2011 Fantasy Baseball Preview - Shortstop Rankings

Introduction  - Catchers  - First Basemen  - Second Basemen  
Third Basemen  - Shortstops  - Outfielders 1  - Outfielders 2  
Starting Pitchers 1  - Starting Pitchers 2


#1 Hanley Ramirez
Hanley is basically a no-brainer as the number one shortstop. He's a 5-tool guy who contributes in big ways in almost every offensive category. He's a very good bet for 20+ homers, a .300+ average, and 30+ steals. He's still very young with room to improve even more. Last year his ISO and LD% dropped, and he showed a lot of discontent playing for the Marlins. I expect him to put those issues behind him enough to improve on his 2010 numbers. Hanley will be one of the most valuable fantasy players in the game, definitely worthy of a first round pick.

#2 Troy Tulowitzki
Tulowitzki played only 122 games last year due to injury. Despite that he still managed to hit 27 home runs with a .315 batting average. A lot of that was due to a ridiculous tear he went on in September where he hit .377 with 14 home runs in 15 games. All of his numbers from above were higher than his career averages except for LD%, so that shows that 2010 was pretty lucky for Tulowitzki. He's going to be a great player and have outstanding value at the short stop position, but don't be surprised if he doesn't replicate his 2010 numbers.

#3 Jose Reyes
Reyes was one of the game's most exciting players just a couple seasons ago, but injuries have brought him down a long ways. He played only 36 games in 2009, but somewhat bounced back with a 133 game season last year. In those games he hit .282 with 11 home runs while stealing 30 bases. Reyes is getting into his upper 20's now, so he's not at the age where we expect him to fall off. The days of 70+ stolen bases might be over, but he'll still be near the top of the league in that category while contributing nicely in runs scored and batting average. He's a slight injury risk, but he could be a good buy-low candidate.

#4 Jimmy Rollins
Rollins is another guy who has injury problems recently. Last year he played only 88 games, the lowest number of his career. In those games he put together an ugly .243 batting average with only 8 home runs. Rollins had a really low BABIP, which could have resulted from the decline in LD%. He didn't hit the ball very well last year, and he stole only 17 bases. He is 32 right now, so I expect Rollins to start to decline pretty rapidly. He might one or two more solid seasons in him, and the consistency he's shown in his career led me to rank him at #4. The position really falls off after Rollins, so this was pretty much a no-brainer.

#5 Elvis Andrus
Andrus is 22 years old and has only been in the league for 2 seasons. It's kind of hard to predict a player like him, but all signs point to him being a very good big leaguer for a long time. Andrus hit only .266 last year and hit .267 in 2009, so you probably aren't going to get a real good batting average out of him. His BABIP last year was .317, but because of his age it's unfair to say he can't improve on batting average. He should continue to improve at the plate and get his numbers up more and more every year. Andrus is a guy that could break out this year, although he realy doesn't have any power. He did not hit 1 home run last year, that's right, zero. The reason you're going to draft this guy is for the stolen bases, which he should get a ton of. If you don't have a shortstop and you need steals, Andrus is a guy you could get at a pretty decent time in the draft, and he has good upside.

#6 Ian Desmond
Desmond is another young shortstop that will be interesting to watch this year. Last year he hit .269 on a .317 BABIP, so the average isn't very appealing. There's nothing impressive about the rest of his numbers either, but his age and make up give him some upside. The position gets thin fast, which earns Desmond a starting spot on a roster in just about every fantasy baseball league imagineable. If you miss out on the top guys, Desmond has some pretty decent potential and you could be pleased with selecting him in the middle rounds.

#7 Alexei Ramirez
People have been waiting Ramirez to bust out for a couple of years now, and as he heads into his 4th season in the majors, he's losing my confidence pretty fast. He's done the same thing almost every year of his career, with a batting average around .280 and around 17-19 home runs. He doesn't steal many bases, which is pretty important for a fantasy shortstop, however he does have better power than most guys. It's important to look at your team needs when selecting a middle of the road shortstop, and if you need some more pop and a solid batting average, Ramirez is your guy, but the upside is limited and he isn't going to steal you many bases.

