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Once upon a time, shortstop was one of the toughest positions to fill in fantasy baseball, just a small notch above catcher. 10 years ago, we were prioritizing Troy Tulowitzki and Hanley Ramirez near the top of drafts just because they filled that elusive shortstop spot. Sure, they were fantastic hitters – when healthy – but without that shortstop eligibility, they would have been dropping to the second or third round some years, if not lower.
Today, the situation is completely different. Shortstop is one of the deepest positions in fantasy. You’ll find studs at the top of drafts and after that, you’ll find several players who have a chance to deliver stud-like seasons, some of whom already have in previous years.
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2021 Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings
In case you missed it, our very own "Big Pick Nick" Mariano was named the #1 overall most accurate industry expert ranker for the 2018 season, and Ariel Cohen was the top ranker in 2019. In addition, ATC Projections by Ariel Cohen were the #1 most accurate projections system in 2019. Be sure to follow their updated rankings and projections all season long!
Tier 1
San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. is going to be the first shortstop off the board in all formats. In many drafts, he'll be the first overall player taken.
Tatis put together an absolutely monstrous month of August last year, in which he hit 11 home runs and had an OPS of 1.057. He cooled off after August and hit just .208 with four home runs in September, but his season-long numbers were still very strong as he hit .277 with 17 home runs, 45 RBI, 50 runs and 11 stolen bases over 59 games.
Tatis turned 22 in January and still clearly has the potential for growth as a major league hitter. He might have some cold patches in 2021 like he did in September last year, but his season-long numbers are most likely going to be elite. He'll be hitting near the top of one of the league's top lineups and if the Padres meet their lofty expectations this year, Tatis figures to be a prominent National League MVP candidate.
Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner should be the next shortstop off the board in all formats. He is especially valuable in rotisserie and head-to-head categories leagues due to his stolen base expertise. In points leagues, the gap between him and the next two shortstops is smaller. Turner hit .335 in 2020 and had 12 home runs and 12 stolen bases. He averaged 0.20 stolen bases per game in 2020, which was slightly lower than his 2019 average (0.29 per game). However, his home runs per game last year (0.20) were up from 0.16 in 2019. His .982 OPS in 2020 was a career-best mark.
Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story has now had three straight elite fantasy seasons. He’s hit at least .289 in each of the past three years. He stole a total of 50 bases in 2018 and 2019 and last year, he had a career-best stolen base rate, averaging 0.25 stolen bases per game. His 15 stolen bases on the year led the National League. Yet it’s his power that remains his most alluring attribute. He hit 37 home runs in 2018 and followed it up with 35 home runs in 2019. Last year, he hit 11 home runs over 59 games, which was good for a 162-game pace of about 30 home runs.
Francisco Lindor had a significantly disappointing season in 2020. He posted career-worsts in batting average (.258) and slugging percentage (.415) and hit just eight home runs over 60 games after topping 30 home runs in each of his three previous seasons.
Lindor was traded to the New York Mets this offseason after spending the first six years of his MLB career with the Cleveland Indians. A change of scenery should certainly be a good thing for him. Lindor had a strong track record of elite fantasy production before last year and he should be expected to return to that elite form in 2021. The drop-off last year shouldn’t scare fantasy managers too much as he likely would have come around to his normal production had the season been a normal length. He's a great target in the early second round of drafts.
Tier 2
Bo Bichette has only played in 75 major league games since his call-up in late 2019. Over those 75 games, he’s slashed .307/.347/.549 with 16 home runs, 44 RBI, 50 runs and eight stolen bases. Extrapolate those numbers over a full 162-game season and you’re looking at about 30 home runs, 16 stolen bases and 200 combined runs and RBI to go along with a solid batting average. Bichette hit second in the Blue Jays order for most of the year in 2020, a great spot to be in what is quickly emerging as one of the league’s best lineups.
Bichette has a lot of upside and the fact that he’s shown the ability to contribute in many different ways – power, contact and stolen bases – gives him a certain amount of safety. At the very least, he should be able to give you a solid boost in a few key statistics. He's a great target in the middle of the second round in all formats.
Xander Bogaerts slashed .300/.364/.502 with 11 home runs, 36 runs and eight stolen bases over 56 games last year. The only significantly disappointing output from Bogaerts last year was his RBI total. He drove in 117 runs in 2019, but with the Red Sox declining offensively last year, heavily due to the departure of Mookie Betts, Bogaerts only managed 28 RBI. That could be a problem again this year as the Red Sox are in the midst of a rebuild and haven't padded their offense with much short-term support for Bogaerts this offseason. He has a solid floor as someone who will hit for a good average and likely compile around 25 home runs and 10-plus stolen bases.
Corey Seager is coming off a dream-like season, both from a fantasy and MLB perspective. He slashed .307/.358/.585 with 15 home runs and 41 RBI over 52 games last year. The reigning World Series MVP will have a prime spot in one of the league's top lineups again in 2021. He should be a steady producer throughout the year once again. He has a concerning injury history, which is one of the main reasons why Bogaerts gets a slight bump above him, but both players are worthy of consideration in the middle of the third round in all drafts.
Adalberto Mondesi had fantasy owners sweating things out big time over the opening weeks of the 2020 season. He began the year in the top-third of the Royals batting order, but his struggles led to him being demoted to the bottom-third. He hit just .179 in August and didn’t hit his first home run of the year until September 7, his 42nd game of the year. His season-long numbers don’t look bad, mostly because he closed the year so strong, slashing .356/.408/.667 with six home runs in September. His greatest asset is of course his stolen base prowess. He led the majors in stolen bases with 24 in 2020. In rotisserie and head-to-head categories leagues, he’s worth targeting at the top of the third round. He will carry you in steals in those formats while his other stats come and go throughout the year. In points leagues, he can be passed on until as late as the fifth round. He definitely has power potential, but his power has been extremely inconsistent over his big league career and it shouldn’t be heavily trusted.
Tim Anderson is quickly becoming the perennially-undervalued player at the shortstop position. There's an argument that he should be the top target in this tier, even ahead of Bichette. Anderson led the majors in batting average in 2019, hitting .335. Last year, he hit .322 and also had his best power season in the majors so far. He had a .529 slugging percentage and hit 10 home runs over 49 games, good for an average of 0.20 home runs per game, up from 0.15 in 2019. He’s also a safe bet for double-digit stolen bases. He swiped five bags in 2020, but hadn’t failed to reach 10 stolen bases in any full-length MLB season prior to last year.
Anderson is an absolute steal in the fourth round. If shortstops are going off the board quickly in your draft, don't be afraid to take him in the third.
Javier Baez and Gleyber Torres both had disastrous seasons in 2020. They were two of the biggest busts at the position last year.
Baez had a slash line of just .203/.238/.360 in 2020 with eight home runs, 24 RBI, 27 runs and three stolen bases in 59 games. His .252 wOBA ranked amongst the bottom 3% of the league. His strikeout rate, which has always been a concern, hit an all-time high at 31.9%. His barrel-rate, which had been above 12% for two straight years, dropped to 8.1% in 2020. Baez is a streaky hitter and the shortened season really took a toll on him for that. He hit a combined 78 home runs in 2018 and 2019 while batting over .280 both years. If he returns to that production, he’s a steal in the fifth round, but last year was a sample showing of what his floor looks like when he’s cold. Take him in the fifth if you want a swing-for-the-fences pick, but if one of your prior draft picks is a risky player, Baez would be best to avoid.
The same thing goes for Torres. He could be a fifth or sixth-round steal or, if he performs like last year, he could be a season-long headache. Last year, Torres hit only three home runs in 42 games, a shocking development from someone who appeared to be emerging as one of the league’s top power hitters following a 38 home run season in 2019. Torres clearly made an effort to be a more disciplined hitter in 2020. He increased his walk rate from 7.9% in 2019 to 13.8% last year and his strikeout rate dropped from 21.4% in 2019 to 17.5% last year. But he saw his batting average drop to .243 in 2020 after he hit over .270 in each of his first two major league seasons. If Torres could combine his power from 2019 with his plate discipline from 2020, we’d be looking at an absolute fantasy stud. But that’s extremely risky to bank on.
Dansby Swanson is a solid, reliable veteran who is a key cog in one of the league's best lineups. He doesn't have immense upside, but he should contribute in several stats without hurting you anywhere. Expect for him to reach double-digits in stolen bases while scoring a lot of runs in 2021. If you haven't taken a shortstop yet by the sixth or seventh-round, Swanson's a great target.
Tier 3
Carlos Correa had a slash line of .264/.326/.383 with five home runs and 25 RBI over 58 games in 2020. But in 2019, Correa was an absolute stud. He only played in 75 games as a rib fracture shortened his season, but over those 75 games, he slashed .279/.358/.926 with 21 home runs, 59 RBI and 42 runs. That’s a 162-game pace of about 45 home runs, 127 RBI and 90 runs.
Correa is a great target to have in mind if you want to wait at the position. He is also a great option to pair with a riskier shortstop like Baez or Torres. He is a strong eighth or ninth-round pick.
Marcus Semien, who signed with the Toronto Blue Jays this offseason, is just one year removed from a monstrous 2019 campaign that saw him finish third in American League MVP voting after slashing .285/.369/.522 with 33 home runs, 92 RBI, 123 runs and 10 stolen bases. Unfortunately, he crashed down to earth in 2020 and went on to slash .223/.305/.374 with seven home runs, 23 RBI, 28 runs and four stolen bases over 53 games.
Semien had some pretty alarming underlying stats last year. His hard-hit rate dropped from 38.1% in 2019 to 28.6% in 2020, the latter clip ranking amongst the bottom 10% of the league, which is pretty astounding for a power hitter. He also ranked in the bottom 10% of the league in xBA (.204) and xwOBA (.274).
Despite all that, Semien is still a fine target as a low-end starting shortstop option. Just make sure to prioritize a safety plan at the position from one of the next tiers.
Didi Gregorius is the lower-end version of Dansby Swanson. He doesn't have high upside, but he's a solid, reliable veteran who makes for a great option to start at a middle infield position or utility position. Last year, he slashed .284/.339/.488 with 10 home runs, 40 RBI and 34 runs over 60 games.
Tier 4
Jake Cronenworth was a revelation last year for the Padres. He slashed .285/.354/.477 with four home runs, 20 RBI and 26 runs over 54 games. His .324 xBA and .383 xwOBA both ranked amongst the top 5% of the league. He also showed tremendous plate discipline, striking out just 15.6% of the time while walking 9.4% of the time. The elite Padres offense could be both a blessing and curse for Cronenworth from a fantasy perspective this year. While the team should certainly score a lot of runs, Cronenworth is likely slated to hit somewhere in the lower-third of the order, limiting his plate appearances.
He could also face some significant competition from another member of this group, Ha-Seong Kim.
Kim is the biggest enigma of this tier. His upside is through the roof, but there's a solid chance he won't see enough playing time to justify a roster spot in any shallow leagues or weekly-lock leagues due to his playing time uncertainty. Kim, who signed a four-year deal with the Padres this offseason, could platoon with Cronenworth at second base or just be some sort of super-utility player with the team. The 25-year-old Kim was an absolute machine over the past six years in the KBO League. Last year, he slashed .306/.397/.523 with 30 home runs, 109 RBI, 111 runs and 23 stolen bases over 138 games. He walked 75 times while striking out just 68 times. He's a great, fun lottery ticket to invest in, but make sure you aren't drafting him to be a starter for you out of the gate.
Tommy Edman projects to hit leadoff or second in what should be a strong lineup for the St. Louis Cardinals. Edman has legitimate 20/20 potential. In his first MLB season in 2019, he hit 11 home runs and stole 15 bases in just 92 games while batting .304. Last year, he dropped off a good amount, slashing .250/.317/.368 with five home runs and 29 runs over 55 games. He stole two bases, but he was caught stealing four times. If he can return to his 2019 form, both at the plate and on the base paths, he could be a big-time run-scorer at the top of the Cardinals lineup.
Jonathan Villar signed with the New York Mets this offseason after splitting last year with the Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays. He won't have an everyday role with the Mets, but should be a strong stolen base contributor when on the field. In 2020, Villar managed to swipe 16 bases over 52 games. He struggled just about everywhere else on the stat sheet, hitting just .232 with only two home runs. However, he does have solid power upside. He hit 24 home runs with Baltimore in 2019.
Jorge Polanco is on a path very similar to the afore-mentioned Marcus Semien. He excelled in 2019, only to crash down to earth last year. Polanco slashed .295/.356/.485 with 22 home runs, 29 RBI and 107 runs over 153 games in 2019. The breakout was relatively unexpected as Polanco had failed to show sustained, solid production over the three prior seasons despite substantial playing time. Last year, Polanco slashed .258/.304/.354 with four home runs, 19 RBI and 22 runs over 55 games. He’s got a great lineup around him and because of that, he should produce solid runs and RBI, but don’t chase those 2019 numbers.
Paul DeJong is a bit of a safety net option amongst this group. DeJong is streaky, but he has a sure thing, everyday role and his season-long numbers typically end up solid. He’s a good source of power. You should be able to count on him for between 20 and 25 home runs at least this year.
David Fletcher projects to be the everyday second baseman for the Los Angeles Angels in 2021. He is a great option for batting average help and he should score a lot of runs in 2021 as well. He's going into his fourth season and he's a career .292 hitter with just 10 home runs over 283 career games.
Tier 5
26-year-old Garrett Hampson has yet to find consistency at the plate in the majors. Over 182 MLB games the past three years, he's slashing .245/.305/.385. He's got immense stolen base upside. He's snagged 21 bases over 158 games the past two years. In the minors, he was a stolen base machine with 51 stolen bases in 2017 and 36 in 2018. Target him late in drafts if you need a bump in steals.
Willy Adames has made some promising power strides over the past two years, but still has a very serious strikeout problem. He whiffed 36.1% of the time last year, which ranked amongst the bottom 2% of the league. He could also see himself without an everyday job at some point this year if the team calls up the last member of this group, the top prospect in the majors, Wander Franco.
