Will Troy Tulowitzki be the premier fantasy shortstop in Major League Baseball in 2012?
With Spring Training in full swing, the 2012 fantasy baseball season is just around the corner. During the next week or so, fantasy baseball fiends across the United States will be flooding draft rooms to select their 2012 fantasy baseball lineups.
Due to a lack of depth at shortstop this season, the position is arguably the most important in the draft. The ideal shortstop will hit for average, steal bases, drive in runs and hit for solid power. However, there are simply not very many five tool shortstops nowadays. Thus, it would behoove you to draft a shortstop in the early rounds. Need help choosing a shortstop? Well then you’ve come to the right place! Without further ado, here are the top five fantasy baseball shortstops of 2012.
5. Erick Aybar, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The addition of Albert Pujols in the Angels’ lineup makes Erick Aybar a legitimate top five fantasy shortstop. The 28-year-old Dominican Republic native is coming off his best all-around season in which he won the Gold Glove at shortstop. All things considered, Aybar is the fantasy baseball sleeper of this list.
2011 Regular Season:
GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB AVG
143 556 71 155 33 8 10 59 31 68 30 .279
Expect Aybar’s power numbers to remain consistent, while his runs, stolen bases and batting average could increase respectively.
4. Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland Indians
Asdrubal Cabrera went from producing just 3 home runs and 29 RBIs in 2010, to crushing 25 homers and driving in 92 runs en route to his first Silver Slugger award in 2011.
2011 Regular Season:
GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB AVG
151 604 87 165 32 3 25 92 44 119 17 .273
According to several different 2012 fantasy baseball player rankings sources, Cabrera falls in the 50-60 overall range so don’t make the mistake of drafting his too early.
3. Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs
Castro, the pride of Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic, is one of the best young players in Major League Baseball, and undoubtedly has the talent to become a five-tool player for the Cubs in the near future.
2011 Regular Season:
GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB AVG
158 674 91 207 36 9 10 66 35 96 22 .307
Castro’s production last season certainly suggests that he’s a superstar in the making. Expect the Cubs shortstop to put up some gaudy fantasy numbers in 2012.
2. Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
The man simply known as “Tulo” in Colorado has been hammering NL West pitching since he became a full-time big leaguer in 2007. Last season was more of the same from Tulowitzki, who notched his first career 30 homerun-100 RBI season.
2011 Regular Season:
GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB AVG
143 537 81 162 36 2 30 105 59 79 9 .302
Despite his injury-ridden past, Tulowitzki should go in the first round in most season long fantasy baseball leagues so pick him up early.
1. Jose Reyes, Miami Marlins
With Hanley Ramirez making the shift to third base, Jose Reyes can be penciled in as the Miami Marlins new shortstop. New York Mets’ fans won’t like the sound of that, but it’s surely music to Marlins’ fans and manager Ozzie Guillen. Although he was limited to 126 games in 2011, Reyes still managed to put up huge fantasy numbers.
2011 Regular Season:
GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB AVG
126 537 101 181 31 16 7 44 43 41 39 .337
If Reyes can stay healthy in 2012, expect his numbers to increase significantly in all the major categories.
Tags: 2012 fantasy baseball, 2012 fantasy baseball player rankings, 2012 fantasy baseball sleepers, Asdrubal Cabrera, daily fantasy baseball, daily fantasy baseball games, erick aybar, Fantasy Baseball, fantasy baseball challenge, fantasy baseball pick'em, fantasy baseball player rankings, fantasy baseball salary cap, fantasy baseball salary cap games, Fantasy Baseball Sleepers, free 2012 fantasy baseball, free fantasy baseball, free fantasy baseball challenge, free fantasy baseball salary cap, jose reyes, month long fantasy baseball, month long fantasy baseball games, season long fantasy baseball, season long fantasy baseball league, starlin castro, troy tulowitzki, Weekly Fantasy Baseball, weekly fantasy baseball games
