Jose Reyes ran past the competition in 2006. From one of the weaker positions in baseball, Reyes put up a .300 average with 122 runs scored, 81 runs batted in, 19 home runs, and he led the majors with 64 stolen bases. His year was so dominant that the 23-year old not only ascended to the top of RotoKingdom’s SS position this season, but also many experts project him as the second best fantasy player overall behind Albert Pujols.

Reyes is a consensus #1 pick atop the position from our staff, but the other top shortstops aren’t as far behind as one might think. In fact, the top tiers of the shortstop position are much deeper than they have been in years. Derek Jeter, Miguel Tejada, Hanley Ramirez, Jimmy Rollins, Michael Young, and Rafael Furcal round out the top tier of shortstops. These players offer a wide variety of abilities so you can match the one that best fits your draft style. Jeter and Young are both solid options for very strong averages; Tejada for power; and you have Ramirez, Rollins, and Furcal available if you want a speedster capable of 35+ steals. All of these guys should be drafted between the late second and early fifth rounds of a normal 12-team league. Here’s my breakdown of the top tier:

Shortstop	Team	AB's	Bavg	Runs	HRs	RBIs	SBs
Jose Reyes	NYM	554	0.287	92	12	54	51
Derek Jeter	NYY	638	0.317	117	18	83	24
Miguel Tejada	BAL	652	0.308	99	28	112	5
Hanley Ramirez	FLA	523	0.291	95	14	49	41
Jimmy Rollins	PHI	677	0.284	120	17	69	39
Micheal Young	TEX	686	0.319	106	20	99	8
Rafael Furcal	LAD	614	0.287	105	14	60	38

As one can see, the top tier had seven shortstops alone. In years past, there would be about that many in the top two tiers, but the position is much deeper this year. Let’s take a look: Carlos Guillen is the head of the second group. Guillen has posted very respectable numbers and is one of the best average hitters at the position, hitting no lower than .318 the past three seasons. He even approached a 20 homerun/20 stolen base season last year, falling just short with 19 homeruns. However, this year may be a slight regression year as many of our experts feel that he will fall off slightly (in each statistical category) including myself, as you will find in the projections listed below. The other players in this group include Troy Glaus, Felipe Lopez, Bill Hall, Julio Lugo, and Edgar Renteria. These guys will likely be drafted in the seventh-to-thirteenth rounds of a 12-team league. What separates this group of players from the top tier is that they all are lacking in certain areas. For Glaus, it’s his batting average and speed; Lopez, Lugo, and Renteria lack power; and Hall is second worst in average to Glaus and slightly worse than most of the top tiered shortstops in runs and steals.

Shortstop	Team	AB's	Bavg	Runs	HRs	RBIs	SBs
Carlos Guillen	DET	499	0.309	85	16	71	12
Troy Glaus	TOR	496	0.254	88	35	94	3
Felipe Lopez	WAS	517	0.275	80	14	56	22
Bill Hall	MIL	507	0.270	78	23	72	14
Julio Lugo	BOS	556	0.290	86	10	59	28
Edgar Renteria	ATL	608	0.286	95	12	69	16

The third tier of players on our combined rankings includes Stephen Drew, Jhonny Peralta, Orlando Cabrera and Freddy Sanchez. Unless you miss out on one of the top two tiered shortstops, don’t take any of these players before the waning rounds of your 12-team draft. Every player in this group has question marks and some risks with drafting them. Stephen Drew is a young, highly-touted prospect, but will he live up to the hype? And even if he does, will this be his breakthrough year? Peralta busted on the scene in 2005, but he was merely average at best this past season. Our rankings indicate that he is somewhere in between. Cabrera is probably the safest bet of this group, but he is still a liability in the power categories without being a huge asset in speed or batting average. Sanchez led the National League in batting average this past season, but only managed six homeruns and three stolen bases despite 582 at bats. However, Sanchez did hit 53 doubles last year, so if he can turn that into homeruns, he should move up this list. Having Freddy 21st on my own list makes me one of his doubters. At age 29, I don't think he'll improve on his power numbers. I do believe he is a legit average hitter, and I have him projected the second highest behind Michael Young at the position. His numbers versus left-handed hitters are astonishing, but his OPS (On Base plus Slugging %) is less than impressive against right-handed hurlers.

Shortstop	Team	AB's	Bavg	Runs	HRs	RBIs	SBs
Stephen Drew	ARZ	498	0.291	70	17	66	4
Jhonny Peralta	CLE	488	0.273	76	16	66	0
Orlando Cabrera	LAA	586	0.270	81	9	64	22
Freddy Sanchez	PIT	510	0.318	67	5	61	2

After those top three groups, there really are not a whole lot of productive fantasy players from the position. If you are in a deeper league, I’d recommend putting a priority on getting at least a starter from one of the groups above -- preferably the first two tiers. But feel free to take a flier on one of the third tier players in the later rounds of your draft. For those in 12-team leagues, if you miss out on one of the top two tiered shortstops, you could easily wait until the last round or two to get your starter at the position. For those in deeper leagues who miss out on all of the aforementioned players, you will want to examine your team and choose a category killer. For example, if you look at my projections, players who qualify are David Eckstein or Aaron Hill for batting average or Omar Vizquel for stolen bases.

Shortstop	Team	AB's	Bavg	Runs	HRs	RBIs	SBs
Bobby Crosby	OAK	488	0.250	70	16	56	6
Rich Aurilia	SF	484	0.277	65	17	70	2
Omar Vizquel	SF	569	0.283	77	4	53	21
Khalil Greene	SD	494	0.255	64	17	69	5
Wilson Betemit	LAD	460	0.272	59	15	55	3
J.J. Hardy	MIL	481	0.251	58	14	63	2
Yuniesky Betancourt	SEA	507	0.280	61	7	42	8
Juan Uribe	CWS	480	0.258	63	20	70	4
Jason Bartlett	MIN	475	0.276	64	4	42	14
David Eckstein	STL	580	0.286	83	4	37	11
Troy Tulowitzki	COL	502	0.251	76	13	53	8
Nick Punto	MIN	488	0.266	68	4	43	18
Aaron Hill	TOR	499	0.285	66	6	50	4

KEY POINTS:

1. Jose Reyes is a top pick. He will likely be drafted between number two and ten overall.

2. For a normal 12-team league, the shortstop position is deeper than second base. But for the deeper leagues, I’d recommend putting a priority on trying to get a shortstop from one of the top two tiers.

Rank	Shortstop	Team	DAtaris17	dleoboyd	Element	RotoKing	SethBeno	Average
1.	Jose Reyes	NYM	1	1	1	1	1	1.00
2.	Derek Jeter	NYY	3	4	2	2	5	3.20
3.	Miguel Tejada	BAL	2	2	6	5	3	3.60
4.	Hanley Ramirez	FLA	5	6	4	4	2	4.20
5.	Jimmy Rollins	PHI	9	3	3	3	4	4.40
6.	Micheal Young	TEX	4	5	8	7	7	6.20
7.	Rafael Furcal	LAD	7	7	7	6	6	6.60
8.	Carlos Guillen	DET	6	10	5	10	9	8.00
9.	Troy Glaus	TOR	8	9	10	8	8	8.60
10.	Felipe Lopez	WAS	10	8	11	12	10	10.20