Shortstops

Elvis Andrus – Shortstop (SS) – Texas Rangers

Elvis Andrus, welcome to the hype machine!

The Texas Rangers’ Elvis Andrus is penciled in as the starting shortstop for 2009.  Recently the Rangers went about grabbing some insurance, in an incredibly wise move, by acquiring Omar Vizquel.  While most fantasy owners hate the idea of “insurance”, this was a great move for a offense-heavy Rangers squad.

Obviously, fantasy owners want Andrus to play the whole year while taking very few days off. However, Andrus is young and is bound to go through slumps so Vizquel will get his fair share of AB throughout the season, even if Andrus wins ROY.

What makes Andrus a safer bet than most young prospects is his defensive ability. Andrus’ defense is off the charts, not just with the glove either. Elvis Andrus also has quite the arm for a 6 footer that weighs in at 185. Vizquel can only help Andrus with positioning, and the infinite minutia involved with being a perennial gold-glover.  Even if Andrus struggles at the plate, his defense should keep him around the bigs.

Here’s what you’re getting with Elvis Andrus:

Obviously, the first thing that stands out about Elvis Andrus are the stolen bases. Andrus’ falls into the category of crazy-fast, yet not so swell on the basepaths — yet.

The rate at which Andrus has been getting nabbed isn’t exactly reassuring. Prior to 2008, Andrus was getting nailed about 1/3 of the time. Last year, in 2008, he reduced it to 1/4 of the time. Teams can live with a 75% success rate.

So how will Andrus effect your fantasy squad? Well, he’s a future lead-off hitter, and he could snag that spot as soon as this year. He’d need to keep his average around .280 and his OBP at least around .350 for a lead-off gig to make sense. He’s much more likely to be batting at the end of the order, which may allow him to steal more often.

A Possibility: the Rangers’ line-up goes Andrus, Kinsler, Young, Hamilton, Davis.

I love Hamilton as a number three hitter, but with Bradley gone it may be beneficial to have Young and his declining skill-set batting third.  If Andrus bats ahead of Kinsler and that crew, his potential is limitless.  He’ll score a ridiculous amount of runs, and more than likely steal anywhere from 20-30 bases.

A Different Possibility: Andrus bats 7th, 8th, or 9th.

While his runs scored will definitely diminish, there’s really no harm in batting in this spot.  Cruz and Murphy are both solid players, and Salty or Teagarden should be able to get it done this year.  If Andrus bats at the rear of the line-up he’ll be on base for Kinsler.  While I love Kinsler’s OBP in the leadoff spot, his gap-power may be better served as the second or third hitter.

If Andrus does bat at the ass end of the line-up, expect about 15 fewer runs and about 5-10 fewer RBI.  The bonus with this is, he’ll easily clear 30 SB. If Andrus gets on base with two out, it makes sense at least in my mind to let him fly.  If Andrus gets to second, a single from Kinsler scores him.  If Andrus gets nabbed, Kinsler leads off the next inning.

The Bottom Line: Andrus has to improve on his success rate, but the stolen base potential is there.  His defense will keep him playing often enough to justify the hype. Like all 20-year olds, there’s going to be some growing pains.

Verdict: Feed the Hype Machine.

Rangers Photo Courtesy of Mandolux / Flickr