2012 Fantasy Baseball AL-Only Shortstop Rankings

Here’s the 2012 LestersLegends Shortstop Rankings for AL-Only Leagues.

1. Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland Indians 

Easily the biggest surprise of the position, Cabrera smacked 25 HRs after totaling 18 in his first 387 games.

Regression is a possibility, but I wouldn’t bet against him.

2. Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers 

If he could get his average closer to .300, Andrus would be even more valuable. He’s going to score runs in Texas’ offense without question.

Andrus could easily lead all shortstops in stolen bases this season.

3. Erick Aybar, Los Angeles Angels 

Posted a solid .279-71-10-59-30 line last season. Albert Pujols’ presence should help.

4. Alexei Ramirez, Chicago White Sox 

Ramirez doesn’t dominate any category, but he typically gives you solid numbers across the board.

I expect his batting average and stolen base total to increase.

5. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees 

Jeter pressed en route to 3000 hits last year. He killed it in the second half, posting a .327 average and a .811 OPS.

6. J.J. Hardy, Baltimore Orioles 

Led all shortstops with 30 HRs and combined for 50 in 2007 and 2008, so it’s not a fluke.

Hardy flopped in 2009 and 2010 and hasn’t played 130 games since 2008, so he's a slight risk.

7. Jhonny Peralta, Detroit Tigers 

Peralta has averaged 18.3 HRs and 79.6 RBI over the past seven years.

Not sexy, but solid.

8. Yunel Escobar, Toronto Blue Jays 

Escobar is a career .289 hitter so he’ll help in that category. He can also give you decent run, HR, and RBI numbers.

9.  Yuniesky Betancourt, Kansas City Royals 

Expected to backup Alcides Escobar at shortstop, as well as see time at second and third base, if Betancourt gets 500-550 at bats, he should be a decent contributor in home runs and RBI.

Betancourt doesn’t score a lot of runs, hit for average, or swipe bases so his upside is limited.

However, he does give you positional flexibility.

10.  Alcides Escobar, Kansas City Royals 

Escobar is a guy who can rack up some stolen bases and score a fair share of runs for you.

11.  Cliff Pennington, Oakland A’s 

Owning Cliff is about as sexy as owning Chad Pennington was in fantasy football leagues, but he has averaged a .257-61-7-52-22 line over the past two seasons.

12.  Sean Rodriguez, Tampa Bay Rays

Has shortstop, second base, and third base eligibility.

After a miserable .223-45-8-36-11 season, that’s about the best thing going for Rodriguez.

Also check out:

• 2012 Fantasy Baseball First Base Rankings
• 2012 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings
• 2012 Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitcher Rankings
• Additional 2012 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Options
• 2012 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers