As we continue our journey through the infield, we arrive at shortstop, a position that can provide fantasy owners with stolen bases, home runs or batting average. In fact, the top player at shortstop will sustain owners in all three of those categories.

Hanley Ramirez is quite possibly the third-best fantasy player, after Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez. Ramirez is outstanding in four of the five common statistical elements of fantasy baseball.

Fresh off his first 30-30 campaign in which he stole 35 bases and hit 33 home runs, Ramirez also led the majors with 125 runs scored while hitting .301 in 2008. Positioned at the top of the Marlin lineup, he gets few opportunities to drive in runs. Nevertheless, his 67 RBIs ranked sixth among all shortstops last year.

Because he only turned 25 in December, Ramirez likely has his best ball ahead of him. It would not be unfathomable to see Ramirez hit 40 homers and swipe 40 bags in the future, perhaps even this season.

After a disappointing end to 2007, Jose Reyes of the Mets rebounded nicely in 2008, setting career highs in hits, doubles and triples. Much like Ramirez, Reyes brings the ability to score a lot of runs; however, it is his steals that make him so valuable.

Reyes has averaged 64 steals over the last four years, and 2008 was the first of those seasons that he did not lead the NL in the category. He is a career .287 hitter and has averaged 118 runs scored, 69 runs batted in and 16 home runs since 2006.

Jimmy Rollins is the third member of the power-speed trio at shortstop, although he hits fewer homers than Ramirez and steals fewer bases than Reyes. Rollins had a career year in 2007, winning the NL MVP award. An early-season injury kept Rollins' 2008 numbers more in line with his career averages.

Fantasy owners drafting Rollins should expect a performance better than 2008 and not as good as 2007. He is a career .277 hitter, which is a mark he has reached exactly in two of the last three years. At age 30, he is likely to steal 40 bases, score 100 runs and hit 15 to 20 homers.

Take a moment and try to determine who had the second-highest slugging percentage among all shortstops (behind Ramirez) in 2008. How about Stephen Drew of the Diamondbacks, who had 76 extra-base hits last season, including 21 home runs? He also had 67 RBIs and 91 runs scored.

Drew will not steal many bases, but he has 30-home run potential. Fantasy owners may want to draft another shortstop in the latter rounds of the draft because Drew has an unreliable batting average. He hit a respectable .291 last summer after rapping a meager .238 the year prior.

Derek Jeter has long been a staple near the top of the fantasy baseball rankings. Jeter turns 35 this summer and his production has been slipping rather dramatically in recent years. His home run output has dropped every year since 2004, and he has only twice stolen more than 15 bases in the last six seasons.

The Yankee captain is a very consistent hitter, reaching the .300 plateau in 10 of his 13 seasons without ever hitting below .291. He should cross the plate a good number of times in the powerful Yankee lineup, but he is no longer a top-tier fantasy shortstop.

Kansas City found a nice surprise with Mike Aviles, a 27-year-old rookie who hit .325 in 2008. In just over 100 games, Aviles hit 10 homers and stole eight bases. Extrapolating that data over a full season makes Aviles look rather good, yet drafting an unheralded player with such a limited track record as a starting fantasy shortstop lacks sagacity.

Here are my shortstop rankings: 1. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins; 2. Jose Reyes, Mets; 3. Jimmy Rollins, Phillies; 4. Stephen Drew, Diamondbacks; 5. Jhonny Peralta, Indians; 6. J.J. Hardy, Brewers; 7. Derek Jeter, Yankees; 8. Michael Young, Rangers; 9. Rafael Furcal, Dodgers; 10. Miguel Tejada, Astros.

11. Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies; 12. Yunel Escobar, Braves; 13. Orlando Cabrera, White Sox; 14. Edgar Renteria, Giants; 15. Mike Aviles, Royals; 16. Yuniesky Betancourt, Mariners; 17. Ryan Theriot, Cubs; 18. Cristian Guzman, Nationals; 19. Jason Bartlett, Rays; 20. Brendan Harris, Twins.

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Dan Massey's Fantasy Sports appears each Sunday. E-mail him at dmassey@lnpnews.com. blog comments powered by Disqus