The calendar has switched over to 2018 and all 30 teams are trying to turn over a new leaf. Millions of fantasy owners are doing the same. Here at the Fantasy Fix we are always trying to improve as well. In honor of that we have decided to add as much information as we can to help you make those tough draft decisions. In many ways, going over the second group of players at a position is more difficult than the first. All of them have warts, so choosing between those warts makes life a bit challenging.

We are including total points, the basic five categories, and adding walks for a sixth category. We are also including per 162 game data, and Steamer projections. The combination has been used to come up with these rankings. We are handicapping ourselves a bit by only including players that primarily played shortstop. We might include the multi-positional players later. You are familiar with the six categories, but you might not be familiar with total points. Our total points formula can be seen below.

Total Points = Total Bases + Runs + RBI + BB + SB – Strikeouts – CS – GIDP

 Andrelton Simmons—Los Angeles Angels

	G	TP	Rank	TP/G	Rank
2017	158	370		2.34
2016	124	241		1.94
2015	147	265		1.80
2014	146	215		1.47
2013	157	348		2.22
AVG	146	288	6	1.97	16

 Aggregate: .263, 9 HR, 61 Runs, 52 RBI, 9 SB, 37 BB          5 Category: 15

 Per 162: .264, 10 HR, 67 Runs, 58 RBI, 9 SB, 41 BB             6 Category: 12

 Steamer: .270, 12 HR, 66 Runs, 67 RBI, 12 SB, 41 BB          DRS: +32

Depending on the season in question, Simmons is either another Ozzie Smith or another Mark Belanger. The placement here feels a little closer to Smith and there was growth on Smith’s part as he got older and more experienced. Simmons has a little more pop than both of those legendary fielders and it might be the difference between Simmons as a fantasy regular and just some guy you enjoy watching on the highlight reels.

Zack Cozart—Los Angeles Angels

	G	TP	Rank	TP/G	Rank
2017	122	368		3.02
2016	121	263		2.17
2015	53	128		2.42
2014	147	185		1.26
2013	151	261		1.73
AVG	119	241	15	2.03	14

Aggregate: .256, 13 HR, 59 Runs, 48 RBI, 3 SB, 33 BB         5 Category: 19

Per 162: .254, 18 HR, 82 Runs, 61 RBI, 5 SB, 43 BB              6 Category: 17

Steamer: .254, 17 HR, 75 Runs, 66 RBI, 4 SB, 55 BB            DRS: +2

The Angels nabbed up Cozart to cover their hole at third base. The idea was two-fold though since Ian Kinsler will become a free agent after the 2018 season. Adding both improves the infield offense and defense substantially. Of course, for you this all depends on his ability to stay healthy. 120 games a season won’t get it done. If he can play 140 or more he will be worthy of this spot.

Addison Russell—Chicago Cubs 

	G	TP	Rank	TP/G	Rank
2017	110	179		1.63
2016	151	306		2.03
2015	142	188		1.32
AVG	134	224	18	1.67	21

Aggregate: .240, 15 HR, 60 Runs, 64 RBI, 4 SB, 42 BB         5 Category: 16

Per 162: .240, 18 HR, 72 Runs, 77 RBI, 4 SB, 51 BB                6 Category: 15

Steamer: .252, 18 HR, 57 Runs, 64 RBI, 4 SB, 43 BB             DRS: +15

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to try to find a balance between numbers and intuition. Russell was dogged by abuse charges last season and it effectively derailed his season. Those charges seemed to have cleared, so 2018 should be a bounce back year for him. Add in a loaded infield and there should be added motivation to come back strong. He is an excellent defender, so the Cubs should give him every chance to keep his spot.

Aledmys Diaz—Toronto Blue Jays

	G	TP	Rank	TP/G	Rank
2017	79	128		1.62
2016	111	323		2.91
AVG	95	226	17	2.38	7

Aggregate: .280, 12 HR, 51 Runs, 43 RBI, 4 SB, 27 BB         5 Category: 20

Per 162: .283, 20 HR, 87 Runs, 72 RBI, 7 SB, 46 BB              6 Category: 18

Steamer: .265, 10 HR, 40 Runs, 39 RBI, 4 SB, 21 BB            DRS: -10

Diaz is officially a man without a position, but the trio of Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, and Devon Travis all missed significant time last season. Tulow and Travis have missed time nearly every season. So, Steamer may project limited time for him, but in all likelihood, he is going to get his plate appearances one way or another.

Didi Gregorius—New York Yankees

	G	TP	Rank	TP/G	Rank
2017	136	368		2.71
2016	153	329		2.15
2015	155	264		1.70
2014	80	135		1.69
2013	103	180		1.75
AVG	125	255	13	2.04	13

Aggregate: .261, 13 HR, 56 Runs, 54 RBI, 4 SB, 27 BB         5 Category: 20

Per 162: .266, 17 HR, 72 Runs, 69 RBI, 5 SB, 35 BB              6 Category: 16

Steamer: .270, 19 HR, 67 Runs, 75 RBI, 4 SB, 31 BB            DRS: +1

Gregorius has slowly evolved into a quietly dangerous hitter at the plate. His solid defense allowed him to transition from Derek Jeter’s successor into his own man at the position. He won’t make anyone forget about the former captain, but he is more valuable than Jeter was at the end of his career. With Giancarlo Stanton added to the lineup, he won’t be hitting cleanup anymore.

