The Home of Fantasy Sports Analysis

Top 40 Shortstop Rankings for 2020 Fantasy Baseball

The Fantrax Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit officially kicked off on New Year’s Day but we started with our 2020 fantasy baseball rankings long before that. We started at catcher shortly after the Nationals won the 2019 World Series and we’ve been working our way around the fantasy diamond. Things started out on a bit of a down note at catcher and first base, but started to warm up at second base. Our analysts really started to get excited when they dug into third base and our shortstop rankings have them foaming at the mouth.

Don’t take it from me though. Here’s what each of our rankers had to say about the position. Evidently shortstop is no longer just for speedsters and defensive specialists.


What?! Your league is not planning on using Fantrax? Inconceivable! Check out everything Fantrax has to offer and I’m sure you’ll come around to our way of thinking.


2020 Shortstop Outlook

Nathan Dokken – @NathanDokken – Author Archive

The way you attack Shortstop in 2020 is going to determine much of your roster construction. There are a ton of elite options, many of whom will come off the board in the first two rounds. Most of those options are huge contributors in the dwindling stolen base category.

If you choose to go SP/SP in the early rounds of your draft (a very viable option) or focus on other more scarce offensive positions, you’re going to need a contingency plan for your speed. The position as a whole is as deep as it’s been in a long time – maybe ever – so if you choose to eschew the elite options, there are plenty of strong fallback bats who will be available in the mid-to-late rounds.

Eric Cross – @EricCross04 – Author Archive

Ah, the magical shortstop position. Once known for its offensive juggernauts in the steroid era, shortstop endured a small decline in the mid-2000’s before storming back into the stacked powerhouse it is today. This position is absolutely loaded, both in terms of depth and star power. It’s so deep, guys like Carlos Correa are borderline top-10 SS options now. With the emergence of Bo Bichette and Fernando Tatis Jr., we have two more elite options to choose from, and if you want to wait until later, there’s plenty of good value to be had after pick 100 at this position. Don’t forget about guys like Kevin Newman and Nico Hoerner in the late rounds, as both can provide solid value across the board.

Mike Kurland – @Mike_Kurland – Author Archive

Shortstop is by far the deepest of the infield positions. It has the deepest pool of high-end talent. I’d feel comfortable going into the season with one of up to 20 shortstops as my starter and even beyond that, there are some lottery tickets that could be starters sooner than later for most fantasy teams as well. From top to bottom it is arguably the best position to this point. There’s a good chance I’d be targeting shortstop for my MI slot as well. If you miss on the top tiers of the shortstop rankings, the fallback options are solid and because of this shortstop has become a position I’m not stressing at all this year and I don’t make it a priority to draft. I let the best value at the position fall to me at some point throughout the draft.

Jorge Montanez – @JMontanez90 – Author Archive

I’m old enough to remember when positional scarcity was a thing when it came to the shortstop rankings. Now, we’re looking at the deepest and most exciting position in the infield. It starts at the top with Francisco Lindor, Trevor Story, Alex Bregman, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Trea Turner rounding out my first tier.

The next group can go eight to nine players deep from Xander Bogaerts to Manny Machado. Gleyber Torres is in the mix just inside the top 10. If you recall our second base rankings, Torres was a top-three option there. Can Bo Bichette build on his successful first stint in the majors? Can Carlos Correa deliver a full healthy season? Is Marcus Semien for real? All questions that I just can’t wait to see play out.


More 2020 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | SS | OF | SP | RP


