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As with our first base, second base and third base fantasy baseball rankings, we've asked nine of our esteemed writers to submit their own rankings for shortstop in 2015, and we have calculated composite scores to showcase RotoBaller's site average.
Rankings from one person represent just one opinion, so the goal of these composite fantasy baseball rankings is to give you a good sense of how we as a site view these players. We'll be releasing the rest of our positional rankings this week before updating them in February and finalizing them in March. Enjoy!
Editor's Note: Don't forget to check out all of RotoBaller's 2015 fantasy baseball rankings and analysis to prepare for your fantasy drafts. Let's win some leagues!
2015 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings
Brad Johnson (Lead MLB Editor)
I once hung out at Brandon McCarthy's house for a night. He heaped praise on Chris Owings, whom he compared to Michael Young. The numbers support the assertion, so I'll take the gamble on a breakout season. Shortstop is such a barren wasteland that you'll have to take a chance on somebody. Even the top name is a risk-- a big one!
Jeff Kahntroff (MLB Writer)
Last year, Alexei Ramirez posted a .273 average with 15 home runs, 21 steals, 82 runs and 74 RBI. In his career, he has hit 15 home runs or more in five of seven years. He has stolen at least 20 bases the last three years. He has never hit below .265, and the White Sox added Melky and Laroche. While Alexei is 33 and thus not likely to have much further upside, if he can come close to his career numbers, he is well worth the seventh shortstop pick and definitely in the top 10.
Harris Yudin (MLB Writer and Editor)
With middle infielders-- especially shortstops-- you may need to reach a bit on one of the stars, given how steep the drop-off is once you move past the first handful. Beyond that, a lot of the shortstops are simply speedy guys who struggle to hit. A name that does seem to fly under the radar for 2015 is Elvis Andrus, who has posted at least 20 stolen bases in each of his first six seasons in the bigs while maintaining a respectable .335 career OBP.
Despite his youth, Jean Segura's rapid decline from 2013 to 2014 is concerning. Still just 25 years old going into 2015, Segura could return to past form, but he is definitely a gamble if you are looking for a reliable middle infielder.
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Kyle Bishop (MLB Writer and Editor)
Xander Bogaerts was a disappointment last season. We all know that. But let's try to remember that he was a 21-year-old rookie who, before a vicious slump, was hitting .300/.387/.445. Outside of the top five or so guys, you're going to be gambling at SS one way or another. Maybe this is the year Jimmy Rollins or Ben Zobrist finally falls off a cliff; maybe Dee Gordon's as good as he looked last year, or Jean Segura's not as bad-- you get the idea. Bogie doesn't even have to be all that good to be worth a starting spot, but he's a decent bet to be one of the better shortstops in the game in 2015.
Justin Berglund (MLB Writer)
My top 12 is even with the overall rankings, but I'd be more inclined to bet on Javier Baez than Dee Gordon. I'll take him and his strikeouts over Gordon's lack of power. Between Wilmer Flores and Ruben Tejada, I don't trust either of the Mets' shortstops. I also have Didi Gregorious in my top 25, but I don't like him very much this year, especially with all the questions surrounding the Yankees lineup, except perhaps as an MI in deep leagues.
Kyle Braver (MLB Writer)
Jean Segura and Danny Santana's consensus rankings came as a shock to me, to be perfectly honest. While Santana is unlikely to repeat the .405 BABIP that drove his .319 batting average last season, I see no reason a .260-.265 line isn't possible for him. Toss in 20-25 stolen bases and ten or so home runs-- numbers entirely within his ability-- and you have something of a rare find at the a shallow shortstop position.
My reasons for liking Segura are similar. A poor 2014 makes it quite likely he'll come at a bargain for fantasy owners in drafts next season. While he might never show the same kind of power he displayed in the first half of 2013 again, he can still return value at shortstop without the extra home runs.
