Shortstop Dynasty Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

2 years ago by Pierre Camus

Although redraft season for fantasy baseball is not upon us yet, dynasty leagues are always active. Those crucial preseason cut/hold decisions are being weighed in order to assess the keeper value of each player on your roster.

To help our readers make the most informed decisions, RotoBaller has updated dynasty baseball rankings, submitted by Brad Camara and myself. While the full rankings are available to Premium subscribers, I'm pulling back the curtain behind my positional rankings with some thoughts behind certain players.

It's time to cover the glamour position - shortstop. After reading up on the SS rankings, look for our breakdowns of first base, second base, third base, and outfield. Keep in mind that many players listed here also have eligibility at other positions but I'll primarily discuss those likely to have shortstop as their most valuable position.

Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including Best MLB Series, NFL Series, NBA Writer, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win big with RotoBaller! Read More!

Dynasty Shortstop Fantasy Baseball Rankings

Rank	Player	Team	Positions
1	Fernando Tatis Jr.	SD	SS,OF
2	Bo Bichette	TOR	SS
3	Trea Turner	LAD	2B,SS
4	Wander Franco	TB	3B,SS
5	Xander Bogaerts	BOS	SS
6	Bobby Witt Jr.	KC	SS
7	Manny Machado	SD	3B,SS
8	Corey Seager	TEX	SS
9	Carlos Correa	FA	SS
10	Francisco Lindor	NYM	SS
11	Tim Anderson	CWS	SS
12	Trevor Story	FA	SS
13	Marcus Semien	TEX	2B,SS
14	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	MIA	2B,SS
15	Ketel Marte	ARI	2B,SS,OF
16	Alex Bregman	HOU	3B,SS
17	Noelvi Marte	SEA	SS
18	Marco Luciano	SF	SS
19	CJ Abrams	SD	SS
20	Javier Baez	DET	2B,SS
21	Oneil Cruz	PIT	SS
22	Adalberto Mondesi	KC	3B,SS
23	Willy Adames	MIL	SS
24	Nick Gonzales	PIT	2B,SS
25	Jorge Polanco	MIN	2B,SS
26	Kahlil Watson	MIA	SS
27	Dansby Swanson	ATL	SS
28	Jake Cronenworth	SD	1B,2B,SS
29	Bryson Stott	PHI	SS
30	Anthony Volpe	NYY	2B,SS
31	Marcelo Mayer	BOS	SS
32	Gleyber Torres	NYY	2B,SS
33	Brendan Rodgers	COL	2B,SS
34	Royce Lewis	MIN	SS
35	Gavin Lux	LAD	2B,SS,OF
36	Jordan Westburg	BAL	SS
37	Luis Urias	MIL	2B,3B,SS
38	Jose Barrero	CIN	OF,SS
39	Jeter Downs	BOS	SS
40	Jordan Groshans	TOR	3B,SS
41	Eugenio Suarez	CIN	3B,SS
42	Amed Rosario	CLE	SS,OF
43	Jordan Lawlar	ARI	SS
44	Chris Taylor	LAD	2B,3B,OF,SS
45	Tommy Edman	STL	2B,3B,SS,OF
46	Xavier Edwards	TB	2B,SS
47	Brandon Crawford	SF	SS
48	Garrett Hampson	COL	2B,SS,OF
49	Miguel Rojas	MIA	SS
50	Jean Segura	PHI	2B,3B,SS
51	Ha-Seong Kim	SD	2B,3B,SS
52	Tucupita Marcano	PIT	2B,3B,SS
53	Nick Gordon	MIN	2B,OF,SS
54	Josh Rojas	ARI	2B,3B,OF,SS
55	Isiah Kiner-Falefa	TEX	C,3B,SS
56	Gio Urshela	NYY	3B,SS
57	Mark Vientos	NYM	3B,SS
58	Luis Garcia	WSH	2B,SS
59	Myles Straw	CLE	SS,OF
60	Nico Hoerner	CHC	2B,3B,SS
61	J.P. Crawford	SEA	SS
62	Nicky Lopez	KC	2B,SS
63	Ramon Urias	BAL	2B,3B,SS
64	Didi Gregorius	PHI	SS
65	Brayan Rocchio	CLE	SS
66	Carter Kieboom	WSH	3B,SS
67	David Fletcher	LAA	2B,3B,SS,OF
68	Andres Gimenez	CLE	2B,3B,SS
69	Kike Hernandez	BOS	2B,SS,OF
70	Kevin Newman	PIT	2B,SS
71	Ed Howard	CHC	SS
72	Joey Wendle	MIA	2B,3B,SS
73	Dylan Moore	SEA	2B,3B,SS,OF
74	Yu Chang	CLE	1B,3B,SS
75	Paul DeJong	STL	SS
76	Nick Ahmed	ARI	SS
77	Luis Guillorme	NYM	2B,3B,SS
78	Mauricio Dubon	SF	2B,3B,OF,SS
79	Niko Goodrum	FA	1B,2B,SS,OF
80	Leury Garcia	CWS	2B,3B,OF,SS
81	Elvis Andrus	OAK	SS
82	Scott Kingery	PHI	2B,3B,OF,SS
83	Carson Tucker	CLE	SS
84	Cole Tucker	PIT	2B,OF,SS
85	Willi Castro	DET	2B,3B,OF,SS
86	Orlando Arcia	ATL	OF,SS
87	Jose Devers	MIA	2B,SS
88	Orelvis Martinez	TOR	SS
89	Reginald Preciado	SD	SS
90	Brice Turang	MIL	SS
91	Kevin Maitan	LAA	3B,SS
92	Danny Mendick	CWS	2B,OF,SS

