The shortstop position is extremely deep this season, with tons of players that could be considered viable for fantasy managers. The top four shortstop tiers include players who can be highly productive across four or five offensive categories. You’ll find speed and power among these players, which makes them highly valuable.
Below is the shortstop position broken down into tiers.
2026 Fantasy Baseball: Shortstop Tier List
Tier 1 – Five Tool Phenoms
- Bobby Witt Jr., SS – Kansas City Royals
- Elly De La Cruz, SS – Cincinnati Reds
- Gunnar Henderson, SS – Baltimore Orioles
Bobby Witt Jr. has been a fantasy baseball stud in his four MLB seasons. He’s hit at least 20 home runs, scored 82 runs, had 80 RBIs, and stolen 30 bases in each season. There appears to be no reason why this superstar can’t continue to produce stats across the board.
Elly De La Cruz played in every game last season, posting stats for every fantasy baseball offensive category. He won’t hit as many home runs as Witt Jr., but he could steal more bases. He stole 67 bases in 2024 but only 37 last year, still a solid number.
A quad injury is the culprit for the decrease, especially during the second half of the season, when he stole only 12 bases. Cruz may be a mid-20 home run contributor this season, and continue to contribute in all offensive categories.
Gunnar Henderson had a massive fallback season last year. He had 37 homers, 118 runs, 92 RBIs, and a .248 ISO in a career-best 2024 season, but last season he had 17 homers, 85 runs, 68 RBIs, and an ISO of .165. He dealt with a shoulder impingement injury for most of the season, which is likely the cause of his power decrease. Henderson will be healthy this season and should return as a contributor across every offensive category.
Tier 2 – Four-Tool Athletes
- Zach Neto, SS – Los Angeles Angels
- Trea Turner, SS – Philadelphia Phillies
- Maikel Garcia, 2B, 3B, SS, OF – Kansas City Royals
Zach Neto isn’t a player that pops out to casual fans as a must-add fantasy player. However, he hit 26 homers and stole 26 bases last season. The negative on Neto is contact skills. He’d be a Tier 1 player if he hit better than a career-high .257 last season. He may hurt your batting average, but he will be a massive contributor everywhere else.
Trea Turner has been a consistent fantasy baseball producer over the last eight seasons of his 11-year career. However, his home runs dipped below 20 for the first time since the 2020-shortened season. The decline can be attributed to his .153 ISO and 5.8 barrel percentage, both of which are his lowest since 2018. Turner is going to offer plenty of fantasy production, but he may not reach 20 home runs.
Maikel Garcia burst onto the fantasy baseball scene last season as an all-around contributor. He hit career highs in homers (16), RBIs (74), OBP (.351), and slugging (.449). The power could be due to his 16.2 pull air percentage. Don’t expect a repeat of the power, but he will fill up the rest of the stat sheet.
Tier 3 – Speedsters
- CJ Abrams, SS – Washington Nationals
- Geraldo Perdomo, SS – Arizona Diamondbacks
- Xavier Edwards, SS -Miami Marlins
Each of these players is a speedster. They will fill your stat sheet up, especially stolen bases, but the speed comes at a cost: power. You can expect 25 or more stolen bases, but the home runs and RBIs may suffer. However, CJ Abrams and Geraldo Perdomo may reach the 20 home run mark.
Tier 4 – The rest of the quality starters
- Mookie Betts, SS – Los Angeles Dodgers
- Jeremy Pena, SS – Houston Astros
- Trevor Story, SS – Boston Red Sox
- Corey Seager, SS – Texas Rangers
- Willy Adames, SS – San Francisco Giants
- Dansby Swanson, SS – Chicago Cubs
- Jacob Wilson, SS – Athletics
- Bryson Stott, 2B. SS – Philadelphia Phillies
- Jackson Holliday, 2B, SS – Baltimore Orioles
- Bo Bichette, SS – New York Mets
- Brendan Donovan, 2B, SS, OF – Seattle Mariners
Mookie Betts and Trevor Story will both be 33 this season. They will both help in the power categories and runs, but they will hurt you in batting average. They’ll both hit around .260, but Story gives more upside with his stolen bases between the two players.
Corey Seager and Willy Adames will have massive power to your lineup, with both being able reach 30 home runs. Seager’s issue is that he can’t stay healthy. He’s only played more than 130 games in four of his 11 MLB seasons. If he can stay on the field, he will also help with batting average, with a career average of .289. It’s the opposite for Adames, who only hit .225 last season and has a .244 career batting average.
Jeremy Pena and Jacob Wilson are great contact hitters and on-base contributors. The rest of their statistics are pretty average. Although Pena offers more stolen-base opportunities, that’s not a part of Wilson’s game.
Bryson Stott, Jackson Holliday, and Dansby Swanson can produce average numbers across the stat sheet, but the batting average will be around the .250s. Bo Bichette and Brendan Donovan will fill out the stat sheet, but will not steal bases.
Tier 5 – Fantasy Baseball Backups
- Ezequiel Tovar, SS – Colorado Rockies
- Xander Bogaerts, SS – San Diego Padres
- Ernie Clement, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS – Toronto Blue Jays
- Masyn Winn, SS – St. Louis Cardinals
- Otto Lopez, 2B, SS – Miami Marlins
- Joey Ortiz, SS – Milwaukee Brewers
- Carlos Correa, 3B, SS – Houston Astros
- Colson Montgomery, 3B, SS – Chicago White Sox
- Anthony Volpe, SS – New York Yankees
- Brooks Lee, 2B, 3B, SS – Minnesota Twins
By this point in a draft, you should already have a starter. These are players who will post average stat lines and provide depth to fill in for injuries or off days at the shortstop or DH positions.
Tier 6 – Deep League Options
- Andres Gimenez, 2B, SS – Toronto Blue Jays
- Chase Meidroth, 2B, 3B, SS – Chicago White Sox
- Nasim Nunez, 2B, SS – Washington Nationals
- Jose Caballero, 2B, 3B, SS, OF – New York Yankees
- Brayan Rocchio, 2B, SS – Cleveland Guardians
- Jake Cronenworth, 1B, 2B, SS – San Diego Padres
- J.P. Crawford, SS – Seattle Mariners
- Konnor Griffin, SS, OF – Pittsburgh Pirates
- Nick Gonzales, 2B, SS – Pittsburgh Pirates
- Mauricio Dubon, 2B, 3B, SS, OF – Atlanta Braves
- Zach McKinstry, 3B, SS, OF – Detroit Tigers
The players listed in this tier are only to be thought about for deep leagues. However, Konnor Griffin would move up to Tier 3 or 4 if he makes the Opening Day roster. I wrote about him in my sleeper shortstops breakdown. Griffin is a five-tool player who is a top-tier dynasty candidate if he makes the roster.
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