2010 Dynasty Rankings: Fantasy Baseball's Top 15 Shortstops (A First Look)

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More than any other position, there are vast differences between yearly league owners and dynasty league owners when it comes to shortstops.

A crop of exciting, young players, like Elvis Andrus, Alcides Escobar, and Everth Cabrera, is the main reason why.

Let’s take a preliminary look at how things shake out (remember, these will be updated throughout the offseason based on more in-depth research and projections):

1. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins

2. Jose Reyes, New York Mets

3. Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies

4. Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies

5. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees

6. Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox

7. Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers

8. Alcides Escobar, Milwaukee Brewers

9. Stephen Drew, Arizona Diamondbacks

10. Jhonny Peralta, Cleveland Indians

11. Yunel Escobar, Atlanta Braves

12. Jason Bartlett, Tampa Bay Rays

13. Everth Cabrera, San Diego Padres

14. Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland Indians

15. Erick Aybar, Los Angeles Angels

* While it’s debatable in yearly leagues, in dynasty leagues I would definitely select Troy Tulowitzki over Jimmy Rollins. Rollins, 31, has to be a concern for owners, at least a little bit.

Not that he is ancient and over the hill, but a lot of his value stems from his speed. Yes, the average is going to rebound (he had a .253 BABIP), but for a player who had 20 triples in 2007, he had just five last season. He also got caught stealing eight times (between 2007 and 2008 he was caught a total of nine times).

We’ll talk about him in a lot more detail in the coming weeks, but there certainly are red flags.

* Do I think Alexei Ramirez will be better than Derek Jeter in 2010? No, honestly I don’t. Do I think they can be close? Yes, I do (and I’ll discuss it more once I have full projections on them).

The real question for Dynasty League owners is how long you think Jeter can remain productive. At 35 years old, the answer is at least another two or three years. For that, it’s not worth taking a player who is going to produce less just because he’s six years younger and will be around longer.

* The Alcides Escobar ranking may seem a bit out of place, but he has the potential to be everything Andrus is and more. Considering the other options, he is absolutely worth gambling on.

* It was a huge breakout campaign for Jason Bartlett, but can we really expect him to repeat those numbers?  It seems highly unlikely, which has to knock him down a few spots.

* Everth Cabrera has a ton of speed, stealing 25 bases in 377 AB last season (and stealing 73 bases in 2008 at Single-A). At 23 years old, he becomes a great option for dynasty league owners, especially as a flier or bench option.

* If Chone Figgins leaves LA and Erick Aybar assumes leadoff duties, his value increases significantly. That’s certainly a situation worth monitoring.

What are your thoughts on these rankings? Who should be higher? Who should be lower?

Previous Dynasty Rankings

Catchers

First Basemen

Second Basemen

Third Basemen

To view all of our rankings, including for both yearly and dynasty league owners, click here .

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