Fantasy Impact: Shortstop

Although there are several top shelf offensive shortstops in baseball, the position is almost as thin as catcher with a steep dropoff in offensive production, or fairly big question marks once you get past the top 3 or 4. This means that you probably should be looking to take a top tier shortstop in the first 2-3 rounds of the draft. If you miss, though, you might as well wait until the final rounds and use your middle rounds to stock up on better pitchers. Because of the offensive weakness of the position, it's also a good position to try to add some SB's to your mix, since you might not be sacrificing that much in the power categories. Here's my rankings:

1. Hanley Ramirez- a first rounder even if he didn't play SS. As is, he's a top 3 overall on most draft boards.

2. Troy Tulowitzki- Forget about his sophomore slump in 2008. This kid is on his way. Elite power. Plays in a favorable ballpark. Even adds some speed with 20 SB's last year. Take this guy early!

3. Derek Jeter- One of these seasons, Jeter is going to start to slide due to age, but still well worth the risk.

4. Jimmy Rollins- 2009 was another down year, and he still was a 20-30 player. Probably not a top 3 round candidate, but worth spending an upper-mid round pick on.

5. Jose Reyes- Given the weakness of the position, he's probably worth a risk, but injuries are still a major concern here. Would probably be ranked #2 if not for the injuries so some owners will probably take that risk early.

6. Jason Bartlett- I tend to believe his breakout in 2009 was real. That's probably his ceiling though.

7. Yunel Escobar- on the upswing of his career trajectory. Has 20+ HR potential to go with a .300+ BA.

8. Elvis Andrus- Should help you SB totals considerably if nothing else. Has more offensive upside in the other categories too.

9. Stephen Drew- Disappointing last year. Still put up respectable numbers for a SS. Still has the possibility of a big breakout.

10. Everth Cabrera- Could steal you 40+ bases, or be a complete bust. Probably worth the risk if you are taking the 10'th shortstop off the board.

11. Ryan Theriot- Vastly underrated even in fantasy circles. Did you know he stole 21 bases and scored 84 runs last year?

12. Alexei Ramirez- I'm not as high on him as some, but he certainly has 20-20 potential.

13. Marco Scuturo- Should benefit from moving to Boston's lineup, but his fantastic start last year was probably a fluke.

14. Cliff Pennington- Sleeper alert! Watch out for this guy! Should have the starting SS position to himself in Oakland this year.

15. JJ Hardy- Bounceback candidate, but I'm very leery of players with history of back problems.

16. Alcides Escobar- With JJ Hardy gone, Escobar will have SS to himself in Milwaukee. Hit .300 in a small sample last year, but will probably not contribute much offensively his first full season.