Shuffle Up: The Robinson Cano problem

Here are your middle infield Shuffle Up prices. We're trying to figure how the players will perform from here on out. What's happened to this point is an audition, nothing past that.

Assume a 5x5 scoring system, as always. Players at the same prices are considered even.

When I do these lists, they're composed completely from scratch. I don't care where I ranked everyone in March. I'm certainly not one of those guys who assumes his preseason ranks were probably right, so why change anything? Figure out the new season before the other guy, gamers. Marcus Semien and Brandon Crawford were probably good pickups.

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You're going to have some disagreements, and that's good. That's why we have a game and why it's fun. I look at someone else's list and I see things I don't understand, too. If you did a list, you'd encounter the same thing. That's how these things work.

Remember, a player doesn't gain or lose bonus value just because you like him; you drafted him; you saw him at the driving range; he wouldn't sign an autograph for your nephew; whatever. Try not to get personal about the stock, Gekko told us that. We just want the numbers. (And no, I don't hate your favorite team.)

The injury ranks are for courtesy. I will not debate them. If you're a better doctor than I am, that's fine. I'm generally very cautious with hurt players and it's served me well over the years, but you are welcome to play differently.

I didn't rank players in the minors. Carlos Correa is worth whatever you want him to be worth.

$27 Jose Altuve
$25 Jason Kipnis
$25 Brian Dozier
$25 Dee Gordon
$24 Hanley Ramirez
$20 Kolten Wong
$20 Jhonny Peralta
$20 Troy Tulowitzki
$18 Jose Reyes
$17.99 Robinson Cano

Before anyone has a fit over Gordon’s .434 BABIP, keep in mind he’s a jackrabbit who bats left-handed - he’s always going to be far above the league average. His career mark is .342. His contact remains elite and the Marlins are letting him run whenever he feels like it, so enjoy the ride. You’ll just have to get your power elsewhere.

If you rank all shortstops in offensive fWAR from 2013 to today, here’s your top three: Hanley, Tulowizki, Peralta. And for whatever you make of defensive metrics, Peralta is actually fifth there. I wish I had this guy on all of my teams. His current .304-24-7-27-1 line has him third at the position, and he looks like a very safe bet to stick in the Top 5.

I think it’s foolish to consider anything Cano did in New York while we’re trying to price him forward. There’s a good chance he’ll never be that guy again.

The good news this year is that he’s back to his career average for hard-hit rate, so he’s putting some juice on the ball when he connects.The bad news is that he’s still a ground-ball machine: he was at 52.6 percent last year and he’s at 51.9 percent this year. He’s not controlling his at-bats like you expect; walks down, strikeouts significantly up. He’s 1-for-4 on stolen bases, so that angle might be gone for good.

The upside, what you hope for with Cano, is what he did last year. Forget New York, it’s gone for good. The downside is he gives you a reasonable average but 10-12 homers. Just be glad you're not paying him like Seattle is.

$15 Howie Kendrick
$15 Dustin Pedroia
$15 Ian Kinsler
$15 Ian Desmond
$15 Mookie Betts
$14 Starlin Castro
$13 Marcus Semien
$13 Josh Harrison
$13 Brandon Phillips

$12 Brandon Crawford
$12 Neil Walker
$11 Jung Ho Kang
$11 Ben Zobrist
$10 Daniel Murphy
$10 Alexei Ramirez
$9 Addison Russell
$9 Jimmy Paredes
$9 Jimmy Rollins
$8 Erick Aybar
$8 Brett Lawrie
$8 Logan Forsythe

Crawford’s one of those funky lefty hitters who actually has a reverse platoon split - his career OPS is 43 points higher against southpaws. This year he’s absolutely crushing them, but it’s back to .263/.338/.429 against the righties. That’s not a bad line, given the shortstop company here, and his glove will keep him on the field at all times. Look for a respectable average and maybe 15-18 homers; now in his age-28 season, the timing is right.

If you’ve read my work at all, you know Paredes is my kind of player. Love the position flexibility, love the out-of-nowhere stories. That said, he’s currently sixth in BABIP, third in outside-zone swings, and eighth in lowest contact rate. You know he can’t keep this level of production up - no one expects it - but the crash could be jagged. It’s a perfect time to quietly shop him.

The Pirates signed Kang for his offensive potential, but he's been fine at shortstop, too. Jody Mercer did everything he could to lose the gig, and Kang, despite a fair amount of strikeouts, should be able to keep it.

$7 Alcides Escobar
$7 Jean Segura
$6 Delino DeShields
$6 Joe Panik
$6 Chase Utley
$6 Martin Prado
$6 Xander Bogaerts
$5 Danny Espinosa
$5 Elvis Andrus
$5 Wilmer Flores
$5 Adeiny Hechavarria
$5 Brad Miller
$4 Justin Turner
$4 Jace Peterson
$4 Andrelton Simmons
$4 Yunel Escobar
$4 DJ LeMahieu
$4 Zack Cozart
$3 Aaron Hill
$3 Luis Valbuena
$3 Matt Duffy
$3 Yangervis Solarte
$3 Jose Iglesias
$3 J.J. Hardy
$3 Steve Pearce
$3 Jeff Gyorko

DeShields would be higher if not for playing time concerns and the lack of a track record . . . I ranked Bogaerts in March with some improvement baked into the price, something that looks like a blunder now . . . Turner also gets a ding for PT issues - the Dodgers don’t want him to play 145-150 games . . . Simmons has nudged his strikeout rate down, not that it was ever a problem. He’s hitting more line drives, too, to the point that you wonder why his BABIP is just .281. He might get to 10 homers, but he hasn’t learned how to run in the NL yet . . . Miller hit four home runs in a five-game stretch; otherwise, he has just one this year. It's cute to see the Mariners use him in a super-utility role, but a .229/.309/.417 slash doesn't mark any territory. He better start hitting again, soon.

$2 Freddy Galvis
$2 Chris Owings
$2 Cory Spangenberg
$2 Jose Ramirez
$1 Kelly Johnson
$1 Nick Ahmed
$1 Eduardo Escobar
$1 Daniel Santana
$1 Cesar Hernandez
$1 Odubel Herrera
$1 Didi Gregorius
$1 Brock Holt
$1 Eddie Rosario
$1 Adam Rosales
$0 Mike Aviles
$0 Jonathan Villar
$0 Gordon Beckham
$0 Johnny Giavotella
$0 Eric Sogard
$0 Marwin Gonzalez
$0 Asdrubal Cabrera
-$3 Stephen Drew

Courtesy Injury Ranks - Not For Debate  
$15 Anthony Rendon
$8 Devon Travis
$4 Jed Lowrie

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