#8 Derek Jeter
Oh, Jeter. Every year we're waiting for this guy to completely fall off the map, but he just doesn't seem to want to do it. Last year he struggled, hitting .270 with 10 home runs, which looked extra bad after his 2009 season of .334 with 18 bombs. Jeter has a career average BABIP of .356 which is almost unbelievable. You could then say that he was really unlucky last year with a .307 mark, so the average should come up. However, he's 36 years old now and he knows his days are numbered. The defense is really bad, which leads people to believe he could be moved to the outfield. He's guaranteed at bats just because of his name, so he's a pretty safe bet if you know what you're getting and don't expect too much. He'll hit for good average, score a lot of runs, and swipe some bases, but there's no upside at all here. What you see is what you get, and I don't think you're going to be seeing it much past 2011.

#9 Starlin Castro
Completely opposite of Jeter is Castro. He came into the league last year at the fresh age of 19 and played really well. He hit .300 and scored 53 runs in 125 games for a Cubs team that wasn't very good. Castro hit only 3 home runs but he has more power than that number suggests. His line drive percentage was 19.5 which is really good to see from a young guy and he had a pretty solid .340 on base. He should improve very, very fast and could turn into a top 5 fantasy shortstop in the next few years. There's a lot of work to be done, and at the age of 20, I'm not going to be picking him in front of safer bets like Desmond, Ramirez, and Jeter (well, I might take him in front of Jeter, but that's kind of an anti-Yankee thing).

#10 Stephen Drew
Drew is another guy that some people have been waiting to break out, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. He's a career .272 hitter and he's been in the league since 2006. His career high in home runs is 21, but he has hit less than 20 for the last 2 seasons. Playing in Arizona isn't helping him out, so there's not a lot of upside for Drew. He'll be 28 years old this season and it seems he'll remain a .275 or so hitter for the remainder of his career. His on base percentage last year was encouraging, but the rest of his numbers above remained pretty on pace with his career average. I'd try to get somebody before Drew is the best available, because he's pretty unspectacular.

#11 Rafael Furcal
Furcal isn't a young guy anymore, he'll be 33 years old this season and his numbers have been very inconsistent the last few years. He played only 97 games last season, but hit a solid .300/.366/.460 in those games. He stole 22 bases, which is decent for the sample size. Furcal had a good LD% and still shows the ability to be an effective hitter when healthy, but he's just not healthy enough to trust him as a fantasy starter. He's got good value for where you'll get him, and if he puts together a whole season he could end up being a very good draft pick, but don't reach for him.

#12 Alcides Escobar
Escobar is a young kid that the Brewers thought would be their starting shortstop for a long time. However, they traded him to the Royals this offseason to get Zack Greinke. Escobar played his first full season last year and wasn't good. He hit an ugly .235 with 4 homers and only 10 steals. He has some upside because of his age and makeup, but I won't be going anywhere near him this year.

#13 Erick Aybar
Aybar is nothing special. His best season in the bigs was 2009 when he hit .312, but didn't do anything else. He has no power and doesn't steal a lot of bases, which is saying a lot in the Angels system. There's really nothing encouraging about his numbers, I would avoid him altogether.

#14 Asdrubal Cabrera
Cabrera is another classic shortstop that makes his living with the glove. Last year he hit .276 with 3 homers and 6 steals. His best season was 2009 when he hit .308 with 6 homers. He's young and has some upside, but don't expect anything more than the potential for a good batting average with nothing else.

#15 Yunel Escobar
Just another weak hitting shortstop. Escobar hit .256 last year with two teams and hit only 4 home runs after having an encouraging 14 homer season in 2009. There's a 15 home run upside here, but the batting average probably won't be good and he doesn't steal bases.

#16 Tsuyoshi Nishioka
We've talked about Nishioka. He's coming over from Japan and has batting average and speed upside with a lot of flexibility possibly playing 3 different positions. It's really hard to rank him fairly, and he could easily turn into much better than a #16 shortstop, but for now I just don't know enough about him to put him ahead of anyone. I suppose there's upside, so I might consider taking him above a handful of the other guys on this list, but only in a back-up role.

2011 Fantasy Baseball Preview - Third Basemen Rankings

Introduction  - Catchers  - First Basemen  - Second Basemen  
Third Basemen  - Shortstops  - Outfielders 1  - Outfielders 2  
Starting Pitchers 1  - Starting Pitchers 2

#1 Evan Longoria
Longoria's another no-brainer #1 guy for his position. He's been in the league 3 years and has posted a .283/.361/.521 career line with 82 home runs. He struggled a little bit with the power numbers last year, hitting only 22 homers, but he still drove in 104 runs. There's nothing to be worried about with Longoria's power, he had a better line drive percentage than his career average last year and he was unlucky with a HR/FB percentage that was 4.5 percent lower than his career average. He'll return to 30 home run form and hit for good average. He'll even swipe 10-15 bases for you, he's a first round guy without question.

