Justin Sellers earned a vote of confidence from Dodgers manager Don Mattingly Tuesday, who told MLB.com that Sellers will remain the starting shortstop until Hanley Ramirez can return from the disabled list. Does that mean Fantasy owners should have any confidence in him?
Given that the first thing Mattingly pointed to in support of Sellers was his glove work, the answer to that should be pretty obvious. If not, the .167 batting average through 12 games is a dead giveaway. Sellers does not have much of a track record in the minor leagues that would indicate he is capable of being a Fantasy producer; just a pair of double-digit home run seasons played mostly in the inflated hitting environment of the Pacific Coast League.
Sellers has an abnormally low .192 batting average on balls in play, but even that does little to explain away his lack of Fantasy value. Sellers is dreadfully lacking in power, with just one extra-base hit in 41 at-bats. He is strikeout prone for a hitter without much power, a bad combination that is unlikely to lead to a high average. Outside of maybe the rare 14-team, NL-only Fantasy league, Sellers is simply not worth your time.