Marcus Semien—Oakland Athletics

	G	TP	Rank	TP/G	Rank
2017	85	192		2.26
2016	159	294		1.85
2015	155	236		1.52
2014	64	93		1.45
AVG	116	204	21	1.76	19

Aggregate: .245, 15 HR, 55 Runs, 47 RBI, 9 SB, 38 BB         5 Category: 17

Per 162: .246, 20 HR, 76 Runs, 65 RBI, 13 SB, 51 BB            6 Category: 14

Steamer: .251, 21 HR, 73 Runs, 68 RBI, 11 SB, 53 BB           DRS: -9

Semien is one of those players that is forever going under the radar. It is to the point where I almost feel guilty putting him this low in the rankings. However, if you take every ranking together you can’t help but put him in this neighborhood. He would be an excellent companion pick to Tulowitzki because you know you will have to use him at some point. You just have to hope he is healthy as he was in 2016 and 2015.

Jorge Polanco—Minnesota Twins

	G	TP	Rank	TP/G	Rank
2017	133	300		2.26
2016	69	127		1.84
AVG	101	214	20	2.12	12

Aggregate: .269, 9 HR, 42 Runs, 51 RBI, 9 SB, 29 BB         5 Category: 21

Per 162: .266, 13 HR, 67 Runs, 81 RBI, 14 SB, 48 BB          6 Category: 20

Steamer: .273, 15 HR, 71 Runs, 72 RBI, 13 SB, 46 BB          DRS: -1

At the all-star break, Polanco was hitting .224 with 3 home runs, 29 runs, and 31 RBI. When the music stopped he had 13 home runs, 60 runs, and 74 RBI on the season. He obviously discovered something, but improvement is rarely ever linear. In other words, expecting him to hit 20 home runs with 70 runs, and over 80 RBI is horribly unrealistic. The per 162 and Steamer numbers seem reasonable enough.

Jose Reyes—New York Mets

	G	TP	Rank	TP/G	Rank
2017	145	328		2.26
2016	60	160		2.67
2015	116	268		2.31
2014	143	378		2.64
2013	93	249		2.68
AVG	111	277	8	2.50	4

Aggregate: .274, 10 HR, 66 Runs, 45 RBI, 20 SB, 34 BB       5 Category: 11

Per 162: .286, 13 HR, 105 Runs, 64 RBI, 47 SB, 52 BB           6 Category: 12

Steamer: .258, 8 HR, 41 Runs, 35 RBI, 12 SB, 27 BB              DRS: -26

The horrible defensive numbers are alarming and he is definitely closer to the end than to the beginning. He is also rehabilitating from an abuse conviction. Some fantasy owners may want to stay away for those reasons. At this point in a draft you are looking at what a player can give to you and not necessarily what they can’t. Reyes can still offer some speed and some power and that could be valuable at this point in the draft.

Tim Anderson—Chicago White Sox

	G	TP	Rank	TP/G	Rank
2017	146	219		1.50
2016	99	154		1.56
AVG	123	187	22	1.52	30

Aggregate: .270, 13 HR, 65 Runs, 43 RBI, 13 SB, 13 BB       5 Category: 9

Per 162: .268, 17 HR, 85 Runs, 57 RBI, 17 SB, 17 BB             6 Category: 13

Steamer: .263, 15 HR, 66 Runs, 64 RBI, 16 SB, 21 BB          DRS: -8

Putting Anderson on the list is a bit of a maturation point. The walks alone would normally have scared me off, but when you add in the strikeouts it would have been just as easy to say no thanks and then move on. Yet, the rest of the numbers are what you look for in a fantasy performer. There is bound to be some slippage given the plate discipline issues, but there is enough power and speed here to be somewhat intriguing.

Brandon Crawford—San Francisco Giants 

	G	TP	Rank	TP/G	Rank
2017	144	254		1.76
2016	155	329		2.12
2015	143	298		2.08
2014	153	244		1.59
2013	149	216		1.45
AVG	149	268	10	1.80	18

Aggregate: .256, 13 HR, 59 Runs, 71 RBI, 4 SB, 48 BB        5 Category: 14

Per 162: .252, 12 HR, 62 Runs, 72 RBI, 4 SB, 50 BB             6 Category: 7

Steamer: .257, 15 HR, 62 Runs, 69 RBI, 5 SB, 51 BB            DRS: +9

Crawford and Anderson are mirror images. In real baseball you would much rather have Crawford. He is a better contact hitter and a better fielder. Neither of those skills particularly matter in most fantasy leagues. If you want a steady guy on your bench then he is your guy, but he doesn’t offer enough of anything in particular to be a fantasy regular.