Hanley Ramirez has been placed on the 15-day DL with a left back strain. Even before the injury, his production had dropped off significantly from last season. He’s currently hitting .210 with only four home runs and 17 RBI.
Now that he’s out, you’ll need to find a temporary stopgap to fill the hole his injury leaves in your lineup. Here are five shortstops, owned in 55% or less of Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball leagues, who are up to the task.
- Ryan Theriot, 2B/SS, St. Louis Cardinals (31%) – Theriot is riding a 19-game hitting streak and is batting an even .300 on the season. He hasn’t hit a home run yet, but he does have 21 RBI, which isn’t bad for a leadoff hitter.
- Darwin Barney, 2B/SS, Chicago Cubs (55%) – Barney is a similar player to Theriot, hitting .296 with one home run and 25 RBI this season. He won’t help you out in the HR/RBI categories, but he will do more than Hanley Ramirez did for your team batting average.
- Maicer Izturis, 2B/3B/SS, Los Angeles Angels (53%) – Izturis provides a little more pop than the first two guys on this list, with three homers on the year. But, he produces less in every other category. He’s only hitting .285 with 16 RBI this year. But, if Theriot and Barney are already gone in your league, Izturis isn’t a bad option.
- Mike Aviles, 2B/3B/SS, Kansas City Royals (54%) – Aviles has the most power of the guys on this list, but he also has the lowest average (.222). He has hit five home runs, driven in 29 runs and has even stolen nine bases this season.
- Jason Bartlett, SS, San Diego Padres (10%) – Bartlett hits for a decent average (.260) and has the most speed of the guys on the list (10 steals). But, he has only hit one home run and only has 18 RBI this year. However, everyone on this list hits for a higher average than Ramirez and all but Izturis has more RBI, so any of them will serve your team well.
