Separating positional rankings into tiers is a great way for fantasy baseball managers to prepare for drafts. For shortstops, the position is deeper this year than in the past. Using these tiers can help you find where the value is and where the positional depth falls off. Hopefully, these rankings help you make your decisions on draft day.
Shortstop Tiers
Like second base, shortstop is deeper this season than in past years. There are quality players all the way through tier four. That does not mean you should wait that long to draft one, but if Tyler Fitzgerald or Anthony Volpe were your starting shortstop, it would not be the worst thing in the world.
Tier 1: Superstars
- Bobby Witt Jr.
- Gunnar Henderson
- Elly De La Cruz
- Mookie Betts
- Francisco Lindor
Bobby Witt Jr. would have a case to be the top player drafted in fantasy baseball this year if not for Shohei Ohtani. Witt has improved year-over-year, amounting to a 32-homer, 125-run, 109-RBI, 31-SB, and .332 season last year.
Gunnar Henderson also improved in every roto category from 2023 to 2024 and shows some positive trends that could lead to him being even better in 2025. He improved his strikeout rate for the third year in a row, and his walk rate for the second year in a row. Henderson has excellent hard contact stats, with an 11% barrel rate and a 53% HardHit rate from last season. He also improved his discipline, with a better chase and contact rate than last season.
Elly De La Cruz led baseball last season with 67 steals, while also hitting 25 homers and batting .259. He plays in a great home park in Cincinnati and could improve on his power totals this season.
Mookie Betts should also see improvements after dealing with a hand injury last season. Since moving to the Dodgers in 2020, Betts improved his home run, run, and RBI totals each year through 2023. His AVG improved each year from 2021-2023. And he stole more bases in each season from 2022-2024.
Francisco Lindor has posted consecutive seasons with over 30 home runs and missed out on a second consecutive 30/30 season by one steal. With the Mets adding Juan Soto, Lindor’s fantasy stock should go up, especially since he does not necessarily have to shoulder the bulk of the attention for the team anymore. Fantasy managers cannot go wrong in this tier.
Tier 2: Stars
- Trea Turner
- Corey Seager
- Willy Adames
- Oneil Cruz
- CJ Abrams
- Matt McLain
- Xander Bogaerts
Fantasy baseball managers should not fret if they do not draft one of the top four shortstops. The shortstops in this tier are excellent options as well. Steamer projects CJ Abrams, Francisco Lindor, and Trea Turner to have 20/20 seasons this year. Oneil Cruz and Matt McLain project for near-20/20 seasons themselves.
Xander Bogaerts fell a homer and a steal shy of a 20/20 season in 2023 and dealt with a shoulder injury that clearly limited him last season. He posted some of his worst roto stats since early in his career but should have a bounce-back campaign in 2025. He is a bit of a sleeper here in this tier.
Outside of Henderson, Lindor, and Witt, the only shortstops to hit 30 or more homers last season were Corey Seager and Willy Adames. The reason they do not rank higher is because Seager does not steal and Adames’ strikeout rate limits the ceiling of his batting average.
If you land on any of these players as your starting shortstop, you should feel comfortable going into the 2025 fantasy baseball season.
Tier 3: Last Starters I’m Comfortable With
- Zach Neto
- Tyler Fitzgerald
- Ceddanne Rafaela
- Masyn Winn
- Ezequiel Tovar
- Dansby Swanson
- Anthony Volpe
- Jeremy Pena
- Ha-Seong Kim
- Bo Bichette
- Carlos Correa
Even in this tier, there are batters who I would be comfortable with as my starting shortstop, though I would be happier with them in my middle infield or utility slots.
Zach Neto projects as a 20/20/.250 hitter according to Steamer after having a quiet 20/30/.249 season for the Angels last year. Anthony Volpe has the potential for a 20/30 season as well and has shown promising signs of improved discipline. Ha-Seong Kim is two seasons removed from stealing 38 bases to go with 17 homers and .260 AVG, but he needs to find a team where he can get consistent at-bats. Jeremy Pena hit 22 homers in 2022, and stole 20 bags in 2024, with a career .261 AVG. Steamer projects Tyler Fitzgerald to be just shy of a 20/20 season this year but with a .231 AVG.
Some other players I like in this tier include youngsters like Ceddanne Rafaela and Masyn Winn, who have a ton of potential. Both could improve on their 15 dingers from last season and could approach 20 steals with a decent batting average.
Tier 4: Solid Depth
- Willi Castro
- Trevor Story
- Xavier Edwards
- Brooks Lee
- Orlando Arcia
- Isiah Kiner-Falefa
- Brayan Rocchio
- Geraldo Perdomo
- Dylan Moore
Trevor Story’s last three seasons have been decimated by injuries, so this is a bit of a “prove it” year. Of all the shortstops in this tier, he has the potential to skyrocket in value, but I have trust issues with him.
Steamer projects Xavier Edwards for the fourth most steals at the position, and he should get the bulk of the starts at short for Miami. He probably will not offer much outside of steals and AVG. At this point, though, each of the players in this tier has some sort of limitation.
Willi Castro is the most interesting to me in this tier, with positional flexibility and the potential for 15-plus home runs and 20-plus steals. Dylan Moore could get you 10 homers and 30 steals, but may barely hit over the Mendoza line.
Because of their flaws, the players in tier four are players you should be drafting to your bench.
Tier 5: Deep League Depth Pieces
- Jose Caballero
- Edmundo Sosa
- Luisangel Acuna
- Josh Smith
- Jacob Wilson
- Ernie Clement
- J.P. Crawford
- Paul DeJong
These players are mostly deep league bench options but still could offer some value in 12-team leagues. Luisangel Acuna and Jose Caballero project for double-digit steals. Jacob Wilson should start at short for an improving Athletics team, while Ernie Clement has a claim on the hot corner for Toronto.
Tier 6: Dart Throws
- David Hamilton
- Trey Sweeney
- Javier Baez
- Miguel Rojas
- Zach McKinstry
- Jordan Lawlar
- Brett Wisely
- Marco Luciano
- Kevin Newman
Tier 7: Super Deep Dart Throws
- Blaze Alexander
- Romy Gonzalez
- Max Schuemann
- Nicky Lopez
- Vidal Brujan
- Leo Jimenez
- Taylor Walls
- Carson Williams
- Tim Anderson
- Nick Allen
- Nick Ahmed
- Marcelo Mayer
- Daniel Schneeman
- Mason McCoy
- Leo Rivas
- Nasim Nunez
- Jacob Amaya
- Ryan Kreidler
Tiers six and seven are full of minor league players who could see time in 2025 but are longer shots to produce significantly. These tiers also feature some free agents who could catch on with a team, as well as some players who could be cut during spring training. In most leagues, fantasy baseball managers can ignore the players in these tiers. These are mostly players who will be drafted in leagues of 15 teams or more.
Think we should rearrange any players into different tiers? Share it in the comments below. For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2025 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! We’re here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.
