Hanley Ramirez vs. Jose Reyes. These two shortstops have been battling for the top shortstop label for the past three years. This year Ramirez is the projected top rated player and many have taken him with the first pick. Reyes isn’t usually rated far behind but seems to have given up the top shortstop label. It obvious most players would be happy with either of these guys at a thin position, but is Hanley Ramirez the clearly better choice?
Looking at the standard categories may help us decide. I used an average of projections for 2009 and final 2008 numbers to do a quick comparison.
| R | RBI | HR | SB | BA | |
| Reyes 2008 | 113 | 68 | 16 | 56 | 0.296 |
| Reyes Proj | 123 | 71 | 16 | 5 | 0.295 |
| Hanley 2008 | 125 | 67 | 33 | 35 | 0.300 |
| Hanley Proj | 110 | 103 | 29 | 37 | 0.310 |
Runs
With the move to third or cleanup spot in the order Ramirez may see a decrease in is plate appearances and score fewer runs. While he seems a lock to score over 100+ times I don’t think you can rely on him matching last year’s run total. Cantu, Uggla, Hermida and Cody Ross will follow him in the order. Reyes will remain in the leadoff spot in a new ballpark that is being sold as being less of an extreme pitchers park as the old Shea. While the dimensions are similar there is more outfield ground to cover meaning more doubles for the speedy Reyes. With Wright, Beltran and Delgado hitting behind him he should easily score 120+ runs. Both will produce runs but Reyes should have 10-15 more runs.
RBI
With Ramirez moving to the third spot in the order he should easily be the highest producing RBI shortstop for 2009. I am a little concerned with Maybin and Baker (a catcher!) as the projected table setters, but the RBI opportunities should be there. The other concern is Hanley’s failure to produce in the 3 spot last year. Last year in 56 ABs he had 1 HR 4 RBIs 4 SB and batted .268. He may still have to make some mental or physical adjustments to be comfortable in the 3 spot. I was surprised to see Reyes had 1 more RBI last year considering he hit 15 fewer HRs. This year, however, Ramirez should have 30-40 more RBIs.
HR
Reyes was supposed to develop more power than he has shown in his early career. He still may hit 20 HRs but you can’t count on it. Hanley had 33 taters last year and should be right around 30 this year.
SB
Reyes may be the best base burglar in the game and could top 70 stolen bases easily. He simply dominates this category. Ramirez has the talent to be a 30-30 guy every year, but his SB trend is down. With a sore left shoulder and batting third in the order I doubt he’ll reverse that trend this year.
AVG
Toughest category to predict. Both of these guys can slump badly at times but both have shown the ability to be .300 hitters. While Ramirez is a lttle more patient at the plate he does strike out more often. Reyes, appropriately, has a contact approach and his speed gets him a few hits each month. I would slighty favor Ramirez in this category because he has a higher ceiling, but be worried that the change in his role in the batting order could cause a drop off.
So Reyes would be tops in Runs, dominate SBs and be close in AVG. Ramirez would be tops in RBIs, dominate HRs, and have a slight edge in AVG. Hanley has a more prevalent injury worry in his left shoulder but he was able to play through it last year. The drop in the batting order last year also made him a worse hitter. Reyes main concern is wearing down and having terrible Septembers and Octobers over the last two years. Bottom line is I would be happy having either of these guys but would rank them as 1a and 1b at the position. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Reyes ended up the clear winner.
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