Last season wasn’t exactly a banner year for fantasy shortstops. In fact, only three shortstops finished among the top 85 players in fantasy value in standard 5×5 roto leagues, according to Baseball Monster. And yet, shortstop is not lacking for high-end options or intriguing names as we head into 2018. Most of the best shortstops in the game also happen to be under 25 years old, so the position is in great shape for the future.
What shortstop is lacking, however, is enough surefire starting-caliber players. Unless you play in an eight-team league, not everyone in your league will have one. That’s a decent argument for grabbing one of the upper-tier shortstops relatively early in your draft — or else drafting a couple players at the position and seeing who emerges.
We’ll be ranking and tiering all the shortstops in a few weeks, but for now let’s take a broader look at the types of players available at the position.
Complete a mock draft in minutes with our free Draft Simulator 
The Best of the Best: Trea Turner, Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor (and Manny Machado)
As a legitimate threat to lead all of baseball in stolen bases, Trea Turner can be a fantasy monster, particularly in roto leagues. Turner should also approach a .300 batting average, swat 15-20 home runs, and score tons of runs at the top of a loaded Nationals lineup, so he’s an enticing mid-to-late first round pick in fantasy drafts.
Carlos Correa was on his way to a monster fantasy season of his own when he tore a ligament in his thumb last July. He still finished with a .315 batting average and 24 home runs in just 109 games, and at 23 years old, he is still getting better. Correa stopped running last season, so it remains to be seen whether the stolen bases will return. But even if they don’t, Correa’s huge production in the other four roto categories puts him in the conversation as a first-round fantasy pick as shortstop’s answer to Nolan Arenado.
Francisco Lindor proved himself as an impressive five-category contributor during his first two seasons, but last year he also showed 30-homer power that few expected. That power came at the expense of some batting average, but whether Lindor is a .300-20 guy or .280-30 guy, he’s destined to have big-time fantasy value, particularly when you consider the 15 or so stolen bases that he chips in.
Manny Machado won’t start the season with shortstop eligibility, but he’ll regain it in short order as the Orioles’ regular starter at the position. Machado had a disappointing .259 batting average last season, but it was driven by a BABIP that was 36 points below his career average — even though he made more hard contact than ever before. Machado has hit at least 33 home runs in three straight seasons, and he tallied nine steals last year after putting up a goose egg in 2016. Even though he’s coming off a down season by his standards, there’s little doubt that Machado is one of the best fantasy hitters out there.
The Other Surefire Starters: Corey Seager, Alex Bregman, Elvis Andrus, Jean Segura, Xander Bogaerts
Corey Seager‘s 2017 stat line may have mildly disappointed fantasy owners who were hoping for a huge breakout, but he was essentially the same hitter he was during his excellent 2016 season — except with improved hard contact and walk rates. Seager isn’t a base-stealing threat, and he has yet to exhibit 30-home run potential, so he doesn’t belong with the Big Four at the position. But he’s still plenty valuable and there’s always the chance he takes another step forward in his age-24 season. Just don’t reach too far for him.
Alex Bregman‘s statistical profile looks a lot like Seager’s, but with more stolen bases and less batting average. Bregman almost went 20-20 in his first full season in the Majors, and he should be a nice five-category contributor again in 2018 while hitting near the top of an explosive Astros lineup. Like the other top options at the position, he’s also young enough where he could reach another level of performance at any time.
Elvis Andrus was the number one shortstop in roto leagues in 2017, putting up a massive .297/100/20/88/25 stat line. He was a solid fantasy contributor in 2016 as well, but what took his value to another stratosphere was the power spike from eight to 20 home runs. He’s unlikely to deliver that many long balls again, but double digits seems plausible, and that’s more than enough to make Andrus an above average fantasy shortstop if he can again approach a .300 batting average and 25 stolen bases, as he has each of the last two seasons.
