Jason Hunt takes a look at some players who may benefit from additional eligibility at shortstop depending on your league's rules.
We aim to provide you with the most comprehensive coverage possible here at Fake Teams, as you have been seeing with our position rankings each week. These rankings are based on three criteria primarily, at least in terms of who is eligible for these position-specific lists.
- They must have appeared in 20 games at the position in 2014. 20 games is the standard required by CBS and ESPN fantasy baseball leagues for eligibility at a position.
- If they did not appear in at least 20 games at any position, then we include them with the position they appeared the most at. This tends to be how these sites will give eligibility
- Finally, we look at how the 2015 season will progress, and if a player is expected to achieve eligibility at the position fairly quickly (generally 5 games in-season), we will rank them at the position as well. This has led players like Marcus Semien to be included at SS, as he will qualify under that standard within the first two weeks of the season.
But what if your league's eligibility requirements aren't so stringent? Yahoo only requires 10 games for example, and there are definitely leagues out there where it only takes 5 games, or even just 1, from the previous season to get position eligibility for this season. That's where we come in, with a look during each position's week at players where you may be able to game a little more advantage if you know the rules in your league inside out. With that in mind, here are some players who may have improved value in your league because they may qualify at SS based on less stringent eligibility requirements.
Value Up
Nick Franklin (10) - Franklin sure looks like he has the inside track on the second base job for the Rays this year with Ben Zobrist gone. If he qualifies at shortstop in your league, he may have more value there than at second base given the relative depth at second base.
Josh Harrison (8) - There's not a ton of leagues where he's going to qualify, but if he does it just gives you another option with roster construction, as he likely has 2B, 3B and OF eligibility as well.
Yangervis Solarte (8) - Solarte is headed into the season as the a nice sleeper as the starting third baseman for the newly configured Padres. If he's also a shortstop in your league, he'll have just that little bit more value as a back-end option in a lot of formats.
Justin Turner (15) - Turner had a very nice season as a utility player for the Dodgers in 2014, and will fill that role again this year. It's a purely NL-only play to own him in the first place, but he's a name worth remembering if your limit is only 10 games, as he qualifies at 3B, 2B and SS under that guideline.
Rearranging Deck Chairs
Danny Espinosa (12) - It's become abundantly clear at this point that the player we saw who nearly went 20/20 in two different seasons isn't really there any more, but if you're looking for a lottery ticket in an NL-only league, he may be it. Probably only a reserve pick at best though, as an injury is the only thing that likely gets him consistent playing time with Desmond and Escobar there.
One-Game Specials
Darwin Barney (3) - Hi Brian! Barney is expected to be in the running for the roster for the Dodgers, although you'd have to be in a 20+ team league or a 16+ NL only league to even contemplate owning him and playing him. He's at best the third or fourth option at second base for the team, and probably the third option for the utility spot behind Turner and Hernandez.
Grant Green (1) - What could have been will remain the question for Grant Green, as it appears that he may be best suited for a utility role if he's lucky. Having seen him play the outfield for nearly two seasons here in Sacramento, that ship sailed and you can grab him off the waiver wire should he actually fall into consistent playing time with consistent production to go with it.