#2 David Wright
Wright was ranked lower than he should have been last season, coming off as season where he hit only 10 home runs. However, he bounced back last year and hit 29 big flies. He teamed that with a .283 average, which was 22 points lower than his career average. His BABIP was .335 somehow, which makes that batting average hard to believe. He's a career .300 hitter, so I'd expect him to get near that number again in 2011, and he'll get you 25 homers. He's also a guy that can swipe some bases. He's a solid number 2, but I'd rank him significantly below Longoria.

#3 Alex Rodriguez
Rodriguez struggled in 2010. He hit only .270 on a .274 BABIP and saw his ISO drop to .236, which came to be because of a LD% that was 4 points lower than his career average. He was unlucky with the home runs with a HR/FB that was 6 points below his career average, but even with that he still hit 30 bombs. Some would say A-Rod is slowing down with age, he will be turning 36 in July, but I'd say the guy has 2 or 3 more really solid seasons in him. He's not quite near Longoria or Wright's level right now, but he's a solid number 3 and a good step in front of the #4 guy.

#4 Ryan Zimmerman
Zimmerman had some high expectations in 2010 after a huge 2009 season where he hit 33 home runs and drove in 106. He didn't quite live up to those expectations with only 25 bombs and 85 RBI. Zimmerman had a high BABIP, which could lead to a 2011 batting average closer to his career average, and his LD% decreased a little bit too. His HR/FB was higher than his career average, so it's hard for me to say that he will for sure raise his power numbers. Zimmerman's a good option after the top 3 guys are gone, but I certainly wouldn't group him with them.

#5 Adrian Beltre
Beltre was one of the most sought after free agents this offseason before the Rangers inked him to a huge 96 million dollar contract. While that seems to be overkill regardless of what he does, he could be a huge asset to them if he repeats his 2010 successes. He hit .321 with the Red Sox last year, with 28 home runs and 102 RBI. His BABIP was extremely high at .331 and his line drive percentage stayed the same as his career average. His HR/FB were right on track with his career as well. It appeared to be kind of a lucky year for Beltre, especially with the batting average. A 30 year old career .275 hitter hitting .321 doesn't happen very often. My guess he'll hit for good power but not come anywhere near .320 again in Texas. It's a good situation to be in though, so Beltre is a good guy to get after the top tier is gone.

#6 Martin Prado
We talked about Prado already in the second base post, but he is eligible at third base too, so he comes in at #6 on here. The reason he is so high is just because of the consistency factor. You know what you're going to get from Prado, which can't be said for the next few guys on the list. His upside is limited, and there could end up being much better third basemen picked after him, but if you like the way your team is looking after the first couple rounds and want a solid batting average with lineup flexibility, he's your guy.

#7 Pablo Sandoval
Sandoval had a break out 2009, when he hit .330 with 25 home runs. He was overdrafted and a huge disappointment in 2010, hitting .268 with only 13 home runs. He played so badly that he didn't even play in the postseason. For the type of free swinger he is, it wasn't hard to predict that he would fall off a bunch after 2009, but no one really expected what happened. It'll be hard for him to repeat those awful numbers, and with a 17.1 LD% last year, I expect him to come back up and be a top 10 third baseman easily. He's a little bit of a risky pick, but his upside is enough to warrant it, in my opinion.

#8 Pedro Alvarez
Alvarez came up mid way through last season and played well for the Pirates. He hit .256 after having a horrible first month to his career. He finished with 16 homers in 95 games, and he hit a very solid .280/.348/.493 in the seasons last 2 months. He swings and misses a ton, but he has real big league power. He has the upside of a top 5 third baseman, but ranking him around 7 or 8 is more realistic just because he still has a ways to go to realize his potential. If you snake him later in the draft, you might end up being very happy with yourself, I certainly wouldn't bet against him.

