Kaz Matsui or Mike Aviles as Fantasy Shortstop?

Q: I have Kaz Matsui on the DL. I am in a very deep mixed-league, and have picked up Marco Scutaro and Mike Aviles. Once Aviles gets second base eligibility, should I start him over Scutaro, and what should I do when Matsui gets back?

A: I can feel your pain in these deeper leagues.

Mike Aviles is an interesting case. He’s not going to be a top-10 type player the rest of the way, but he’s going to get the time in Kansas City. The early returns have been very positive, as he’s posted a .304 average with four home runs. Looking at it over 31 games, I like that as a base.

To me, he’s a much better option than Scutaro at this point. Scutaro is going to add a couple positions in eligibility, so you will lose some flexibility in that regard. But you’ll gain output. Scutaro’s .258 average is my major deterrent.

I don’t think Aviles will hit .300 the whole way, but I wouldn’t be shocked with .280-.290. I’d be absolutely flabbergasted (oh yeah, an SAT word) if Scutaro ended up above .270.

There actually is a decision to make with regards to Matsui. Matsui has been a category help in stolen bases, something we haven’t seen out of Aviles so far. From this point, it comes down to need. Matsui is a .270-type hitter and won’t provide much power. But he’ll steal close to 30 bases if healthy.

He’s going to be back in the lineup Wednesday for Houston, so the decision will likely be between Matsui and Aviles.

Aviles hasn’t been around the league once yet, and rookies need to learn to make adjustments. Look at what we saw from Jay Bruce, and Aviles is not as highly touted a player.

But even in Matsui’s best seasons, he’s struggled with injuries. He hasn’t driven in more than 44 runs in a season and never hit more than seven home runs. I feel, right now, that you’ll see better production the rest of the way out of Aviles.

From the perspective of second base/shortstops that are owned right now, I would rank Aviles ahead of Matsui, Stephen Drew, Ryan Theriot, Khalil Greene, Yuniesky Betancourt, Christian Guzman, and potentially even Edgar Renteria. He could very well equal the stats of Orlando Cabrera.