Name: Hanley Ramirez
Position: Shortstop
Team: Florida Marlins
Age: 26
Overview: Each position seems to have its decisive top player; at first base it's Albert Pujols, at second Chase Utley is the man, while Alex Rodriguez is the standard at third base. Shortstop is one of the thinnest positions in fantasy baseball, and the man at the top is not only a top 10 premier fantasy player, he is arguably a potential first overall selection.
That man is the Florida Marlin's Hanley Ramirez.
Ramirez was born 26 years ago in the Dominican Republic, and from the moment of his debut Major League career he has done nothing less than impress. He began his career in the Boston Red Sox system and became part of the 5-player Marlins/Red Sox trade that sent Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell to Beantown. In his rookie season, Ramirez won the starting shortstop job out of spring training, and he hasn't looked back since.
Hanley won the 2006 NL Rookie of the Year Award by leading all MLB rookies with 185 hits, 119 runs, 11 triples and 51 SBs. He also rocked 17 homers, seven of which were lead-off dingers. The latter set a team record. He's already been a 2x All Star selection (2008, 2009), 2x Silver Slugger award winner (2008, 2009), the National League Batting Champion (2009), and a member of the 30–30 club (2008). All this and he has yet to hit that magical sports production age of 27.
Hanley is a true 5-tool fantasy stud who will get you numbers in every category. In 2009 he had his lowest run and stolen base totals, but his RBI's were up, and his batting average of .342 was a career high. His On Base Percentage (OBP) has gone up every season. I expect huge fantasy numbers with more balance in 2010. If you read my First Draft Pick article you know I think Ramirez is as solid a #1 pick as Pujols.
| Year | Runs | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | AVG. | OBP | SLG | OPS | Ks |
| 2009 | 101 | 42 | 1 | 24 | 106 | 27 | .342 | .410 | .543 | .954 | 101 |
| 2010 Proj. | 117 | 45 | 3 | 27 | 92 | 39 | .322 | .412 | .539 | .951 | 110 |
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