#9 Jose Bautista
Bautista was one of baseball's biggest stories in 2010. After having a career season high home runs of 16, he hit 54 last season. Where that came from, nobody knows. The interesting part is that his BABIP was an unbelievably low .233 with a .260 batting average. That means that his batting average almost has to come up. His line drive percentage has never been impressive, and it was worse than his career average in 2010. He had a ridiculously high HR/FB. I'm not breaking any ground by saying he's not hitting anywhere close to 50 home runs this year, but I honestly would be surprised to see him hit 30. Don't go near Bautista, he is way to overvalued this year.

#10 Aramis Ramirez
At the age of 31, Ramirez had the worst overall season of his career in 2010, with a .241/.294/.452 line with 25 home runs. As a result of his early season struggles, he was dropped in a lot of leagues. He's going to be 33 halfway through the season, and his power is seeming to disappear more and more every year. His LD% dropped a bunch from his career average last year, and I really think that's because of age and injury. If he keeps this up, more than his power is going to disappear - his playing time will too.

#11 Casey McGehee
McGehee was one of the Brewers best hitters last year, with a .285 average and 23 home runs. He drove in 104 runs in his 157 games. His numbers above are all pretty close to his career numbers, even though he had only played 125 games prior to last season, so that doesn't mean all that much. McGehee is going to be a solid option at third, he should hit for good, not great, average and hit 20+ homers. He's 28 so there's a little room for improvement, but I wouldn't say he has anywhere near the upside of an Alvarez or a Sandoval.

#12 Mark Reynolds
All fantasy players seem to know the story with this guy. It's home run or strikeout. Last year he hit .198, an incredible 44 points lower than his already poor career average of .242. His BABIP was bad, so his average should come up significantly, and he'll still hit you at least 30 home runs. Also, his relocation to Baltimore should help his power numbers, it's tough hitting in Arizona. The Orioles are an interesting team this year, and could score some runs. Reynolds will have some RBI opportunities and should be one of the better power hitters in the league. However, the average and strikeouts can kill a fantasy team.

#13 Ian Stewart
I thought about ranking Stewart higher than this, for a couple of reasons, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. He's only 25 years old and he's already had a 25 home run season. However his batting average has always been low and he's had average BABIP's almost every year of his career. He hits the ball well, with pretty solid LD%'s, and he plays in Coors field. Those things all give this kid a lot of upside. If he can get his batting average up 10 or 20 points, he could be a very good steal later in drafts. Definitely take a serious look at him.

#14 Chase Headley
The position gets really thin from here on. Headley is unspectacular at best. Last year he hit 11 home runs with a .264 batting average, and that's pretty much how he's always been and how he'll always be. He has always had a high BABIP, but he's only played like 2 and a half seasons, so I expect that to start dropping soon. The average is going to get even lower, and it's already bad. There's not much power here. He might steal you 15 bags, but he's nothing more than a reserve player in my book.

#15 Placido Polanco
The ageless Polanco had another good batting average season last year. He's a career .303 hitter and he was right there again in 2010 with a .298 mark. The power has never been there, and he doesn't steal bases. He's good for batting average, and that's it. That's really all there is to say here. If you have a ton of power guys on your team and you need a guy to bring up your batting average, draft Polanco.

#16 Scott Rolen
Speaking of ageless, Rolen had a great season with the Reds last year, hitting .285 with 20 homers. His BABIP was pretty sound at .302 and his LD% even fell a little bit. However, his age is going to slow him down eventually, I think Rolen's career is about over. I'd avoid him completely.

#17 Omar Infante
We talked about Infante in the second base rankings, and he was in the exact same #17 spot. He had a ridiculously good year last year, and that was helped by a .355 BABIP. He's going to be 29 this year and all the numbers say that 2010 was a fluke. I don't see any reason to draft him.

2011 Fantasy Baseball Preview - Second Basemen Rankings

Introduction  - Catchers  - First Basemen  - Second Basemen  
Third Basemen  - Shortstops  - Outfielders 1  - Outfielders 2  
Starting Pitchers 1  - Starting Pitchers 2
Second base is a big position in fantasy baseball. This year the position is extremely thin, so it's a great strategy to draft one of the top second basemen early in the draft and enjoy getting good numbers from a position where most of the other teams in your league aren't getting them.

#1 Robinson Cano
Cano is the hands down number one second baseman, and there is no argument about it. He was in strong consideration for AL MVP but got beat out by Josh Hamilton, who had ridiculous numbers. Cano's .319 average, 29 home runs, and sabermetrics to go along with his career averages are more than good enough to get the nod from me. Get Cano in round 1 or 2 and enjoy top of the league offense from a tough offensive position.

