Top Ten Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Prospects (1-5)

Published: 7^th Feb 12 11:36 pm

by Adam McGill
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By Adam McGill

The shortstop position is constantly one of the most overlooked positions in prospect drafts. Fantasy owners’ are constantly filling their minor league rosters with starting pitchers and outfielders, but the SS position has tremendous value in the later rounds. There are several young stars waiting to get their shot, and they will be playing in the MLB sooner rather than later. Below is my top ten for the best shortstop prospects in the minors:

1. Manny Machado, BAL – After months of Alex Rodriguez comparisons, Machado owners’ quickly curbed their expectations of the youngster. He has the power and the speed to be effective in the majors, but baseball is also about having a strong hitter’s eye. Machado remains the most intriguing prospect at the position and is certainly worth a top end prospect draft pick, but he still has room to mature as a hitter. The fact that Baltimore now has J.J Hardy under contract until 2014 shows that the youngster will not join the starting lineup until then. However, he may get some limited time as a designated hitter this year, due to the fact that the team is too excited to get him in an O’s uniform.

2. Jurickson Profar, TEX – Profar has surprised all scouts in the last year, as his stock has skyrocketed in the Texas farm system. He is still a teenager and has yet to completely fill out, but his tool skill set has fantasy owners’ drooling. The “Curacao Kid” had 123 hits in 115 games in 2011 and surprisingly slugged .449, but the fact remains that Texas will need to figure out how to sneak him into the lineup. The team will definitely take their time bringing up the kid, since 23-year old Elvis Andrus is currently holding down the shortstop position, but Profar is too good to not be playing by next year. One positive for Profar fans is the Rangers’ are not past moving one of them to another position; just look at how they moved Michael Young from shortstop a couple years back. Profar is still a top tier prospect, but his position uncertainty will cause his stock to drop a little in drafts this summer.

3. Tyler Pastornicky, ATL - The Braves are left in a very desperate situation at shortstop heading into the 2012 season. Veteran Alex Gonzalez is not getting any younger and the team is currently in one of the most popular youth movements in the MLB. The “Reverend” has torn up Double-A and Triple-A ball, only adding to the rumors circling the web that he will open the year as the starter in “Hot-lanta”. He is a much better defensive player than he is a hitter, but the fact that the 22-year old is about to enter the bigs with a starting spot waiting for him definitely helps his fantasy value. After all, it is better to have the guy playing in the majors, as opposed to having him still working down in Double-A.

4. Francisco Lindor, CLE – Lindor is the prototypical MLB shortstop and the mind boggling thing is that he just graduated high school. He has a cannon for an arm that is reminiscent of Miami’s shortstop Jose Reyes, and the Indians’ grabbed the switch hitter eighth overall in last year’s draft. Lindor is not a power hitter this far into his career, but he has potential to be a 10-15 home run guy down the road. He will not debut in the majors until 2014 at the earliest, but he is one of the future youngsters to be featured in the Tribe lineup. He may not be a top guy at the position right now, but the recent high school graduate will be at the top of this list in another year or two.

5. Billy Hamilton, CIN – Hamilton lead all minor leaguers’ with an uncanny 103 stolen bases throughout the 2011 season. He has Carl Crawford’s speed, but the 21-year old will have to work on his bat as he only hit .278. Like most speedy infielders, Hamilton does struggle with slumps and is prone to swinging at anything over the plate. However, his raw speed and overall potential makes him a great sleeper to grab in dynasty leagues.

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