Ray’s Ramblings: Valuing Machado as a Shortstop

There is an established baseline in the fantasy world. I don’t know why it’s so hard for folks to accept it. Here is that baseline.

If a player appears in 20 games in the previous season at a position he qualifies at that position in the following season.

If you play 19 games at third base in 2015 – you don’t qualify as a third baseman in 2016.

If you play 20 games at third base in 2015 – you qualify as a third baseman in 2016.

Simple as that.

So here comes Yahoo who says – we don’t care about rules, what stinking rules?!

Yahoo seemingly qualifies everyone at every position. Well it’s not that bad, but it’s pretty bad.

Yahoo, in their infinite wisdom, has decided to eschew the standard for games played and has gone rogue.

Are they using 15 games instead of 20? Nope.

Twelve games? Nah.

Has to be 10 games then, right? Oh no.

Yahoo is listing Manny Machado as a third baseman & shortstop for 2016.

Manny Machado, in four big league seasons has made six starts as a shortstop.

In four big league seasons Machado has appeared as a shortstop seven times (all last season).

Machado has played 4,016 innings in his career. He’s appeared as a shortstop a total of 53 innings.

Despite all that, Yahoo lists Machado as a shortstop.

It’s wrong.

It’s lame.

It’s reality.

In response to this absurd decision by Yahoo, folks are asking me the following.

‘Ray, with Machado also eligible as a shortstop in Yahoo, how much do I move him up in my rankings? Can I take him 4^th overall?’

My answer follows.

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1 – I believe Machado is a first round talent.

2 – I have no issues with someone taking Machado in the first round.

3 – Adding shortstop eligibility is a boost to his value. First, it allows you to deploy a star at a position that lacks them. Second, it opens the possibility that Machado could be moved around to suit your needs as the season wears on.

4 – You can take him 4^th overall because of the addition of shortstop eligibility.

Let me build on this last point.

In the Fantasy Alarm Draft Guide, in an article titled Does the First Round Really Matter?, I point out the fact that we really stink at predicting who the top-15 players are each season.

I always say that we worry way too much about the first couple of rounds in the draft. It’s more important to grab the right guy in the 11^th or 21^st round than it is to grab the right guy in the first round.

I also say that what I want for people in the first round is for them to avoid making mistakes like taking Todd Frazier or Chris Davis in the first round. If you want to take Manny Machado in the first round there is nothing wrong with it. If you want to bump up Machado to the 4^th spot in your rankings cause he qualifies at shortstop on Yahoo, then go for it.

Remember, the biggest key is to avoid making a mistake in the first round. Taking a guy with an ADP of 8^th overall fourth at the draft table is not a mistake. When that player has the added value of qualifying at shortstop I’m certainly not going to sit here and suggest that moving Machado up a couple of spots in your rankings is a mistake.

The mistake isn’t moving Machado up in your rankings.

The mistake is with Yahoo for listing Machado as a shortstop.

Other players on Yahoo that gain eligibility that they shouldn’t have follow.

Make sure to pick up your copy of the 2016 MLB Draft Guide which includes more than 600 Players Ranked, auction values, rookie reports, hitting and pitching targets as well as all the info you need if you’re ready to start playing DFS.