Bryson Stott, Philadelphia Philliesīryson Stott hit his way up three levels to Triple-A in 2021 and finished the season with a standout showing in the Arizona Fall League. Pena is a risky pick even with a guaranteed job, but any volume in a strong Houston offense is worth chasing at this stage of the draft, especially when paired with a strong hit tool and potential power gains.
Perhaps he’d have smashed 15 long-balls over the course of a full season at Double-A and Triple-A and helped legitimize the strides that came with an unsustainable HR/FB% and a more pull-happy approach at the plate. However, power doesn’t always develop linearly, and the pandemic-canceled 2020 minor league season is a huge confounding variable. He only recorded eight dingers in 145 games at the lower levels of the minors during the 20 seasons. 30 overall prospect generates more love for his defense than any of his other traits, and he might not be a source of much power unless his 10 homers in 30 games at Triple-A before he suffered a wrist injury prove more of a trend than an aberration. He’ll have to hold off Niko Goodrum to secure the shortstop job for the Houston Astros, but it says something that Dusty Baker is already referring to him as the front-runner when the 72-year-old manager has a long history of downplaying young talent and favoring established veterans.įanGraphs‘ No. Jeremy Pena may not view himself as a candidate to “fill anyone else’s shoes,” but he’s doing exactly that with Carlos Correa off to join the Minnesota Twins. Jeremy Peña on Dusty calling him front-runner at SS:”It’s great.Dusty’s been great” (asked about potential of replacing Carlos Correa): “I never c it as I’m replacing Carlos Correa.Carlos Correa is a great ballplayer.but I’m Jeremy Peña.I don’t need to fill anyone else’s shoes” /l83EhZmSQx- Mark Berman March 16, 2022Ģ021 Stats: 133 PA, 22 R, 4 2B, 2 3B, 10 HR, 19 RBI, 5 SB. He should improve on that in 2022, and that’s saying nothing of the potential homer and stolen base strides that could come from his 74th percentile max exit velocity and 61st percentile sprint speed if he barrels up the ball more frequently and runs in the right situations. The 2021 season was the first time Crawford had played more than 100 games, and he responded by finishing No. Plus, that’s saying nothing of what the lineup will look like once uber-prospect Julio Rodriguez gets the call. We know he can get on base, and he now has Mitch Haniger, Jesse Winker, Ty France, Jarred Kelenic, and Eugenio Suarez as options to help drive him in.
His glove guarantees him playing time, and he’s made enough progress as a hitter to find himself in a favorable spot.Ĭrawford is a leading candidate to lead off for a dangerous Mariners team hoping to end a lengthy playoff drought that stretches back to 2001, and the combination of an aggressive offseason and a tremendous farm system could make him a sneaky source of runs in the later stages of a draft. Coming off the board before everyone else, as he did during the 2013 amateur draft, tends to carry with it inordinate production expectations.īut even still, he’s turned himself into a high-floor option at shortstop - and one of the most fun, entertaining players around - who can threaten double-digit homers and find himself taking chances on the basepaths. Crawford may never make good on his draft status. These three shortstops may be end-of-draft options, but they can each give you quite a return on a minimal investment.
Whereas our starting pitcher and catcher portions of this series highlighted only players with an average draft position (ADP) over 200, we’re upping the ante here and restricting ourselves to contributors with ADPs at least in the vicinity of 300 - if they’re not going even later. The list goes on and on, to the point that you have few excuses for not rostering at least one powerhouse shortstop unless your league features more than a dozen teams.Īnd that’s why these fantasy baseball sleepers are deeper cuts than the ones we’ve been featuring at other positions. You can still bolster the middle of your infield with Tim Anderson, Xander Bogaerts, Trevor Story, Wander Franco, Francisco Lindor, or Corey Seager. (when he returns later in the season)? No worries. Missed out on Trea Turner, Bo Bichette, Marcus Semien, or Fernando Tatis Jr.
But the last decade has seen the position do a dramatic 180, and it’s now brimming over with offensive talent.
Not too long ago, finding MLB shortstops capable of producing monstrous offensive stats was nearly an impossibility unless you landed Troy Tulowitzki or Hanley Ramirez, among a few other notable options.