Top 30 Shortstop Rankings for 2020 Fantasy Baseball

The Fantrax Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit doesn’t officially kick off until the new year, but we’ve already gotten a head start with our 2020 fantasy baseball rankings. 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.

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

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