#2 Chase Utley
Utley had a tough year in 2010. He played only 115 games due to injury, and because of that, his power numbers fell off. He hit only 16 home runs after hitting at least 31 in his previous two seasons, and his average fell down to .275. He is now 32 years old and a continued decline shouldn't be a shock. However, I don't expect it to happen, Utley will bounce back and if he stays healthy he has 30 HR and .290 average potential.

#3 Dustin Pedroia
Pedroia has seen his production fall off every year for the last 3 years. He won the AL MVP in 2008 with 17 home runs and a .326 batting average, but last year he hit only 12 home runs with a .288 batting average. However, Pedroia missed a ton of time with injuries, playing only 75 games. That said, those 17 home runs are pretty impressive. His ISO was 49 points higher than his career average, and he took advantage of Fenway Park with a 11.4 HR/FB percentage, which was 4.4 points higher than his career average. I don't think he is going to hit home runs at the pace he was hitting last year, but you can take a good batting average and a bunch of runs scored to the bank. Pedroia is close to Utley, but pretty distant from Cano. He rounds up the 2nd-tier.

#4 Dan Uggla
If you like hit or miss guys, Uggla is your guy. He pounded out a career high 33 home runs in 2010 and even raised his batting average to .287, another career high. The good news is that his ISO and HR/FB stayed pretty much where they have always been. The high batting average might have been fluky, but the power is real. He now plays for the Braves, which I don't see making too much of a difference. 30 home runs is a good bet, but he's probably not going to hit above .270 again and he'll strike out a ton.

#5 Ian Kinsler
Kinsler is another guy that was held back by injuries in 2010. In 103 games, he hit .286 with only 9 home runs. His sabermetric power numbers were well below his career averages, which will probably translate into return to form of 25+ homers if he stays healthy. Kinsler isn't a sure thing like the guys ahead of him, but he has upside of a top 3 second baseman. He'll give you good batting average, pretty good power, and he'll steal you bases. He's a good guy to grab and could be undervalued this year because of his 2010 season. This one of my main targets this year, and I think he should be one of yours too.

#6 Martin Prado
Prado is one of the most consistent players in the game. His numbers were nearly identical to his career averages last year, and that was the same case last season as well. Prado is only 27 and has some room to improve. He doesn't have great power but his home runs totals have been increasing every year since 2008, so 20 homers isn't out of the question for him. He'll hit at least .290 and score a good amount of runs. He's pretty far behind the guys above him, but he's a decent option if you use your first 5 or so picks on other positions.

#7 Rickie Weeks
Weeks experienced a huge spike in his power numbers last year, which raises some red flags. His ISO was 19 points higher than his career average, his BABIP was 23 points higher, his HR/FB was 4.6 points higher, and his LD% was 2 percentage points lower. What's all that mean? It was a fluke season and he will not hit anywhere near 29 home runs again. However, he will steal some bases and score a lot of runs hitting in front of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. Just don't expect more than 20 home runs from him.

#8 Gordon Beckham
Beckham was one of my late round sleeper picks in all of my drafts last year, and he didn't really do much. He hit only .252 with 9 home runs. He had a horrific start to the season but played better near the end of it. The sabermetrics say that he was on pace with his career averages, but last year was his first full season and you expect a player of his age to improve mightily and not stay the same. Beckham still has a ton of potential and could be a very, very good value pick later in the draft.

#9 Brandon Phillips
Philips was unspectacular in 2010. He scored 100 runs because of the fantastic performance of the offense behind him, but he himself wasn't that great. His .275 batting average was higher than his career average, but still not much to write home about. He hit 18 home runs, which was his lowest total since 2006. His numbers in the table above seem to be all right around his career averages, so there's no reason to believe he'll have big improvement or big decline next year. He's turning 30 this year so I'd guess he would remain right around where he was last year. I'd say there's a pretty big drop off after Philips, so if you miss out on the guys above him, I'd consider snatching him up.

#10 Ben Zobrist
Zobrist was drafted too high last year because of his impressive 2009 season, but he certainly did not make his owners too happy in 2010, posting a .238 batting average with very little power. Looking at his numbers, it really seems like 2009 was a fluke for Zobrist. He's 30 years old now and there's really not much room for improvement in my opinion. The Rays are going to be a new look team this year so it's tough to predict lineups or anything like that. Zobrist is going to play a lot and play different positions, so he'll have some eligibility at other places, which is nice. He'll also steal you some bases, so he's not a bad guy to get, but I wouldn't want him as my starting second baseman.