Preseason Thoughts

Bo Bichette is getting a lot of love as a top-five pick in redraft leagues, as he should. If Tatis experiences issues with his shoulder again after rejecting surgery, Bichette could take over as the top shortstop. That goes for dynasty too, as both are 23 years old (Tatis is 10 months younger). If the Padres fail to make the postseason again, the roster could experience a shakeup and leave some uncertainty as to his ceiling going forward. Tatis might be the most talented player in the majors, pound-for-pound, but Bichette might simply be in a better spot to produce counting stats based on health and team context over the next 2-3 years.

The next great legacy player coming up this year is Bobby Witt Jr. Although shortstop is his natural position, he did play 10 games at third base in last year's Triple-A season. The Royals' infield is a puzzle waiting to be put together, with multiple players eligible to fill in at each position. Currently, RosterResource projects Nicky Lopez as the starting SS with Adalberto Mondesi holding down DH to keep him healthy and keep his declining glove off the field. That would slide Witt Jr. to third and add another position of eligibility. He's dripping with 30-20 upside and could easily come away with AL Rookie of the Year honors. Although his future value doesn't surpass Wander Franco (as if that's even possible), his power is already more developed and he should get more chances to run in KC, making his short-term fantasy value higher than Franco.

Just as his brother Kyle hangs up his cleats, Corey Seager has put down roots for the next decade. His 10-year, $325 million deal to join the Texas Rangers establishes him as a franchise player for years to come and ensures that Marcus Semien will stay at second base with the possibility of losing SS eligibility next year. When healthy, he is an elite offensive infielder with a career slash line of .297/.367/.504. The problem is that he has missed 239 games over the past four seasons, including a huge chunk of 2021 due to a hand fracture. He's nearly four years removed from UCL surgery and shouldn't come into this season bearing any worrisome health issues but the risk is always there. Despite their free-agent shopping spree, the Rangers' offense is still a far ways from matching the Dodgers. Health, consistency, and team context are the factors that keep Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado over Seager for me despite both being two years older.

Francisco Lindor didn't endear himself to Mets fans after hitting .230 and then giving them a big thumbs down for booing him. Maybe it was Javy Baez's idea but regardless, he's got some making up to do. He's still in the prime of his career and has the chance to bounce back strong. The additions of vets like Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar, and Mark Canha should lead to a higher team OBP and a bump in counting stats for Lindor. It might also take some pressure off him to live up to lofty expectations.

Noelvi Marte and Marco Luciano belong together as power-first prospects on the west coast who might eventually move to third base or a corner outfield spot. Marte should start this season at Double-A and has a chance to grow with an exciting young corps in Seattle that includes Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez by 2023. Luciano has bigger power but is coming up in a Giants franchise that hasn't had much success developing young bats recently and prefers to platoon players at nearly every position. The profiles nearly match but Marte is in a better position to succeed sooner.

Speaking of failed prospect development - the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unless you believe Cole Tucker is ready to put it all together and reverse his fortunes, it looks like Oneil Cruz will take his turn at shortstop. Cruz is a wiry 6'7" but still has massive power potential. We could see it come to fruition this season based on his very brief but impressive sample from the final moments of last season.

Deeper Options to Watch

Jose Barrero (formerly Jose Garcia) should be the Reds' primary shortstop by now but he hasn't done much to earn the job. In 117 Major League at-bats over the last two seasons, he's hit .197 with no homers, five RBI, and a 43-4 K-BB rate. He didn't chase quite as much last year but he needs to improve his contact rate further and learn to be just a little patient at times. He swung at the first pitch 41.3% of the time and had a 16.7% swinging-strike rate. Improvement is certainly possible but it may be time to lower expectations.

Ha-Seong Kim was a trendy sleeper in 2021 that didn't pan out. He failed to crack the everyday lineup and was very underwhelming when he did play with an expected slash line of .209/.265/.309. There's still promise here due to his speed, hit tool (it's there somewhere), a strong glove, and versatility. If Jurickson Profar struggles or Tatis hits the IL, Kim will have a shot to contribute so it's too soon to count him out.

Brayan Rocchio has a chance to get the call during the 2022 season and brings a solid hit tool along with decent speed. The ceiling is somewhat limited, however, and he may not be the long-term replacement for Francisco Lindor that the Guardians need. The same goes for Tyler Freeman, who will have limited usefulness in fantasy because of a low power ceiling. The long play in this infield is 20-year-old Carson Tucker, who was a first-round pick in 2020. Tucker has 55-grade raw power that he can grow into as he fills out his frame. It might take a couple of years but it's never a bad idea to look ahead in deeper leagues.