error on my part. Thank you for pointing that out.

I wish he would be SS eligible, but I wouldn't put it past Miinny to put him there at some point next yr if he's hitting and whoever they're playing there is not. He isn't a SS by default and fits the mold of a 3B more, but I don't know what to expect from that team next season.

[parrothead]

Another name depending on late signings might be worth a shot is Eduardo Nunez of the Yankees.  I know we had this same conversation a year ago when it looked like he was going to DH and then fill in at 2B-SS-3B allowing the starters and aging guys to DH along the way too.  Then Yankees signed guys like Ibanez late, he got hurt, and a lot of good vibes towards him were gone.

Now...same boat as he could be Yanks DH or 3B (if Youk DH's) he had 11 stolen bases in less than 100 at bats, is pretty good hitter and not completely popless.  Im sure they will sign someone and it will be for not, but he played his most games last year at SS, which in our league makes him eligible at SS, worth a look if he has job in A Rod absence.

[Suikoden]

Unless it's Reyes, passing on all SS till mid-late draft

[FouLLine]

parrothead, on 24 December 2012 - 08:05 PM, said:

Another name depending on late signings might be worth a shot is Eduardo Nunez of the Yankees.  I know we had this same conversation a year ago when it looked like he was going to DH and then fill in at 2B-SS-3B allowing the starters and aging guys to DH along the way too.  Then Yankees signed guys like Ibanez late, he got hurt, and a lot of good vibes towards him were gone.

Yeah Nunez should get a lot more games this year.  He only was in 38 games last year but was very effective.  I still don't think he's going to get every day run, but he is versatile enough that he can take full advantage of an aged Yankee team and squeeze into 110+ games.

If Jeet or Youk get hurt for an extended period he may even play around 135 - 140 games.

[Dodger Blue 88]

Desmond has always been a non factor for 12 team leagues but he was very good last year. Not sure if he is for real or not. Another guy that will probably be gone before I take him in drafts.

[parrothead]

Guys who break out in HR are always somewhat skeptical for me.  I generally like to see another year of power before I go "all in" on a guy.  This is a guy who had like 22 HR in 1100 career at bats going into 2012 then surpasses all of that with 25HR.  So which guy is he?

One thing that for me will be important is where he is projected to hit in the order.  The reality is that I think an 8 Hitter in the NL is often not going to get many pitches to hit because P is coming up next, also their approach is one of probably more contact, get on base so P can sac you over than an all or nothing approach.  

My view on him is some power regression but not all the way back to single digit guy.  Im thinking maybe the 15ish range.  As for ranking, I think for me is is in the 7-9 range for SS.