#11 Kelly Johnson
Johnson jumped out to a hot start in 2010, and was leading the league in home runs for the first couple of months. His hot streak ended, however and he finished the year with a .284 average. That was still 15 points higher than his career average but possibly influenced by the .339 BABIP. He has always has a higher than average BABIP however, and that probably is because he hits the ball well, when he hits it. He hits a line drive 21.4% of the time, which is pretty impressive. Johnson won't get you high average, but he'll hit more home runs than other guys you'd be drafting around the same time, so he's not a terrible pick.

#12 Brian Roberts
Roberts is old. He's 33 and had the most frustrating year of his career last year. Injuries held him to only 59 games and he hit .278 with only 4 home runs in those games. He stole only 12 bases, which isn't terrible for the sample size but still not what his owners were looking for. Roberts has been a top 5 second baseman most of his career, but those days are over. There's only so much you can take from statistics coming from 59 games, but nothing really looks good for Roberts' future. He could squeak out another solid season or two, and if he even plays his average season he'll be a lot better than some guys ranked ahead of him, but I see him continuing to decline. I wouldn't touch Roberts unless it's really late.

#13 Aaron Hill
Toronto's second baseman blasted 36 home runs in 2009. That's the biggest joke I've ever heard. Before that season, his career high was 17. He outdid that number again in 2010 by hitting 26, but he killed his fantasy owners with a .205 batting average and 85 strikeouts in only 138 games played. Hill's BABIP was unbelievably low, so there's definitely reason to believe he'll improve in the batting average category, but even if he goes up to his career average of .270, that's still not very good. He'll have to hit 25+ home runs to have good value, and I don't see that happening again.

#14 Chone Figgins
Figgins was one of the reasons Mariners fans thought that last year was their year. However, he struggled like the rest of the team and posted a career low .259 batting average. He still stole 42 bases, which is why most people draft him. He's 33 now and I expect those steal numbers to decline. He has no power (that 70.0% HR/FB is a big time typo, it should be 0.7), but his line drive percentage has always been decent. He'll get on base and steal some bases for you, but that's pretty much all he'll do.

#15 Neil Walker
Walker is one reason for Pirates fans to believe that the streak of 18 straight losing seasons is going to end soon. He did not play a full season, but hit a very impressive .296 with 12 home runs in 110 games. Walker was having a lot of struggles in the minor leagues before 2010, which led a lot of fans to rule him out completely, but he broke out last year and now looks to be part of the future. One year is never enough to make judgements on though, so there is a chance that Walker will fall off the table completely and not be relevant at all in fantasy. However, his 22.4 LD% is an encouraging sign that he's for real. He will also hit in the middle of the order, which not many second baseman do, so there will be some RBI opportunities. However, there's too much uncertainty with Walker to draft him on your fantasy team, but he could be a steal in the last few rounds.

#16 Howie Kendrick
Kendrick was a guy that people were expecting to break out a few years ago, but he never really has. He's a good average hitter most years, but he struggled last year with a .279 mark, which is interesting because he still had a good BABIP at .313. He doesn't have power and doesn't steal a ton of bases, so there's no real reason to draft him. You know what you're going to get, the upside is seemingly gone, so use your late round picks elsewhere.

#17 Omar Infante
Infante made the all-star team last year, and he wasn't even an every day starter. He hit .321 in 134 games (506 plate appearances) with 8 home runs and 7 steals. His BABIP was high at .335, and his line drive percentage actually went down. He's a utility player that won't start every day in 2011, so there's absolutely no reason to draft him unless you're in an NL only or 14+ team league.

#18 Tsuyoshi Nishioka
Nishioka is new to the states. The Twins signed him as an international free agent and will give him the chance to play second and third this year. There's really no way to predict what he's going to do, but I can pretty much say he has limited power. I don't see him hitting more than 10 homers for the Mets, so he'll have to make his living with batting average and runs scored. He hit only .260 in Japan in 2009, but then busted out with a .346 average in 2010. He is similar to Ichiro, but not nearly as consistent. He might turn into a decent onbase/steals guy, so he might be worth taking very late in the draft.