2012 Fantasy Baseball Sleeper Shortstop: Zack Cozart

Zack Cozart is slated to start the season at shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds. He got an 11-game taste of the bigs last July and he held his own.

Cozart had 37 at-bats, in which he collected 12 hits for a .324 average. He scored six runs, hit two home runs and had three RBI as he finished with a .811 OPS. It wasn’t perfect though as he struck out six times while failing to draw a single walk. Still, you can’t help but be impressed with his debut.

Unfortunately, an elbow injury that led to surgery and an early end to his season.

Cozart started slowly, hitting .267 for Single-A Dayton from 2007-08. His average dipped to .262 for Double-A Carolina in 2009, but his OPS jumped 22 points to .758. His average dropped to .255 and his OPS to .726 for Triple-A Louisville in 2010 despite the 17 home runs he slugged.

Last year he began to figure some things out. Besides what he did for the Reds, he hit .310 with a .824 OPS for Triple-A Louisville. He hit seven home runs in 323 at-bats. While I wouldn’t expect 20 HRs from him, 15 wouldn’t be a reach should he stay healthy.

Cozart did not steal a base for the Reds, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have potential. He stole nine bases for the Louisville Bats before getting the call. He swiped 30 bases for them in 2010.

Cozart doesn’t come with much of a risk. His Mock Draft Central ADP is 360, which would make him the last pick of the 30th round in 12-team leagues. Given his age (26) and upside, he’s definitely worth a roll of the dice at the end of your fantasy baseball draft.

Also check out:

2012 Fantasy Baseball First Base Rankings
2012 Fantasy Baseball Second Base Rankings
2012 Fantasy Baseball Third Base Rankings
2012 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings
2012 Fantasy Baseball Outfielder Rankings