Paul Janish

41-Year-Old ShortstopSS

Free Agent

2024 Stats

AVG

.000

RBI

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2024 Fantasy Outlook

There was no outlook written for Paul Janish in 2024. Check out the latest news below for more on his current fantasy value.

Bats R

Throws R

40 Man No

Height 6'2"

Weight 180

DOB 10/12/1982

Drafted 5th Rd 2004

Released by Orioles

SSFree Agent

August 21, 2017

Janish was granted his release by the Orioles on Monday, Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun reports.

ANALYSIS
Janish, who originally planned to retire once the 2017 season was finished, has opted to end his career a bit earlier than expected. Now that his professional career has come to a close, Janish will begin coaching at Rice University.

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2017

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2016

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Since appearing in 114 games for the Reds in 2011, Janish has bounced around four organizations, the last of which was the Baltimore Orioles. He spent nearly the entire 2015 season at Triple-A before receiving the call in late August. Janish appeared in 14 games down the stretch, mostly after the Orioles had faded from the AL East race. Defense is Janish's calling card and at age 33 he is still a good defender, with no errors over 66 games at the MLB level since 2013. There is little to speak of at the plate, as his last MLB home run came in 2010. Even if he can find a way on to the roster as a utility player, he will be an offensive liability. The Orioles have two years left on J.J. Hardy's contract, and Janish has virtually no shot at being on the big league roster unless Hardy is injured or traded.

While an outstanding defensive infielder, Janish lacks any real offensive upside, as he hasn't posted a slugging percentage above .262 in any of his past three seasons and is coming off a 2013 campaign in which he recorded a dismal .442 OPS in 54 games with the big club. He was so bad at the dish while filling in for Dan Uggla that the Braves grabbed Elliot Johnson off waivers from the Royals, and handed over second-base duties to Johnson immediately upon his arrival. Janish seems destined to open the year as depth at Triple-A, and if his club is forced to call him up, his fantasy prospects will be minimal.

Janish is the kind of player who has very good value to professional baseball teams, but not to fantasy teams. Over a five-year career, Janish has posted an on-base percentage above .300 once and a batting average above .214 once. He has hit just seven home runs and stolen just seven bases over 379 games. What Janish does do is play very good defense around the infield. That gives him some value, just not in fantasy leagues. He'll also miss two to four weeks of the regular season after surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder in the offseason.

The Reds were hoping that Janish could provide a reasonable facsimile of his 2010 performance at the plate last year while playing more often as the starting shortstop, but instead he collapsed. The plate discipline that made his lack of power tolerable disappeared, as his walk rate dropped from 10 percent to five percent. He had just 15 extra-base hits in 336 at-bats, including no homers. Zack Cozart has bypassed him on the depth chart, and if the Reds sign a veteran shortstop before spring training (they were rumored to be interested in Ryan Theriot at press time), he could be in danger of not making the Opening Day roster.

Janish isn't ever going to hit for much power, but if he can continue to get on at the .340 OBP-pace that he posted in 2010, the Reds will take that from him as their starting shortstop and be satisfied, getting superb defense in return as part of the equation. The team added Edgar Renteria to be a veteran caddy to go along with him in January. Given Renteria's pedigree, particularly in the postseason, it looks like Janish will have to share the starting duties at best once again.

The Reds' beat writer for the Cincinnati Enquirer, John Fay, likes to cite the Reds' winning record with Janish as their starting shortstop, but that's conflated coincidence with causation, as the Reds beat up on a steady diet of the Pirates and Astros in September. While Janish gets praise for his defensive work (his UZR was second behind just Jack Wilson among all shortstops, though Janish obviously didn't play as many games), his bat is utterly impotent. If this were the 1970s, he'd be Mark Belanger. Unfortunately, in this era, on a team that already struggles to score runs, the Reds can't afford his lack of production. The Reds drew the same conclusion and signed Orlando Cabrera late in the offseason, relegating Janish to the role of a defensive replacement.

At one point, the Reds had four shortstops on the DL (Alex Gonzalez, Jeff Keppinger, Jerry Hairston Jr. and Jolbert Cabrera), forcing them to call up and play Janish, who clearly wasn't ready for the prime time. His numbers at the plate at Louisville indicate he might not ever be ready for major league pitching.

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