2015 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Shorstop (SS) - February Update

Last month we brought you RotoBaller's preliminary shortstop fantasy baseball rankings. The February update is here. We'll be releasing all the other positional rankings updates this week, with analysis from all the RotoBaller writers on their favorite risers and fallers at each MLB position.

Make sure to also check out our MLB Fantasy Baseball Rankings blog, along with all of RotoBaller shortstop rankings content. 

2015 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings

Brad Johnson (Lead MLB Editor)

When we first ran our rankings, Jung-Ho Kang was in the process of signing with the Pirates. The deal is official, so it's time to figure out where he belongs. After reading reports, swing analysis, and a host of other sources, I'm convinced Kang has the potential to finish among the top five shortstops. Of course, there is plenty of downside too.

It's kind of a shame, Kang ruins Jordy Mercer's value for the season. Mercer was a sneaky-good late round pick when he had no competition. Now his path to playing time is muddled by a higher upside import.

Kyle Bishop (MLB Writer and Editor)

I target Troy Tulowitzki every year, knowing that he's probably going to get hurt at some point. It's admittedly tougher to pull off this strategy in deeper leagues or those with small benches, but 100 games of Tulo and the rest from one of the many retreads at SS is usually still better than anyone else. And now that he's finally had surgery to repair a labrum tear that he's been dealing with since 2008 (!), there's reason to think he can stay healthy beyond blind hope. Seriously, 2008! Bush was president! The Phillies were world champs! Dinosaurs roamed the earth! If toughness were a category, Tulo would have an even stronger case for the top spot at short.

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Jeff Kahntroff (MLB Writer)

Ben Zobrist is going too high for my liking.  He is switching teams for the first time, and will be 34 for most of the season.  In the last two years, he has not hit over .275, stolen over 11 bases, or hit over 12 home runs.  Jimmy Rollins, who is ranked behind him, has stolen base totals of 30, 30, 22, and 28 over the last four seasons while hitting 16, 23, 6 and 17 home runs.  Rollins should be selected before him, as should Alexei Ramirez who I discussed last month.  If you decide to wait, there will be little if any dropoff from Zobrist to Hardy.  Hardy hit 22, 25, and 30 home runs in the three of the last four seasons, while hitting .263, .268, and .269 in three of them.

Kyle Braver (MLB Writer)

If you're the type to wait on shortstop, I'd think seriously about drafting Chris Owings. Despite his struggles during 2014, it's worth remembering that Owings is still only 23 years old. He'll be looking to break camp as the Diamondback's starter given the departure of Didi Gregorius to New York.

However, it's not just about playing time with Owings. With the right adjustments, I love the skillset he could bring to the job. Throughout his minor league career, Owings consistently showed the ability to produce double digit home runs and stolen base numbers with an above average batting average. In a very weak shortstop market, that's hard to find late in the draft.

Josh Leonard (MLB Writer)

I really hope Jung Ho Kang comes out and mashes. SS is so shallow, we could use another impact bat at the position. I could rant on and on about how Erick Aybar is being underrated by everyone, but honestly, who cares. For me it’s a toss up between Aybar and Chris Owings, but I only ranked Owings that high because of Rotoballer peer pressure. Aybar is consistently a top 12 SS in RBI, R, AVG, SB and WAR. Owings isn't projected to produce above a replacement level player this year.  We will see...

Harris Yudin (MLB Writer and Editor)

When you get down past the top 12 or 14 shortstops, it's hard to find quality production, particularly someone who gets on base. However, you can still find guys who will run. Guys like Everth Cabrera-- assuming he signs somewhere. Steroid issues aside, we know Cabrera can run. He is projected by Steamer for 30 SB, the most among all SS, excluding Dee Gordon. Even if he posts just a .250/.309/.334 slash line, his potential for steals and runs makes him more valuable than a lot of guys ranked above him, particularly Andrelton Simmons, who does a little bit of nothing offensively. In deep leagues, how can you not take a shot late on a guy with 40+ SB potential? Of course, this is all dependent on some team snatching him up before April.

Alex Roberts (RotoBaller Co-Founder)

Last month, in our initial fantasy baseball shortstop rankings, I wrote about Alexei Ramirez and Jean Segura being good value picks based on where my fellow RotoBaller rankers were rankings those two. We have some ADP data to work with now, and at 109 overall it's evident that Alexei is far from a value pick. I like Ramirez a lot, but I wouldn't touch him at that price when there are legit mashers possibly still available.

Segura, on the other hand, has an average ADP of 195. Even at the bottom of the order he should post a stat line similar to 270-6-40-65-30. That would make him a serviceable shortstop to target in the 16th-18th round. If Segura gets off to a hot start, he could take over the lead off slot and his counting numbers would all see 10-20% bumps.

J.J. Hardy, with an ADP of 270 and a consensus RotoBaller positional rank of 15, is a great target for deep leagues. You could do worse than 20 HR upside from your middle infield position after the 20th round.

It's incredible how split we are on Javier Baez. Half the group has him as a top 10 shortstop, while the other half has him below 15. Brad J is lowest on Baez at 23. Considering Baez's love for swinging big and striking out and that the Cubs brass is saying he needs to "earn his playing time", Baez is not a player you want to be reaching for or investing big in.

Lastly, while I love Dee Gordon's overall ceiling, I do not love him enough to draft him at 60th overall. As with Ramirez, I will pass on almost every 2B / SS early on in favor of drafting power bats, power bats, more power bats, and ace pitchers. But mostly power bats.

2015 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings