Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Positional Rankings: Top-60 Shortstops

Dynasty leagues are the best, aren’t they? It’s the closest us fanatics can get to being a real baseball general manager. While you might not look at your team every single day of the offseason, dynasty leagues are a year-round commitment and there’s never a bad time to improve your team. Never I say! Whether you’re starting a new dynasty league or entering year 20, rankings play a vital part of any draft prep, trades, etc. I’ve released my overall top-500 as recently as March (and will update that soon), but I figured I’d dive a little deeper and rank the top players at each position which will go further than my top-500 did. After diving into my top SP, RP, and OF, it’s time to rank my top-60 dynasty shortstop rankings.

If you aren’t playing your dynasty leagues on Fantrax, you’re missing out on the deepest player pool and most customization around. 

Also, make sure to check out the Fantrax Dynasty Baseball Podcast and Five Tool Fantasy Baseball Podcast Weekly for more dynasty talk.

Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Shortstop Rankings

This shortstop position continues to get deeper and deeper with each passing season. On the latest Five-Tool Podcast, I joked that SS must stand for super sexy due to all the talent and depth at this position. And while it was a joke at the time, it’s actually quite true. Just look at all the studs at the top for starters. You can make a case for 9-10 of those guys in the first 25-30 picks of dynasty drafts. After that, you have plenty of flawed but intriguing names like Carlos Correa and Adalberto Mondesi with plenty of high-upside prospects sprinkled in. This is a position where you can attack it early in drafts and also grab some good values and breakouts late.

How Good Can Bo Bichette Be?

Really damn good is the short answer here. On more than one occasion, I’ve dubbed Bichette the next Mookie Betts for fantasy. Yes, that’s an incredibly lofty comp to throw on a prospect with less than half a season of MLB action under his belt, but it’s a comp I feel very strongly about. Bichette is a player I got to see a ton live at Double-A in 2018 and he just screamed future superstar to me. His ability to impact the game on many different levels was very apparent, especially at the plate. Like Betts, Bichette isn’t a big guy, but he still has what it takes to be a force across the board.

In my live looks, one thing that was immediately apparent was his quick hands, electric bat speed, and feel for the barrel. Bichette was spraying line drives all over the field with regularity. All he’s done is hit at every level with a .275 mark in the Triple-A International League serving as the lowest batting average of his professional career. Bichette’s plus contact skills and strike zone awareness should keep that average very high, likely north of .300 in most seasons.

In addition, Bichette possesses above-average to plus raw power and displayed above-average raw speed in my looks as well. That speed is going to be the big key here as others have put him more as a 45/50 speed prospect and Bichette was only successful on four of eight steal attempts with Toronto last season. If he can approach 20 steals to pair with a .300+/25 offensive profile, Bichette is going to make his way into the first couple rounds of fantasy drafts very soon.

Still Buying Carlos Correa

100% yes. In fact, I might even go as far as saying that I’m buying him more than ever before right now. The reason for that is his price tag has decreased exponentially over the last two years or so. We all know why too. Correa just can’t seem to stay healthy for a full season and that IL stint creeps around him at all times like the grim reaper. Due to the fear surrounding what his games played total will be each season, Correa’s re-draft ADP is currently outside the top 100 and he was my #51 overall player in my last top-500 dynasty rankings update in March. That’s a far cry from when he was my #3 overall ranked player a few short years ago. Here’s why I’m still buying Correa, especially at his current price.

• 2019 pace: .279/91/45/127
• Per 162 AVG: .277/.356/.489/93/30/110/10 (Yes, those 10 steals are due to him running more in years 1-2.
• Solid plate approach (10.8 BB%, 21.0 K% for his career).
• Launch angle steadily climbing.
• Statcast data in 2019 was impressive.
• Barrel% jumped from 7.0% in 2018 to 13.5% in 2019.

The back issues are certainly worrisome, but Correa remains a strong four-category contributor when he’s on the field. At this price, the potential reward is worth the risk.

Why I’m Not High On Adalberto Mondesi

It’s not that I’m 100% out on Adalberto Mondesi in general, but I am at his current price tag in all fantasy formats. Mondesi in the 3rd round is just too damn high. Listen, I get his speed is elite. There’s no doubting that. But the rest of his profile makes me want to vomit. It’s so bad, I had to write a whole article about it. Here are some of the key points from that article.

• Coming off a major shoulder injury/surgery. Who knows what the power will look like.
• Contact skills and swing metrics were all in the bottom-10 for qualified hitters in 2019.
• His 25.5% K-BB rate is the 29th worst mark in the history of baseball (min. 900 PA). Out of those 29 that were worse, 18 were pitchers.
• Simply doesn’t walk which makes him less attractive in OBP formats.

While there are easily 40-plus steals in Mondesi’s legs annually, the offensive profile is more in the .240/10 range than .260+/20 like I’ve seen some say. There’s just simply too much risk at his current ADP/dynasty price tag.

Top Shortstop Prospects

My dynasty rankings take proximity to the Majors into consideration as well. The rankings below will not 100% correlate to my prospect rankings.

