Below is our player values and basic projections (BA, HR, RBI, R, SB) for utility infielders. Most fantasy rosters will have a hole to fill on draft day so this list should help if you are in need of a CI or MI. While these rankings are mostly based on projected stats, likelihood of ABs had a serious influence. I was surprised after I compiled this ranking believing this list would be pretty thin. Of course the value thins out fairly quickly but the top 10 players on this list have a serious chance to become a regular starter and are worth following closely this Spring Training.
Here are the top 30 utility infielders and the updated version of our 2011 spreadsheet.
1. Sean Rodriguez—TB $8 .260, 15, 60, 65, 10
2. Wilson Betemit—KC $7 .260, 15, 60, 60, 0
3. Jed Lowrie—BOS $7 .270, 10, 50, 60, 5
4. Daniel Murphy—NYM $6 .260, 10, 50, 50, 0
5. Brent Morel—CWS $6 .290, 10, 60, 60, 10
6. Brandon Allen—ARZ $6 .250, 15, 50, 50, 0
7. Matt Dominguez—FLA $5 .250, 10, 65, 50, 0
8. Jose Lopez—COL $5 .260, 10, 60, 50, 5
9. Mat Gamel—MLW $5 .280, 10, 60, 50, 0
10. Jerry Hairston, Jr.—WAS $5 .270, 10, 50, 60, 5
11. Jeff Keppinger—HOU $4 .290, 5, 50, 60, 5
12. Ty Wiggington—COL $4 .250, 10, 50, 40, 0
13. Chris Davis—TEX $4 .260, 10, 40, 30, 0
14. Maicer Izturis—LAA $4 .280, 5, 40, 50, 10
15. Luis Valbuena—CLE $4 .250, 10, 50, 60, 10
16. Adam Rosales—OAK $4 .260, 10, 40, 50, 5
17. Darwin Barney—CHC $4 .250, 5, 30, 50, 10
18. Jamey Carroll—LAD $3 .260, 0, 30, 50, 10
19. Daniel Descalo—STL $3 .260, 5, 20, 30, 10
20. Will Ryhmes—DET $3 .270, 1, 30, 20, 10
21. Casey Kotchman—TB $3 .270, 5, 35, 30, 0
22. Kyle Blanks—SD $3 .250, 5, 30, 20, 0
23. Nick Punto—STL $3 .270, 5, 30, 30, 0
24. Everth Cabrera—SD $3 .250, 0, 20, 40, 15
25. Brendon Harris—SEA $3 .270, 5, 30, 30, 0
26. Geoff Blum—ARZ $2 .240, 5, 20, 20, 0
27. Mike Carp—SEA $2 .270, 5, 30, 20, 0
28. Paul Janish—CIN $1 .230, 5, 25, 30, 5
29. Brandon Wood—LAA $1 .230, 5, 20, 20, 5
30. Lars Anderson—BOS $1 .260, 5, 10, 10, 0
Haha. I like the bold statement! Those projections for Valbuena are definitely optimistic, but not impossible. His numbers last year were awful b/c he lost his ability to hit right handed pitching, but he has the skills to improve. Luckily, we know you’re kidding about the car! But it reminds me of one of my favorite cases from law school involving a TV commercial from my childhood. Who else remembers this one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdackF2H7Qc
Funny story. Upon seeing this commercial, some guy—who apparently had no sense of humor—bought 10,000,000 Pepsis and demanded a Harrier Jet. The guy took his case Southern District of New York and of course he lost. His case now gives first-year law students a humorous way to learn when an “offer” isn’t serious.
Sorry this response has absolutely nothing to do w/ baseball. I couldn’t think of many justifications for Valbuena’s big season, so to make another 1995 reference, I went w/ a “Puppy Who Lost His Way” answer (Billy Madison).
If Valbuena puts up those numbers I will buy you a brand new car. I have no idea what you’re basing this projection on but if he is on the major league roster that long, it means 100+ losses by the Tribe and Nix, Donald, Cabrera, Phelps, and Kipnis are all hurt.
It pains me to say it as an EY, Jr. owner but, I think both Lopez and Wiggington will get a decent amount of ABs this year. The situation begs for a player to step up and claim the regular gig but the Rockies aren’t afraid to move players around the diamond. All of these players qualify at multiple positions, including infield and outfield, which may be good for the Rockies but it’s not so good for fantasy owners as no one will claim regular time. I’ll be watching the Rockies closely this Spring Training because of my investment in EY, Jr. but be careful bidding on these players. This situation has received some press so while they will provide decent value as a backup don’t get sucked in to over paying for bench players.
Great list. It will be interesting to see if Lopez or Wiggington can win some playing time in Colorado.