We’re back with the Shuffle Up series for fantasy baseball, the in-season edition. What you see below is how I would arrange the middle infielders (second base, shortstop) if I were entering a new draft today. Use it to evaluate your team, consider pickups and drops, grade trade offers – it’s up to you.
My salaries are unscientific in nature, mainly to show how I rank players and where particular clusters of talent lie. Your list will definitely look different. So we have a game.
I didn’t put a price on anyone on the injured list; I’m no doctor, and the level of injury optimism is highly variable from fantasy manager to fantasy manager.
Two weeks ago, we shuffled catchers. Last week, it was the corner fielder. Other posts will follow in later weeks. Let’s dig
the big ticket
$38 Marcus Semien
$38 Vander Franco
$37 Tree Turner
$37 Mookie Bets
$35 sold
$35 Fernando Tatis Jr.
Semien was undeniably pressing on the front of his Texas career, but once he settled in, the roof fell in. Consider what he’s done this past calendar year: .278 average, 131 runs, 33 homers, 113 RBI, 29 steals. He is the most underrated star in baseball, and it was a gift that he was drafted in the third round for most of the draft season.
Franco turned just 22 in spring training; It’s scary to think that he could be so much better. The year before he was touted by so many pundits as a future batting champion, but has improved in power and is also showing offensive interest on the bases. If we were to re-draft today, he would be an easy first round pick. , , Bates maintains elite plate discipline and a solid 130 OPS+ shows he is still an elite offensive player. But the Dodgers’ offense no longer provides the same bounce, and Bates may be listless on the bases—he’s only 1-for-2 through the opening quarter. Still a safe place to park your Roto investments, but the upside isn’t quite the same.
valid building blocks
$27 Corey Seager
$23 Thiro Estrada
$23 Bobby Witt Jr.
$21 Tim Anderson
$21 Francisco Lindor
$20 Jose Altuve
$20 Nolan Gorman
$19 Nico Horner
$19 George Mateo
$18 Xander Bogarts
$18 Jonathan India
$17 Dansby Swanson
$17 Willie Adams
The Royals have dropped Witt to the No. 6 spot in the order, recognizing that a .262 OBP is not in the leadoff spot. But perhaps it’s a short-sighted move – the Royals aren’t doing anything this year, no matter what, and with Witt one of their tallest players, you can give them as few at-bats as possible to figure that. tries to do. things out. Witt’s OPS+ is 80 — 20 percent below the average hitter — but the range juice (seven homers, 13 steals) preserves his fantasy value. He was still an overzealous mistake in the first round, but it is not a league-losing error. He will probably go into the third round today, even though he has holes in his game; It’s hard to give up that kind of pedigree, and his pop and speed won’t let his value drop.
Gorman’s breakout isn’t such a big surprise considering he was a first-round pick charted on the prospect ranking board for four seasons. His first year in St. Louis was a mild disappointment, but he still hit 14 homers in 89 games. Statcast data doesn’t fully validate his hot start, but he’s still carrying an expected average of .278 and an expected slugging of .571. He is not going away. , , Statcast Page does not endorse Estrada, saying he is on his skis in averaging (55 points higher than expected) and slugging (82 points higher than expected). Still, if Estrada hovers around his career .266 average and maintains category juice (and the No. 2 slot in the San Francisco order), he looks like a stable player worth believing in.
talk to them talk to them
$16 Whit Merrifield
$15 Ozzie Albie’s
$15 Max Muncy
$15 Gleyber Torres
$15 Tommy Edman
$14 Jeremy Pena
$13 Kettle Mart
$13 Ezequiel Duran
$12 Geraldo Perdomo
$12 Paul de Jong
$11 Carlos Correa
$11 Christopher Morrell
$11 Brandon Lowe
$11 Taylor Walls
$11 Luis Arrez
$10 Anthony Volpe
$10 Isaac Paredes
$10 Matt McLane
No one expected Korea to carry a .213/.302/.396 slash all year, but how much is really here? He hasn’t stolen a base since 2019, his .276 career average is good but not elite, and he generally averages between 22-26 homers each year, assists but doesn’t move the needle. They may also need an IL stent every year. Correa landed the Twins for six years and $200 million, with vested options that could increase the deal to $270 million. Even acknowledging his plus defense, is it fair to expect more? He’s in my overrated column.
Paredes would be a $14-16 player if he had a fixed full-time job, but you know the Rays; They want a different lineup almost every day. Walls would push into the $15-17 range if he had the same commitment. , , Although Duran will swing at anything and has a low walk rate, the contact rate isn’t bad and his expected average is similar to his actual .308 mark. And the power is real; He always hit for pop in the minors. Either way is welcome in the Rangers lineup in 2023.
some admirable upside
$10 Bryson Stott
$10 Ji-hwan Bay
$10 CJ Abrams
$10 Adam Frazier
$8 KC Schmidt
$8 Mauricio Dubon
$7 Jeff McNeil
$7 Amed Rosario
$7 Brandon Drury
$7 Orlando Arcia
$6 Andres Giménez
$6 Ryan McMahon
$6 Live Urshela
$5 DJ LeMahieu
$5 Xavier Beige
$5 Miguel Vargas
$5 Ha-seong Kim
$5 Owen Miller
I have permission to cut Baez if you will, an average slugger who no longer has the class juice that saved him in Chicago. , , Schmidt is going to play every day for the Giants, and although he won’t run much, he should hit for a plus average and hit the occasional homer. He didn’t shine with the pedigree, but he was a second-round pick in the 2020 draft. It’s completely out of nowhere.
bargain Bin
$4 Jake Cronenworth
$4 Gunnar Henderson
$4 Bryce Turang
$4 Rodolfo Castro
$4 Kyle Farmer
$3 Luis Rengifo
$3 JP Crawford
$3 Brendan Donovan
$3 John Bertie
$3 Kike Hernandez
$2 Zach Neto
$2 Josh Rojas
$2 Chris Taylor
$2 Ezequiel Tovar
$2 Kolten Wong
$2 Luis Garcia
$2 Nick Ahmed
$1 Zach McKinstry
$1 Emanuel Valdez
$1 Michael Massey
$1 Willie Castro
$1 Brandon Crawford
$1 Isiah Kiner-Falefa
$1 Edmundo Sosa
$1 Kevin Newman
$1 Nick Madrigal
$1 Harold Castro
$1 Garrett Hampson
$1 Hanser Alberto
$1 Wilmer Flores
Player on IL – Ineligible for ranking
jazz chisholm jr
elvis andrus
onell cruz
George Polanco
Ramon Urias
Christian Arroyo
Nick Gordon
Oswald Peraza
Santiago Espinal
yu chang