Jean Segura‘s numbers have fluctuated quite a bit since he came into the league, but he’s been an above-average fantasy asset at shortstop more often than not. Over five full seasons in the Major Leagues, he’s averaged a .285 batting average, 11 home runs, and 29 stolen bases. That’s a perfectly reasonable expectation for Segura in 2018.
Like Segura, Bogaerts’ stats have been all over the map during his first four seasons. It is far from certain that Bogaerts can recapture the 21-homer power that made him look like a budding fantasy superstar in 2016 — and it would be unwise to pay an expectant price for it on draft day. But at worst Bogaerts is a steady-if-unspectacular producer across all five roto categories, particularly hitting in the middle of a strong Red Sox lineup.
Rorschach Test Players: Eduardo Nunez, Trevor Story, Chris Taylor, Jose Peraza
Eduardo Nunez is my favorite draft-day value at shortstop, particularly in roto leagues with daily lineups. Over the last two seasons, Nunez has averaged a .299 batting average, 14 home runs, and 32 stolen bases in 510 at-bats. He’ll open the 2018 season as Boston’s starting second baseman until Dustin Pedroia returns from knee surgery, at which point Nunez will shift to a super utility role. Concerns about Nunez’s playing time are pushing him down in drafts, but the bet here is that he gets at least 450 at-bats. Pedroia could suffer a setback, Rafael Devers or Jackie Bradley Jr. could struggle, someone could get hurt, or Nunez could just regularly move around the diamond as he has done in the past.
One player going a bit too high in drafts for my taste is Trevor Story. Story certainly has more upside than most if not all of the names that will be available later on, as he proved when he hit .272 with 27 home runs and eight steals in only 97 games as a rookie in 2016. As long as he plays regularly, he’s a good bet for 25+ homers and around 10 steals with helpful run production numbers. But as an all-or-nothing slugger who has fanned in one-third of his at-bats over his first two seasons, Story’s floor is a demotion to the minor leagues, particularly if top prospect Brendan Rodgers is swinging a hot bat.
To get a sense of Chris Taylor‘s upside, just look at what he did last year: a .288 average, 21 homers, and 17 stolen bases. That was a better fantasy season than Turner, Seager, Segura, and Bogaerts, among others. But it was also buoyed by an unsustainable .361 BABIP and far more power than he had ever shown before. It would be unwise to pay for what may well have been Taylor’s career year, but it’s possible that the market overcorrects and he becomes a draft value. A 15-15 season is a pretty safe expectation even if he regresses significantly.
Jose Peraza was an unbearable player to own last season (trust me, I had him). We knew he had almost no power to speak of, but the hope was that he could do a good Dee Gordon impression with a strong batting average and massive stolen base total. Instead, Peraza hit .259 and stole just 23 bases in 143 games — two more than he stole in 72 games the previous season, and nowhere near the 60-stolen base pace he displayed in the minors. Peraza’s excellent contact skills suggest his batting average is due for some positive regression, but he won’t be worthy of starting in standard roto leagues (let alone points leagues) unless he runs a lot more than he did last year.
A Bit of Power, A Bit of Speed, A Bit of Upside: Javier Baez, Orlando Arcia, Tim Anderson, Jorge Polanco
Javier Baez‘s high strikeout rate ensures he’ll never be a batting average asset, and his speed looks like it will top out at about 15 steals, so the upside he once had may go unrealized. There’s also a bit of playing time risk here with Joe Maddon drawing up the lineup card. Still, Baez put together his best season as a Major Leaguer in 2017, and he’ll be a decent fantasy starter at shortstop if he can again reach 20-25 homers and double-digit steals.
Orlando Arcia has a good prospect pedigree and is coming off a solid year where he hit .277 with 15 homers and 14 steals. But with a bit of batting average regression likely, he’ll probably need to top 20 stolen bases to be a strong contributor in standard fantasy leagues — unless he gets a chance to hit near the top of the Brewers’ potent lineup.
Tim Anderson strikes out a lot and never walks, so he’s a much more palatable option in roto leagues than points leagues. His power growth over the last couple seasons has been encouraging, but it should top out short of 20. Anderson will only truly matter in 12-team leagues if he starts running like he did in 2015 when he stole 49 bases in Double-A. He stole nine bases in September, so it’s not out of the question.
Jorge Polanco is basically Anderson with less speed upside, a little less power, and a much better plate approach. He won’t wow you in any category, but he won’t kill you in any, either.
Boring But Useful Power Plays: Didi Gregorius, Marwin Gonzalez, Tim Beckham, Paul DeJong, Marcus Semien, Addison Russell
It’s hard to get too excited about any of these guys as starters in standard leagues, but most of them should be serviceable power options in deeper leagues.
I don’t fully get the Didi Gregorius hype. He had a fine season in 2017 but looks set for a bit of regression in home runs and batting average. Being on the Yankees should certainly help in runs and RBIs, but Gregorius looks like a J.J. Hardy-type, which isn’t worth a top-110 pick in fantasy drafts.
Marwin Gonzalez is also coming off a very nice year where he compiled the fourth-most fantasy value among shortstops in 5×5 roto leagues. Like Gregorius, he should benefit from a great surrounding lineup, but he’s due for quite a bit of regression in batting average and home runs, and playing time could be a bit of an issue on a crowded roster.
Tim Beckham and Paul DeJong are both coming off solid fantasy seasons, particularly DeJong, who hit .285 with 25 home runs in just 108 games. Both Beckham and DeJong appear due for some batting average regression, and DeJong is unlikely to maintain his power pace, but each of their respective counting stats could end up looking a lot like they did last year.
Marcus Semien surprisingly produced at a nearly 20-20 pace through 85 games last season, but he had never shown 20-steal potential in the Majors before. He is a decent bet for 20+ home runs and 10+ steals if he can remain the starter all year, but that is unlikely to come with a great batting average or run production numbers.
Addison Russell probably qualifies as a post-hype sleeper after his lost 2017 season. He certainly has 20-homer power and his defense will keep him in the lineup regularly, but he’s yet to show any hints of the star potential he had as a prospect. Russell is still just 24 years old, so he’ll be worth targeting aggressively if he shows any signs of breaking out.
The Young Guns: Amed Rosario, Gleyber Torres, Brendan Rodgers, Franklin Barreto, J.P. Crawford
If you don’t end up with a top-tier shortstop, it makes all kinds of sense to stash one of these guys on your roster for the upside.
Amed Rosario stands out among the group as the best combination of talent and immediate opportunity. He compiled 11 home runs and 26 steals across Triple-A and the Majors in 2017, and projects to quickly approach those totals in New York in 2018.
Gleyber Torres projects to have a little more power and a little less speed than Rosario. He’ll likely begin the season in Triple-A but should get the call to the Bronx in short order with only Ronald Torreyes standing between him and a starting job.
Brendan Rodgers‘ path to the Majors is a little dicier, as he would likely need Trevor Story to fall flat on his face in order to get a shot at regular playing time in 2018. Still, Rodgers could be a potent power bat from the get-go — with a decent batting average to boot — while playing his home games in Coors Field.
Franklin Barreto struggled mightily during his first cup of coffee in Oakland, but he was on pace for a 20-20 season with a plus average at Triple-A. He seems likely to get an extended opportunity to play this summer for a rebuilding A’s team.
Like Rosario, J.P. Crawford should start on Opening Day. Crawford hasn’t had much production at the plate or on the base paths yet, but he has a great approach at the plate and is just 23 years old, so he’s at least worth keeping an eye on.
First Base Primer
Catcher Primer
Second Base Primer
Practice fast mock drafts with our free Mock Draft Simulator
Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | SoundCloud | TuneIn | Google Play
Andrew Seifter is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive and follow him @andrew_seifter.
