Fantasy Baseball: 2011 Top 15 MLB Shortstop Rankings

Ryan LesterJan 20, 2011

Here’s an early look at the 2011 shortstop rankings:

1. Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies: After a .315-89-27-95-11 season, Tulo has jumped up to the No. 1 spot. He posted those monster numbers in just 122 games.

2. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins: Han-Ram is 1-A. He should post a higher SB total than Tulo, but fewer HRs and RBI. You can’t go wrong either way.

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3. Jose Reyes, New York Mets: Reyes had a modest .282-83-11-54-30 season, but he stayed healthy. With his issues seemingly behind him, he should get back on track in the 110 run/50 stolen bases zone.

4. Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers: Andrus really had it going on in the first three months, hitting .296 with 54 runs, 24 RBI and 23 SBs.

He finished with respectable numbers (.265-88-0-35-32) but was hampered down the stretch with a hamstring injury.

If he can stay healthy, he could challenge Reyes for the lead among shortstops in both runs and stolen bases.

5. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees: In a down year, Jeter still posted a .270-111-10-67-18 line. He doesn’t even need to improve on those numbers to post another solid fantasy year.

Of course, as a .314 career hitter, I’m almost certain he improves in that category.

6. Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies: J-Rolls' average plummeted for a second straight year to a career low .243.

He played in just 88 games. There were signs of hope, though, as he was 17 for 18 on stolen base attempts.

7. Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox: Ramirez joined Tulo and Han-Ram as the only shortstops with at least 80 runs and 70 RBI last year.

His .282-83-18-70-13 line was rock solid.

He’s been a model of consistency his first three years and should post another strong line.

8. Stephen Drew, Arizona Diamondbacks: Drew posted his fourth straight season with at least 60 RBI. He also hit .278 with 83 runs, 15 HRs and a career high 10 SBs.

He finished the year hitting .300, with 38 runs, 11 HRs, 30 RBI and 4 SBs in 217 at-bats from Aug. to Oct.

9. Ian Desmond, Washington Nationals: Desmond’s first-half and second-half splits were nearly identical as he went .255-31-6-36-8 in his 271 first-half ABs and .283-28-4-29-9 in his 254 second-half ABs.

With a season under his belt, Ian has the potential to develop into one of the game's best shortstops.

10. Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs: Castro is another youngster that posted a solid rookie season (.300-53-3-41-10 in 463 ABs).

He proved to be a pretty streaky hitter, which isn’t uncommon for a player his age—he will be 21 in March.

With more seasoning, he could challenge for the batting average title among shortstops.

11. Yunel Escobar,Toronto Blue Jays: After struggling with Atlanta (.238-28-0-19-5) in 75 games, Escobar came on for Toronto (.275-32-4-16-1) in 60 games.

In a full season with the Jays, look for Escobar to hit .280+ with 80+ runs, 10 to 15 HRs and 70+ RBI.

12. Rafael Furcal, Los Angeles Dodgers: Furcal is like summer in Minnesota. Perfect when it’s there, but frigid when it’s not.

He’s missed 227 games the past four seasons. When he can stay healthy, he gives you plenty of runs, decent power and a lot of stolen bases.

When he’s on a roll, enjoy it as long as you can. Just know that it could come to a bitter end at any moment.

13. Jhonny Peralta, Detroit Tigers: Peralta forgot how to score runs (averaging 58.5 the past two season after averaging 89.3 the previous four), but he’s a pretty good bet for 80 RBI.

He has decent power and no speed. Not an ideal SS option, but he does offer positional flexibility with his 3B eligibility.

14. Juan Uribe, Los Angeles Dodgers: Uribe has 2B/3B/SS eligibility, which makes him a valuable option. He doesn’t score many runs or steal many bases, but he has decent pop and is a solid RBI guy.

15. Alex Gonzalez, Atlanta Braves: Gonzalez posted a solid .250-74-23-88-1 line, but struggled (.240-27-6-38-0) in 72 games with Atlanta. He has had a roller coaster career but is capable of posting solid HR/RBI totals.

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