Josh Leonard (MLB Writer)
So, Javier Baez isn’t getting any love and Chris Owings is? Let me go on record as saying you are officially taking crazy pills if you draft Chris Owings over Baez. That is, unless I'm missing something? Do Brad J (@BaseballATeam), Alex R (@TheRotoMechanic) and both Kyles (@KBraver and @amoralpanic) know something I don’t?
I decided to do a little research on Owings. After delving into the farthest reaches of the interwebs, I could find absolutely zero reasons why a sane human being would consider him as even a top top 15 shortstop. Sure, he's young, but other than that, what has he done to garner all this support? Was it his .261/.300/.406 slash from ‘14? Is it his 2015 Steamer projection of eight HR and 39 RBI with nine SB? If you like Stephen Drew, you're going to LOVE Chris Owings.
Yes, Baez will probably strike out a lot but c’mon, Baez put up an entire season of Owings numbers in just 52 games last season. Look it up on the Google.
Oh, and I ranked Jung-Ho Kang at #38 because I had no idea who he was. Now that I'm properly apprised, I'd have definitely slotted Kang in higher than Chris Owings. The Korean hit 40 HR with 117 RBI for the Nexen Heroes last year. Through the magic of math and foresight, I've calculated that Kang’s Korean numbers will translate into roughly double the production of whatever Owings does. That’s a fact.
Alex Roberts (RotoBaller Co-Founder)
I have Dee Gordon as the fifth-ranked shortstop for 2015, significantly higher than his 11.3 composite ranking. I've explained why I love Gordon (if he's being discounted down to the 11th-best shortstop) in my 2nd base rankings analysis, so I'll use this space for someone else. But let's be frank: this is the most uninspiring position of all. Even catcher has way more enticing names than shortstop. After Xander Bogaerts (whose ranking as the sixth-best shortstop speaks volumes about the absolute lack of depth at the position), it's tough to find real upside in these picks. That is why I will be waiting, and waiting, and waiting to draft a shortstop, unless Gordon falls to me ;-).
Two players I like are Alexei Ramirez and Jean Segura. I could also see both falling to the mid-teen rounds, and that would represent a nice buying opportunity for either player. Segura has a composite ranking of 13.8, which means my fellow rankers expect him to have a year as bad as 2014, during which he finished as the 16th overall shortstop. I will take the chance that Segura's BABIP rebounds a bit, and that he can split the difference between 2013 and 2014 and put up a line close to 270-7-40-70-30. While he's projected to hit eighth, a little hot streak could vault him into the Brewers leadoff role, which currently does not have a natural occupant. If Segura can net 300 AB as the leadoff hitter, he will easily return value and likely finish among the top 10 shortstops.
Ramirez, unlike Segura, is coming off a great season of .273-15-74-82-21, which ranked him fourth among shortstops and 57th overall. He's been very consistent year-to-year, and you can bank on at least eight HR, 18 SB, a .270 AVG, and ~130 R+RBI. That is very close to a top-10 shortstop season, and it's not far off from Ramirez's floor. Ramirez will be batting in a run-producing position (likely sixth) in a revamped White Sox lineup, so if he falls into the mid-teen rounds of your draft, that's a very nice value.
