Ben Zobrist might not be one of the sexiest names heading into your fantasy draft but he is certainly someone worth keeping an eye on.  

Zobrist is one of the few people who is three position eligible, including two of the most important and shallow positions, shortstop, and second base.  This is particularly useful if you miss out on a top five shortstop or second baseman, as you can just plug in Zobrist and he will provide you with numbers that are tops of the second tier level players at those positions.

Since becoming a starter Zobrist is averaging 18 homeruns per season. I would not worry about the 12 homeruns that he hit last season as there was a bit of bad luck involved as Zobrist actually hit a higher percentage of fly balls than when he slugged 20 homeruns the previous two seasons.  This leads me to believe he can get back closer to the 20 homerun mark again this year.  Besides the power, Zobrist can even run the bases as he’s stolen at least 11 bases every year since becoming a starter.  Zobrist even drives in around 80 runs a season as well scoring about 85 runs himself.  The only thing that Zobrist doesn’t do well is hit for average. Zobrist has managed to hang around the .270 mark the last three season which when combined with everything else he can do doesn’t look so bad on the stat sheet.     

Due to the fact that Zobrist plays three positions and provides top ten numbers in every statistical category as a shortstop, you won’t be able to draft him at a discount.  Depending on the site you use for your fantasy league Zobrist is being drafted anywhere from the sixth to the tenth round.  If you aren’t lucky enough to draft Troy Tulowitzki, Hanley Ramirez, or Ian Desmond you can do a lot worse than plugging in Zobrist as your shortstop.

2014 Statistical Projection: .275 average, 88 Runs, 18 Homeruns, 80 RBI, 15 Steals