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Way Too Early Rankings – Shortstop

Fantasy Baseball
Dave Funnell
Author: Dave Funnell
8 min.read
Bobby Witt Jr. 2026 Fantasy Dynasty Baseball Shortstop Rankings

Welcome to the Way Too Early Rankings – Shortstop Edition for December 2025. Here, I will go over my Top 10 at the shortstop position, reviewing what we’ve seen this past season, what we’re looking for this offseason, and what we can expect in 2026. I will be doing this for every position, so get ready for the ride.

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Past rankings:

Catcher  |  First Base  |  Second Base  |  Third Base  |  Shortstop  |  Outfield Part 1  |  Outfield Part 2  |  Utility  |  Starting Pitcher Part 1  |  Starting Pitcher Part 2  |  Closers  |

Way Too Early Rankings

1. Bobby Witt Jr. – Kansas City Royals

Despite seeing his overall production drop in 2025, Bobby Witt Jr. remains baseball’s best shortstop. He hits the ball hard, has the underlying metrics to back up his output, and he runs the basepaths with promising frequency. He’s everything you want out of a top-three pick in drafts and someone that you can leave in your lineup all season long without hesitation. If you’re selecting early in your draft, don’t overthink this one.

2. Elly De La Cruz – Cincinnati Reds

Picking Elly De La Cruz in second place here was actually tougher for me than I thought because of the batting average concerns. Simply put, in the first round of drafts, I want my players to offer me at least four categories worth of production, and while Cruz does that, the power and average aren’t elite. For now, I’ll leave Cruz here in second, but his high strikeout rate is concerning. It’s a 51/49 split here for me, having Cruz in second. The thing that gives Cruz the nudge here is the fact that it was revealed after the season that he was playing through a quad injury.

3. Francisco Lindor – New York Mets

Don’t let any doubts settle in your mind here. If you’re disappointed in his 2025 season, blame it on his toe injury. While it didn’t cost him any time on the Injured List, it did lower the quality of his time spent on the field. And despite this lingering injury, he still battled his way to a 30/30 season. He is as steady as they come, and he should be that yet again. There isn’t much else to say except he’s another player you draft, insert into your lineup, and not worry about the shortstop position all season.

4. Gunnar Henderson – Baltimore Orioles

This past season, Gunnar Henderson finished what can be described as disappointingly poor. After hitting 37 home runs a year ago, he less than halved his power output in 2025, but he did finish with 30 steals in an attempt to make up for this change in production. Looking under the hood, there wasn’t much difference with his profile, including the BABIP, which was right around its rate from his breakout season. The only real noticeable difference is that he just didn’t barrel the ball enough, resulting in less than optimal contact, especially against breaking pitches. Either pitchers figured out how to throw to him, or he was unlucky. Either way, this seems manageable and fixable.

5. Mookie Betts – Los Angeles Dodgers

Mookie Betts had himself a very disappointing season. However, not all is bad here. The main culprit from 2024 to 2025 is the mysterious illness that he suffered at the beginning of the season, where he was forced him to miss significant time. It was here that he lost a reported 15 pounds of weight and muscle, and his output in 2025 was never the same. With a long and grueling 162-game schedule, it can be difficult for players to put on any amount of noticeable weight, much less muscle, and this seems like a clear case here. The fact that he his .316 with nine home runs over his final 47 games is encouraging. Sure, he’s 33 years old, and there are some worries that this is a gradual slide downward to the end of his Hall of Fame career, but chances are he’s got at least one more solid year in him, and maybe more.

6. Trea Turner – Philadelphia Phillies

Speaking of 33-year-olds on a possible decline, Trea Turner will be that age next year, with some worries that his time as one of the game’s best could be almost over. Yes, he just won a batting title and stole 36 bases, so he’s likely at least another season away from any decline. The worries here stem from the fact that he has suffered a hamstring injury for two consecutive seasons. He also doesn’t hit the ball hard, so if there are any setbacks with his legs, it’s hard to believe that he’ll provide his return on investment. There’s a tier drop in production after Turner, but don’t overpay.

7. Zach Neto – Los Angeles Angels

Zach Neto is one of the lone bright spots within the Angels’ organization. Over the last two seasons, he’s recorded 49 home runs and 56 stolen bases, which puts him 36th and 16th in all of baseball, within those categories, respectively. If only he could strike out just a little bit less and turn some of those outs into hits, he might elevate himself up the draft board and into the elite of this position. Until then, he remains a tier below the rest, but with some offseason work, he could skyrocket. That said, he’s a great fallback player here.

8. Bo Bichette – Toronto Blue Jays

It is unknown at this time where Bo Bichette will play in 2025, but he is the best shortstop on the market, and plenty of teams could use his services. He had quite the resurgence this past year, bouncing back after years of injuries and disappointment. While his counting stats may not be what we once hoped, he will provide you with a ton of batting average and runs batted in if he’s in the middle of a great lineup. Unless he starts running again, his value is limited.

9. Geraldo Perdomo – Arizona Diamondbacks

This may look foolish, and I’m open to changing my tune here, but I just don’t believe in what I saw from Geraldo Perdomo last season. His 27 home runs and 20 steals came out of nowhere, given his major league production in the past. I understand the speed component, as he’s had minor league seasons where he’s run wild along the basepaths, but his power is quite out of left field. He doesn’t hit the ball hard or head-on, making it hard to believe that this is repeatable.

10. Jeremy Pena – Houston Astros

Jeremy Pena had the perfect offseason last year, changing everything you had grown to know and love about him. He worked on a swing change, a batting stance alteration, and practiced his pitch awareness to help with his discipline at the plate. All of that added up to a five-category player you could trust to start in your fantasy lineups. It’s hard to imagine he’ll take any more steps forward, but he did miss time due to various injuries last year. If he stays healthy and continues along this path, a 25/25 season is within reach in 2026.

Quick Hits

You know this position is deep when CJ Abrams doesn’t make the top 10. After years of consistent variance, it’s fair to expect a 20/30 out of him, and that’s not a bad start to a roster build at the shortstop position. While he’s still young enough to take another step forward, he’ll need to hit the ball harder and learn how to hit breaking pitches before we elevate him higher… Corey Seager is as consistent as they come, demonstrating power with patience, all while leaving players who roster him wishing for a little bit more. His status on the Rangers remains unknown with trade rumors swirling, but a move out of Texas would seemingly only increase his power… Willy Adames had a confusing start to his Giants career. He scuffled through the first half of the season, looked unstoppable in July, and then became a power and speed threat in the final two months while abandoning batting average. It’s hard to imagine he’ll hit for average again, but could we see a 25/15 season out of him in 2026? It’s possible… What we saw from Trevor Story in 2025 was reminiscent of how things could have been for the past few years had he stayed healthy. As long as he avoids the Injured List, he should be startable in most leagues… Speaking of health, Dansby Swanson returned with a vengeance after having offseason surgery to fix a three-year-old injury. He finished with 24 home runs and 20 steals, and looked more like the player we saw in Atlanta… Xander Bogaerts started slowly, but looked like his old self midway through the season before an injury sidelined him for a long stretch. If he can get going faster this season, there’s a buy-low opportunity here… Jacob Wilson has an elite approach at the plate, but other than base hits, he doesn’t really do much else for fantasy purposes.

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Dave Funnell
Dave Funnell
Dave has been playing fantasy baseball for many years and plans on doing so for many more.

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