(Rankers are: BJ = Brad Johnson, AR = Alex Roberts, KBr = Kyle Braver, KBi = Kyle Bishop, AI = Alex Isherwood, JL = Josh Leonard, JK = Jeff Kahntroff, HY = Harris Yudin, JB = Justin Berglund)
2015 RotoBaller Fantasy Baseball Shortstop (SS) Rankings
| Player | BJ | AR | KBr | KBi | AI | JL | JK | HY | JB | Composite |
| Troy Tulowitzki (COL - SS) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Hanley Ramirez (BOS - SS) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2.1 |
| Ian Desmond (WSH - SS) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3.3 |
| Jose Reyes (TOR - SS) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3.7 |
| Starlin Castro (CHC - SS) | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 5.8 |
| Xander Bogaerts (BOS - 3B,SS) | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 6.7 |
| Ben Zobrist (TB - 2B,SS,RF,LF) | 5 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 7.8 |
| Jimmy Rollins (LAD - SS) | 8 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 9.0 |
| Dee Gordon (LAD - 2B,SS) | 12 | 5 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 9 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 11.3 |
| Jhonny Peralta (STL - SS) | 10 | 17 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 11.8 |
| Alexei Ramirez (CWS - SS) | 19 | 9 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 13.4 |
| Chris Owings (ARI - SS) | 9 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 13.7 |
| Javier Baez (CHC - SS) | 22 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 13.7 |
| Jean Segura (MIL - SS) | 11 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 11 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 13.8 |
| Elvis Andrus (TEX - SS) | 16 | 10 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 13 | 21 | 9 | 16 | 13.9 |
| J.J. Hardy (BAL - SS) | 18 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 14.6 |
| Asdrubal Cabrera (WSH - SS,2B) | 13 | 24 | 12 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 23 | 15 | 17 | 17.6 |
| Jed Lowrie (HOU - 2B,SS) | 20 | 20 | 20 | 23 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 19 | 17.7 |
| Danny Santana (MIN - 2B,SS,CF) | 14 | 15 | 13 | 22 | 20 | 23 | 17 | 20 | 21 | 18.3 |
| Jordy Mercer (PIT - 2B,SS) | 15 | 19 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 26 | 26 | 24 | 20 | 20.2 |
| Erick Aybar (LAA - SS) | 26 | 14 | 28 | 28 | 13 | 20 | 15 | 19 | 22 | 20.6 |
| Andrelton Simmons (ATL - SS) | 21 | 22 | 21 | 24 | 26 | 10 | 25 | 25 | 18 | 21.3 |
| Wilmer Flores (NYM - SS) | 17 | 21 | 22 | 19 | 23 | 27 | 16 | 23 | 27 | 21.7 |
| Brad Miller (SEA - 2B,SS) | 24 | 26 | 24 | 21 | 15 | 25 | 19 | 26 | 25 | 22.8 |
| Chris Taylor (SEA - SS) | 23 | 27 | 23 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 25.4 |
| Alcides Escobar (KC - SS) | 33 | 25 | 32 | 27 | 30 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26.3 |
| Arismendy Alcantara (CHC - 2B,SS,CF) | 31 | 23 | 31 | 26 | 31 | 21 | 27 | 27 | 23 | 26.7 |
| Didi Gregorius (NYY - SS,2B) | 27 | 28 | 27 | 30 | 27 | 24 | 33 | 29 | 26 | 27.9 |
| Jose Ramirez (CLE - SS) | 29 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 25 | 29 | 24 | 31 | 29 | 28.6 |
| Eugenio Suarez (CIN - SS) | 25 | 32 | 29 | 25 | 33 | 33 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29.7 |
| Everth Cabrera (SD - SS) | 30 | 29 | 26 | 33 | 39 | 36 | 35 | 21 | 32 | 31.2 |
| Brandon Crawford (SF - SS) | 32 | 30 | 33 | 34 | 28 | 32 | 34 | 33 | 33 | 32.1 |
| Jose Iglesias (DET - SS) | 35 | 33 | 35 | 32 | 34 | 30 | 36 | 32 | 31 | 33.1 |
| Josh Rutledge (LAA - SS) | 28 | 34 | 25 | 36 | 38 | 34 | 39 | 36 | 34 | 33.8 |
| Yunel Escobar (TAM - SS) | 34 | 35 | 34 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 32 | 34 | 35 | 34.3 |
| Stephen Drew (FA - SS) | 36 | 36 | 36 | 31 | 29 | 39 | 31 | 39 | 36 | 34.8 |
| Jung-ho Kang | 39 | 32 | 39 | 39 | 32 | 38 | 29 | 37 | 39 | 36.0 |
| Ruben Tejada (NYM - SS) | 37 | 38 | 37 | 37 | 36 | 31 | 37 | 38 | 38 | 36.6 |
| Adeiny Hechavarria (MIA - SS) | 38 | 39 | 38 | 38 | 37 | 37 | 38 | 35 | 37 | 37.4 |
