Fantasy Baseball 2025: Shortstop Rankings

With how poorly offensive numbers proved to be this past season, almost every position is hurting in terms of depth. My prediction? This will all correct itself next season; I believe the bats will boom sooner rather than later. 

If there was one spot that overachieved in 2024, it was shortstop. There are many quality options who didn’t make it into my rankings, which is a shame, but it also tells us a message: Have some patience when drafting because the gold could fall late. 

1. Bobby Witt Jr.

The ultra-talented Royals star lands as the primary choice here. Not only is he #1 on this list, but some analysts see him as the #1 overall selection in many drafts.

I’d definitely take Witt over Aaron Judge, but the argument for denying Shohei Ohtani gets harder. In dynasty leagues for sure, the age and talent are too enticing. Witt has all the tools imaginable. My wish for him is that the Royals improve their lackluster offense in order to protect him.

2. Elly De La Cruz

I don’t care how risky his profile remains. If you want to lock down steals for most of your matchups, Elly is the guy. I regret being one of the guys who bought too much into Elly’s strikeout rate because he answered that criticism by getting on base enough times to swipe 67 bags in 2024.

However, there is something to be said about the ADP. The result of his absurd stolen base total is his being taken in the first round of drafts. Is he worth it? If it’s in the first round, I don’t think so, but anything past that and I’ll be pulling the trigger. 

3. Mookie Betts

Betts & Co. will be back next year to defend their title, no reason to believe anything different. He is sandwiched between Ohtani and Freddie Freeman, arguably the best spot to hit in baseball.

So, for a guy who once put up a single-season 10.7 bWAR, all roads lead to success and safety if you are selecting Betts. He will gain second base eligibility back next year as he’s expected to predominantly play at the keystone in 2025. And with outfield also in play, his versatility is hard to say no to.

The power might’ve taken a bit of a step back this season, and it’s worth keeping an eye on. Overall, however, Betts is still performing like a key piece of the puzzle for fantasy managers. 

4. Gunnar Henderson

There’s really only one word to use for the Baltimore Orioles offense this season: yuck. Outside of Henderson and Anthony Santander, absolutely nobody carried their own weight.

The good news is that the O’s star for years to come is solidified and someone they can build around. Henderson slowed down in the second half but still showed signs of greatness. A 9.1 bWAR was the result after he smacked 37 round-trippers with an .893 OPS in addition to playing excellent defense.

Henderson also ran more than in 2023 and has sneaky speed and instincts which I believe could translate into a floor of 25 bags per year. 

5. Willy Adames

Think I bought into his career year? The three-run home runs surely won’t continue, considering it seemed as if Adames was hitting such jacks every day. But the underlying data point to him keeping up the power, with a high barrel rate and bat speed in addition to strong xSLG percentiles.

Adames’s most underrated characteristic comes in the form of a selective eye, taking 71 walks in 2023 and 74 walks this past season. Right in the middle of his prime, I think he can repeatably be a 30/20 threat. He is the shortstop I’m targeting most considering his ADP is still disrespectfully cheap. 

6. Francisco Lindor

You probably think it’s nuts to rank Adames ahead of Lindor after the latter’s MVP-caliber season. Maybe, maybe not.

I’d invite you all to look back at Lindor’s past seasons. Not particularly superstar-level, are they? Lindor’s 2024 was awesome right in the midst of the OMG Mets movement. The Mets’ run was magical, but don’t be surprised if this team underachieves next season in sort of a hangover fashion. I could see the same trend happening with Lindor. 

That said, one thing I admire about him is his availability every single day. That quality in a player isn’t appreciated enough.

7. Trea Turner

Just like Betts, Turner is sandwiched between premier hitters. With Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper on either side of you, it’s hard to mess up.

However, the decline in steals was hard for fantasy managers who were counting on such production from Turner, who was so solid in this department for many years. And only 21 homers Failing to reach 20/20 in 121 games will not cut it as part of a group with eyes set on bringing home the hardware.

It was a disappointing end to the year for Philadelphia, which Turner had much to do with. Still, I expect a bounce back from him and for manager Rob Thomson to set him loose on the base paths. 

8. Corey Seager

Unfortunately, we have to label Seager as injury-prone at this point. Especially being on the wrong side of 30, the mission is simple for him: Stay healthy and the numbers will be in good shape.

Coming off a 2023 season in which he hit for a 1.013 OPS, I think it’s fair to say we all expected a bit of regression. The thing is, he still performed at a very high level and reached the 30 home run mark. If he stays on the field, Seager will finish much higher than many who are ranked ahead of him.

9. Oneil Cruz

There isn’t any other person on this list who comes close to the exit velocities Cruz is producing. The only other person in the game who can match his impact on the ball is Giancarlo Stanton.

I think it’s safe to say Cruz will most likely have trouble with striking out a good amount throughout his career. I’m fine with that as long as he can change the ground balls into fly balls, thus giving him more home runs. He reached 20/20 this season and can build on top of that in a big way if his ground ball rate decreases. 

10. Zach Neto

Neto is a bit of a wild card, I’ll be the first to admit. But there’s something to be said about his 23/30 season. First off, it was way under the radar. I missed picking him up in many leagues purely because of how quietly he was achieving these feats.

Statcast doesn’t appear to like him much, but they don’t like CJ Abrams, either. I believe both of them can put up usable totals next season even if their counting stats aren’t fantastic.

I’d pick both of those shortstops over Bo Bichette – especially if Bichette remains in Toronto. See what I mean by this position being deep? 

Editor’s Note: Neto could miss the beginning of the 2025 season after undergoing shoulder surgery.