Friday, January 12, 2018

Fantasy Focus: Shortstop Bargains

Shortstop is enjoying a bit of a renaissance as a position due to an influx of young, high ceiling talent at the MLB level.  Francisco Lindor, Corey Seager, and Carlos Correa will go off most draft boards early and for good reason.  I've read that Trea Turner is going top 10 overall in many early mock drafts which I think is a risky bet.  The upside is there, but he's coming off a disappointing, injury plagued season and there is bust potential.

There is depth at the position and you can get value by waiting.  I picked up Didi Gregorius off the FA list midseason after drafting and hanging onto Addison Russell way too long.  Gregorius was terrific and finish the season with a .287 BA with 25 dingers.  Tim Beckham is the very definition of a post-hype sleeper who had a breakout season last year with the Orioles ending up with a .278 BA with 22 dingers and Paul DeJong hit .285 with 25 dingers for the Cardinals.  Didi, Beckham and DeJong are my bargain SS's for 2018 Fantasy drafts.

4 comments:

  1. Paul DeJong is the player I have my sights on for the early middle rounds. If someone else overdrafts him there are still a few good options late. Zack Cozart, Andrelton Simmons, and Orlando Arcia could all do well. Simmons did a good job for a half a year for me last year after I too held on to Russell too long.

    In years past I have overpaid for the SS position and this year I am going to be patient if I don't get DeJong where I want him. There are multi-position eligible players who you don't think of sometimes when rating positions and Bregman still has SS eligibility although he isn't going to be cheap. Solarte, Marwin Gonzalez, Eduardo Nunez, and Baez are all middle round options for SS but you might think of playing them in a flex role.

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  2. Ozzie Albies could be a great late round pick too. He has good speed and a little pop in a lineup that needs both. Jose Peraza has to be better this year too right?!?

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  3. Doc,
    Where do you see Trevor Story trending in 2018? He had that wicked start in 2016, but got injured. Last year was a bit of a disappointment. Too many strikeouts took away from OBA and power was not what I would have liked to see seemingly because hi contact rate was down.
    Thanks!

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    1. I see Trevor Story as a placeholder for Brendan Rodgers.

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