Carlos Correa: Best Fantasy SS for 2016?
By Brad Kelly
On the heels of what could very well be the changing of the guard in baseball, the Astros eliminated the lifeless Yankees Tuesday night. That got me thinking about the Astros young studs going forward and where they could rank in 2016.
My immediate focus went to Carlos Correa, who very well could be the best fantasy shortstop in baseball already. The shortstop position has been notorious for being top-heavy and one of the hardest spots to find value at off the waiver wire so deeming the best of the best is paramount.
Usually the top shortstop spot in fantasy always came with the caveat of, “if Troy Tulowitzki stays healthy”. I think heading into 2016 we can move past that and just outright deem that the top spot begins and ends with Correa.
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Carlos Correa simply is a freak of nature. At 20, he is already one of the top players in all of baseball as he has the same ceiling that often gets thrown around with the Trout’s and Harpers of the world. You see the Alex Rodriguez comparisons tagged with Correa all the time and rightfully so as he nearly mirrors the raw talent that Rodriguez had when he entered the league.
Correa’s dynamic skill set is what for me sets him apart from the other shortstops. He brings the plus power and speed threat that owners salivate over and seek out. Over only 387 at bats, he was able to post a .279/22 HR/68 RBI/14 SB/.857 OPS line, which is ridiculous considering he was only drafted three years ago.
If we were to roughly extrapolate his stats over 162 games it would align basically with the, .286/35 HR/86 RBI/20 SB line that Manny Machado posted. All this coming from our shortstop spot, a clear weekly advantage.
While there will be a learning curve in his second year, I think that the notion of a sophomore slump shouldn’t be associated with Correa’s value next season. I think by the time we draft in 2016 Correa will firmly be drafted in the first round as the upside and position advantage will be too much to pass up. Carlos Correa has the chance to be a fantasy game changer, something that we have not seen since Tulo in his prime. Correa is here to stay and should be ranked at the best fantasy shortstop next season.