1. Wander Franco, TB (8): This lofty ranking shouldn’t surprise anyone. Out of all prospects, Wander Franco has the highest floor and the highest chance of developing into a superstar at the Major League level. The hit tool is as elite as elite can be and there’s more power coming as well. We’re looking at a potential batting champ in the making with 30/15 upside to go along with it.

2. Marco Luciano, SF (19): His raw tools and studly professional debut have quickly put Marco Luciano into the elite ranks of prospects. Luciano has middle of the order bat written all over him with huge power, elite bat speed, and a good feel for hitting as well.

3. CJ Abrams, SD (20): As I wrote recently, I believe CJ Abrams is a fantasy stud in the making. With elite speed, a plus hit tool, and developing power, Trea Turner comps are being thrown around on the young Padres uber-prospect.

4. Royce Lewis, MIN (21): This is a great time to buy-low on Royce Lewis after his down 2019 season. The raw tools are still very impressive and he showed them off en route to being named the MVP of the 2019 Arizona Fall League. There’s .280/15+/25+ potential here.

5. Bobby Witt Jr, KC (22): You could argue that Bobby Witt has the highest upside here outside of Wander Franco. The 2018 draftee has displayed 30/30 upside with an improving hit tool as well. If the gains at the plate hold and continue, the sky is the limit for Witt in fantasy.

6. Noelvi Marte, SEA (23): Honestly, Noelvi Marte is very similar to Witt, just slightly less proven. The same massive power/speed upside is here with some questions around the hit tool despite a strong debut in 2019.

7. Carter Kieboom, WAS (25): Ignore his rough cup of coffee in 2019, Carter Kieboom can rake. There’s not much speed to be had, but Kieboom has the tools to hit for an average north of .280 and 25-30 homers annually as well. If any sort of buy-low window was created in your league, I’d look to capitalize on that.

8. Jordan Groshans, TOR (27): His inexperience, injuries, and being in the shadow of others has kept Jordan Groshans price tag in check for someone with his potential. I’m expecting that to end very quickly. As soon as he can get some extended at-bats in, Groshans and his .290/30 potential are going to become very pricey in dynasty leagues.

9. Nico Hoerner, CHC (30): Hoerner is arguably the most boring name out of all these prospects, but don’t let that scare you off. With his contact skills and approach, Hoerner should be able to hit for a high average with 20-plus steals and a touch of pop as well.

10. Robert Puason, OAK (33): In most non-Jasson J2 classes, Puason would be considered arguably the best prospect in the class. There’s some enticing power/speed in this profile with a projectable frame and the ability to stick at shortstop longterm. It’s going to be about how his hit tool develops as he matures.

11. Jeter Downs, BOS (35): While he might end up at second base longterm due to the presence of Xander Bogaerts, Jeter Downs has the skills to turn into a fantasy star thanks to his .275/25/25 upside.

12. Jazz Chisholm, MIA (36): The power/speed blend is tantalizing, but Chisholm is still a major work in progress at the plate with strong swing and miss concerns.

13. Oneil Cruz, PIT (37): Although he’s now listed at 6’7, Cruz isn’t an immediate threat to move off of shortstop and has flashed elite raw power with a solid hit tool and a touch of speed as well.

14. Ronny Mauricio, NYM (39): If everything clicks, Maurico could develop into a .280/25/10 shortstop. However, this is still a very raw prospect we’re talking about that will likely continue to be a slow developer.

15. Orelvis Martinez, TOR (40): With electric bat speed, above-average contact skills, and plus or better power, Orelvis Martinez has the tools to develop into an above-average offensive performer. Where that will be on the diamond remains to be seen though due to all the infielders Toronto has ahead of him.

16. Tyler Freeman, CLE (44): Freeman is definitely more of a high-floor prospect than one that’s going to develop into a core member of your dynasty team. But with that said, the contact skills and speed here can certainly provide some sneaky-good fantasy value down the road.

17. Maximo Acosta, TEX (45): One of the more intriguing J2 prospects from last summer, Maximo Acosta possesses an intriguing hit/power/speed blend with a projectable frame. Watch for him to shoot up rankings over the next year or two.

18. Greg Jones, TB (46): The main reason why you’re going to want Greg Jones is his electric speed. This is a 35-plus steal threat in the making that can be really special if his hit tool and power take steps forward.

19. Geraldo Perdomo, PIT (48): A better real-life player than fantasy asset, Geraldo Perdomo’s contact skills and on-base abilities give him a fairly high floor to work off of. Just don’t expect any big power or speed numbers.

20. Brayan Rocchio, CLE (49): While he’s still years away, Brayan Rocchio has plenty of intrigue thanks to his contact skills, bat speed, and developing power.

21. Jorge Mateo, OAK (50): I’m not the highest around on Mateo, but he should be able to hit for a decent average, provide double-digit home runs, and surpass 20 steals annually.

Alright, here are the rankings!

Media Credit: Bryan Singer/Icon Sportswire

Fantrax was one of the fastest-growing fantasy sites of 2018/2019 and we’re not slowing down in 2020! 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.