2018 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings

The shortstop position is deeper this season than we have grown accustomed to seeing in fantasy baseball. So long as you don’t wait until 20 shortstops are off the board, you can still feel safe about whichever falls to you deep into drafts. With that said, some are obviously far better values according to their average draft position than others. The duo that stands out to me is Alex Bregman and Elvis Andrus. Bregman is a former top overall prospect and was superb in the second-half of last season. Andrus, meanwhile, was dynamite all of last season (and to close 2016), finishing as the top overall fantasy shortstop last year, thanks in part to Carlos Correa and Trea Turner’s injuries. Nevertheless, Andrus was a fantasy machine and even if he takes a step or two backward, you can bet he’ll be a value in the 5th round of fantasy drafts. Even more than both of them, I love Turner this year and am hoping to have an opportunity to add him. I wrote a breakdown of why I would take him 3rd overall if I landed that draft pick.

If I can’t get one of those three, I’d gladly settle for Chris Taylor, were it not for the proximity of his ADP to some of my favorite pitching targets (David Price, Lance McCullers, Rich Hill). More likely, I’d settle for Jorge Polanco, who was another second-half breakout that offers both power and speed. You can think of him as Bregmen-lite. Andrelton Simmons is clearly superior defensively, but fantasy wise, he offers the same skill-set as Polanco and can be found around the 16th round of standard 12-team drafts. If you are scrambling to find a late-round middle infielder, look no further than Orlando Arcia, who was above replacement value last season in BA, HR and SB. Should he continue to progress toward his lofty ceiling, we may be talking about him as one of the biggest steals of 2018 fantasy drafts. With all that said, let’s move over and take a look at my top 50 shortstop rankings along with notes on the first 35.

Other Rankings: C | 1B | 2B | 3B | OF | SP | RP

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