Franco is worth a flyer in all leagues. Over 114 games in Single-A in 2019, Franco slashed .327/.398/.487 with nine home runs, 53 RBI, 82 runs and 18 stolen bases. There's a solid chance he makes his big league debut sometime in 2021. It's hard to know when it will be, but you'll want him on your roster if and/or when it happens.
Tier 6
Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario joined the Indians in the trade that sent Francisco Lindor in the opposite direction.
Gimenez made his MLB debut last year and slashed .263/.333/.398 with three home runs, 22 runs and eight stolen bases over 49 games. He showed solid plate discipline, striking out just 28 times, but it's hard to find a lot of upside in his game apart from maybe stolen bases.
Rosario has been a perennial sleeper candidate in fantasy since we first started speculating on him being called up back in 2017. He’s struggled to find consistency in the majors and fantasy managers are still trying to figure out exactly what kind of player he is. He stole 43 bases from 2018 to 2019, but was also caught stealing 21 times over that stretch. He has some power. He hit 15 home runs in 2019, but he only managed four home runs over 46 games last year. Rosario is still relatively young. He turned 25 in November. But the window for his breakout closes more and more each year. He’s a sleeper candidate in 2021, but not the most enticing one.
Willi Castro was the Detroit Tigers' top hitter last year by just about every measure. He led the team in batting average (.349) and slugging percentage (.550) as he recorded six home runs, 24 RBI and 21 runs over 36 games. He should play a big role on a lackluster offense once again in 2021.
Chris Taylor had one of the best statistical seasons of his career last year. He slashed .270/.366/.476 with eight home runs, 32 RBI and 30 runs over 56 games. He has fantastic support in the elite Dodgers offense and he should have outfield eligibility in just about all fantasy leagues as well, which makes him even more enticing.
Miguel Rojas was one of the leaders of the surprisingly successful 2020 Miami Marlins. Rojas hit .304 with four home runs, 20 RBI and 20 runs over 40 games last year. He struck out just 18 times while walking 16 times. The success came seemingly out of nowhere. It was Rojas's seventh season and he's a career .266 hitter. He's a fine target in deep, daily-lock leagues, but has little upside and a pretty uninspiring floor.
Mauricio Dubon showed some significant stolen base potential in the minors. However, over 84 major league games, he's snagged just five bases while being caught stealing four times. He's slashed .274/.325/.407 with eight home runs and 33 runs over his brief career. He may need to hit at the top of the Giants lineup in order to have fantasy relevance this year.
The main attraction of Nick Ahmed is his reliable playing time. He's been a mainstay at shortstop for the Arizona Diamondbacks over the past three years, logging over 150 games in both 2018 and 2019 and playing in 57 of 60 games last year. He's a strong fielder, but he's a career .239 hitter who is unlikely to hit much more than about 15 home runs.
Tier 7
Jose Iglesias was traded to the Los Angeles Angels this offseason. Last year, he had one of the best offensive seasons of his career, slashing .373/.400/.556 with the Baltimore Orioles. Don't chase those numbers. He should hit around .280 this year and produce some runs, but he's only reached double-digits in home runs once over a season in his career and hasn't been a consistent base-stealing threat.
Joey Wendle has a similar profile to Iglesias. He's a career .277 hitter with little power upside. He has a bit more of a stolen base track record than Iglesias, but he's going to be a utility player for the loaded Tampa Bay Rays and his playing time could fall drastically if Franco gets the call.
Niko Goodrum is the most intriguing member of this trio. He has legitimate 20/20 potential. He's played 165 total games over the past two years and over that stretch, he's hit 17 home runs and stolen 19 bases.
Tier 8
The best high-upside lottery tickets from this group are Jazz Chisholm and Luis Garcia.
Chisholm has some significant power upside. He hit 21 home runs over 112 games at Double-A in 2019 when he was just 21 years old. He turned 23 years old in February and should make his MLB debut with the Marlins this year.
Garcia exceeded expectations as a 20-year-old last year. His numbers in the big leagues weren't eye-popping, but the fact that he held his own was a strong indication that a promising future lies ahead. Garcia batted .276 with two home runs, six doubles, 16 RBI and 18 runs over 40 games last year. He's a strong contact hitter and he should develop some power at some point in the next year or two.
For deep-league owners just looking for someone to fill out their lineup every day, J.P. Crawford, Elvis Andrus, Andrelton Simmons, Anderson Tejeda, and Kevin Newman are the top options. Each should have an everyday role.
Andrus is a stolen base asset, but he's coming off a dreadful year where he hit just .194. He was traded to the Oakland Athletics this offseason, so a change of scenery could help get him back on track.
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