A look at the top 30, also broken down into tiers:

Here’s where astute fantasy owners can make their mark – shortstop is so thin that you can gain a big advantage by getting a stud early before the complete lack of depth leaves you high and dry. Let’s just say that if you’re in a league where you start three middle infielders, it’s very likely two of them will be second basemen.

If you can’t get one of the two-man top tier of Hanley Ramirez or Troy Tulowitzki, there’s actually a fallback layer headed by Jose Reyes that would make solid investments before you start quickly getting into the riskier options that lurk before you drop into pure mediocrity.

We have you covered though, as there are some diamonds in the rough that if you score a breakout on will give you an extremely valuable trade chip or injury replacement as the season goes along.

The fourth in the RotoAce.com series of fantasy baseball position rankings is shortstop, so let’s look at how they all fit together and where you might find some potential bargains or pitfalls in your fantasy baseball draft or auction.

2011 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings and Projections

Overrated

Elvis Andrus (ADP #6, RotoAce #9) is ranked No. 82 overall on ESPN’s average draft position, which is just too early for a 22-year-old shortstop coming off a no-homer, 35-RBI season. If you split Andrus’ season exactly in half by comparing his stats before and after July 1, you see an overmatched young player – .292-54-0-24-22 and .242-34-0-11-10. His electric performance in the ALDS and ALCS, where he hit a combined .333 with six runs and seven steals in 11 games gave a glimpse of what fantasy owners envision for Andrus some day. But his following World Series performance of .176 with one steal in five games shows how he’ll be prone to slumps that will drag down his numbers while he’s still so young. Andrus will still be a very strong fantasy asset, but the draft is all about value and you would be overpaying to take Andrus in the first 10 rounds.

Alex Gonzalez (ADP #14, RotoAce #24) is coming off a career year with 23 homers and 88 RBIs at age 33 – this from a defensive shortstop that had been plagued by injuries for three years with a .248 career average. Do not pay for those 88 RBIs, as we project him for just 56 this season. If he can stay healthy, which at age 34 for a shortstop is very tough, you still would be stuck with his low average, runs and steals totals.

Marco Scutaro (ADP #16, RotoAce #27) also had a career year at age 33 back in 2009, but followed it with a solid fantasy season in ’10 despite his OBP dropping from .379 to .333. Now you have to wonder if the 35-year-old with a .721 OPS last season will be able to hold off emerging 26-year-old breakout candidate Jed Lowrie, who had a star-level .907 OPS. We’re betting that Lowrie takes over the job by midseason, limiting Scutaro to a projection of 443 plate appearances after piling up 695 PAs last year. Since Scutaro already didn’t contribute much of anything outside of runs, this would render the aging shortstop as barely worth rostering. Scutaro could serve some purpose early in the season or if Lowrie flops, but he just isn’t worth the price.

Ryan Theriot (ADP #19, RotoAce #23) also had a career year at age 33 back in 2009, but followed it with a solid fantasy season in ’10 despite his OBP dropping from .379 to .333. Now you have to wonder if the 35-year-old with a .721 OPS last season will be able to hold off emerging 26-year-old breakout candidate Jed Lowrie, who had a star-level .907 OPS. We’re betting that Lowrie takes over the job at by midseason, limiting Scutaro to a projection of 443 plate appearances after piling up 695 PAs last year. Since Scutaro already didn’t contribute much of anything outside of runs, this would render the aging shortstop as barely worth rostering. Scutaro could serve some purpose early in the season or if Lowrie flops, but he just isn’t worth the price.

Underrated

J.J. Hardy (ADP #17, RotoAce #14) is glad he’s out of Minnesota, where he hit just one homer at home and battled injuries all season in his one year with the Twins. Now in Baltimore and still just 28, Hardy could easily return to the form that saw him average .280 with 25 HRs, 85 runs and 77 RBIs from 2007-08. Since he’s been banged up so much the past two seasons, we projected him to get 539 PAs, or 95 fewer than his two breakout seasons back in Milwaukee, and hit 18 HRs. If he can stay healthy all season and the cozy confines of Camden Yards agree with him, Hardy could be a major score in the late rounds (usually being drafted in the 17^th and 18^th rounds in 12-team mixed leagues).

Asdrubal Cabrera (ADP #20, RotoAce #17) appeared to be on the verge of a breakout after hitting .308 with 17 SBs as a 23-year-old in 2009, but his ’10 season was marred by a gruesome broken arm that cost him over two months. Now 25, it’s not too late for Cabrera to have that breakout, although we’re projecting more modest gains. The upside makes Cabrera a better gamble than some of the declining options being drafted ahead of him like Jhonny Peralta and Miguel Tejada.

Yunel Escobar (ADP #21, RotoAce #12) is another young shortstop who faltered just as it appeared a breakout was near, as he was sent packing by Atlanta after hitting just .238 with no homers in 301 PAs. In Toronto, Escobar rebounded a bit back toward what he’d been in his first three seasons with the Braves, hitting .275 with four homers in 60 games. He was a .301 career hitter with double-digit homer power going into last season, so the 28-year-old should make himself back into a legitimate fantasy starter.

Jed Lowrie (ADP #25, RotoAce #21) missed over three months recovering from mono, but he finished with a bang – hitting seven homers in his final 36 games. Lowrie’s value is tied to how long it takes him to replace Scutaro at short or if Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia can stay healthy. Until there’s a guarantee of playing time, Lowrie may be sitting out there on the waiver wire, so keep him eye on him or draft him late and stash him in deeper leagues.

Reid Brignac (ADP #22, RotoAce #20) is primed to take over the Rays’ shortstop job after the off-season trade of Jason Bartlett. Brignac was ranked as a top-100 prospect from 2007-10, peaking at No. 17 in ’07 and still at No. 54 in ’10. He showed signs last season, popping eight homers in 326 PAs in Tampa Bay. Brignac’s prospect status was based on him being an offensive shortstop, so his high ceiling makes him another excellent sleeper pick.

Cliff Pennington (ADP #27, RotoAce #23) is a stealthy source of steals, as the 26-year-old former first-round pick could break 30 this year and even has some occasional pop. That alone makes him worth owning as a bench option in mixed leagues, but you can get him on the cheap.