2020 Shortstop Rankings for Mixed Leagues

Cons.PlayerDokkenCrossKurlandMontanezMammino
1Francisco Lindor11211
2Trevor Story32122
3Trea Turner44433
4Alex Bregman53345
5Fernando Tatis Jr.25654
6Xander Bogaerts66566
7Javier Baez107778
8Gleyber Torres99987
9Bo Bichette12881013
10Carlos Correa15101099
10Jonathan Villar811111112
12Adalberto Mondesi712131210
13Manny Machado1113121311
14Tim Anderson1714151415
14Marcus Semien1616141514
16Jorge Polanco1415171819
16Corey Seager1817161616
18Elvis Andrus1318181917
19Amed Rosario1923191718
20Kevin Newman2420202020
21Didi Gregorius2221212222
22Jean Segura2022232321
23Paul DeJong2119222823
24Scott Kingery2724252423
24Nico Hoerner2325272127
26Dansby Swanson2829242525
27Willy Adames2527282626
28Carter Kieboom2626262740
29Nick Ahmed2930303129
30Jon Berti3328362928
31David Fletcher3032313233
32Luis Urias3235343030
33Freddy Galvis3431283337
34Andrelton Simmons3534323431
35Chris Taylor3133333550
36Niko Goodrum3650353632
37Jose Peraza4039404034
38Leury Garcia3836503736
39J.P. Crawford3750373935
40Tim Beckham3937503850
41Jose Iglesias5040395038
42Orlando Arcia5038505050
42Nicky Lopez5050385050
44Brandon Crawford5050505039

Fantrax has been one of the fastest-growing fantasy sites of 2019 and we’re not stopping anytime soon! With multi-team trades, designated commissioner/league managers, and drag/drop easy click methods, Fantrax is sure to excite the serious fantasy sports fan – sign up now for a free year at Fantrax.com.


For all the rankings, strategy, and analysis you could ever want, check out the 2020 FantraxHQ Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit. We’ll be adding more content from now right up until Opening Day!


Fantrax was one of the fastest-growing fantasy sites of 2019 and we’re not letting our foot off the pedal now! With multi-team trades, designated commissioner/league managers, and drag/drop easy click methods, Fantrax is sure to excite the serious fantasy sports fan – sign up now for a free year at Fantrax.com.

10 Comments
  1. Larry Richardson says

    Seattle does have a MLB team. The fact that there are no Mariners listed in top 33 at 3B and SS is ridiculous.

    1. Eric Cross says

      Seager didn’t miss by much for me but his skills are diminishing. .240/25 isn’t very valuable anymore. At SS, Crawford isn’t a big offensive threat. He’s there for his defense and I don’t even expect him to have a fantasy impact outside of deeper leagues or AL-Only formats.

      1. Larry Richardson says

        Seager’s skills aren’t really diminishing. Started season on DL so first month back was his Spring Training. Was really good 2nd half as he has started to use the whole field. As for Crawford he now has 1 full season in MLB. Already has extra base pop but wore down late last year. Working this off season to get stronger. I believe you will see that you missed on both. They both could be top 20 at their positions next year.

        1. Larry Richardson says

          I will admit your prospect analysis for the Mariners was very good. That’s why your MLB fantasy rankings were a shock.

  2. Randy says

    Semien ranked only 16th is just plain crazy. And Bo Bichette at 10th? Give me a break.

    1. Eric Cross says

      I’m assuming you think Semien is too low and Bichette too high?

      1. William says

        Thanks for the rankings. Lots of great options.

        Semien: 162 GP 43 2B 33 HR 123 R 92 RBI 10 SB .285 AVG .892 OPS 11.6 BB% 13.7 K% 373 wOBA 137 wRC+
        Only .294 BABIP 41.9% Hard Only 15.3 HR/FB

        3rd on Roster Resource Final Batter Rankings. 7th on Final ESPN Player Rater. 20th ESPN batter overall. Most underlying metrics are trending in right direction. Still only 29 years old. Bats at the top of a top 10 offense.

        Sure there will be some regression, however I will still be drafting him ahead of the likes of a injury prone Correa, a .399 BABIP 32% Hard Anderson among a few others.

        It seems like most of the groups individual rankings are very similar. Surprised not to at least see Semien as a top 10 option by one of you.

        Again thanks for all your hard work.

        1. Eric Cross says

          For me, it’s about two things. One, past performance. Two, the depth at the position.

          1. Larry Richardson says

            Third thing is your from the East Coast and didn’t know there is a MLB team in the PNW.

          2. Eric Cross says

            If you read my SEA top-25 and how I gush about Kelenic/J-Rod on the daily, you’d know your statement to me false. I like SEA, especially the right side of the infield and the OF long-term, but 3B/SS isn’t an area of strength right now.

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.