Remember the days when most of the league’s shortstops were .240 hitters with no power that were only in the Majors because of their defense? Not anymore, folks! Shortstop is a very strong position once again in 2020 with four guys being first-round level talents and ten shortstops finding their way into the top 50 in our current ADP rankings. Let’s review the tiers!
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Tier One – Roto Heroes
All four of these guys are threats to be the number one-hitter in fantasy this year. They are strong contributors in any category you want to throw out there (minus maybe Bregman in steals, however, he did swipe 17 bags just two seasons ago).
Your choice here does depend a bit on your strategy and league settings, as Bregman gets a boost in OBP and points leagues with the ridiculous amount of walks he takes, and Trea Turner does project to steal significantly more bases than the rest of the group, but you really cannot go wrong with any four of these gems on draft day.
Tier Two – Four Tool Players
Four more stud hitters, however, they all have at least one deficiency. Tatis, Torres, and Baez are probably not going to flirt with a .290 batting average this year and are real candidates to hit .250 if he experiences bad luck.
Bogaerts is unlikely to steal you even ten bases this year, and his 2019 season was enough in the out-of-nowhere category to give you some pause when he costs a top-five round draft pick. The bad news aside, these are fine consolation prizes and they all offer big-time upside in a number of categories.
Tier Three – I’m Gonna Need To See Some ID
Who exactly are these guys? We have two guys in Machado and Villar who have performed like top 20 hitters multiple times in the past, but who are now far removed from their perceived optimal environments. With Mondesi, we have possibly the highest variance hitter in the entire game. This guy could be a league winner, but he could also be a guy you’re dropping in May.
Even with all of that uncertainty, the paths to drafting these guys are still pretty clear. Need a solid power bat that you can feel really good about not killing you anywhere? Machado. Need a ton of steals with an outside chance at 25 bombs? Villar. Playing in a 200 team rotisserie league, winner-take-all? Mondesi.
These three guys are all so unique that you really need to tailor your choice to how your team is currently assembled when you’re on the clock, but they all do come with big-time upside.
Tier Four – Something To Prove
This foursome could not be much more different. Correa is the only truly proven, consistent hitter of the bunch, but he quite possibly the most injury-prone player in the league. Semien and Anderson were waiver wire fodder for years before having monstrous 2019 seasons. Do you buy into the most recent season or trust in the more voluminous data from the past?
Bichette brings upside to the table with his top prospect appeal and strong rookie season, but he also had a 24% strikeout rate to go with a .368 BABIP which throws a wrench into the works. All of these guys offer significant fantasy upside, but it’s hard to feel really great clicking that button.
Tier Five – A Bird In The Hand
For the most part, you know what you have here. You have a big upside injury risk in Seager, and then four guys that you should feel pretty confident about.
If you need some late steals with strong batting average upside, you’ve got Andrus and Rosario right there for you. If you want a handful fewer steals with the same batting average upside, I present you, Jean Segura. If you want to roll the dice a bit, Seager and Polanco far outpace this tier in upside.
Seager is the bell of the ball here if everybody plays a full season, but he is naturally the least likely to actually play a full season of the group and he is not going to steal many bases. Polanco will be hard-pressed to repeat his 2019 breakout and may find himself towards the bottom of that ridiculous batting order, but finding a guy with a pulse and a bat in a Twins uniform seems like a winning strategy these days, so it’ll be hard to lose on that bet.
Tier Six – I Need To See A Specialist
We are in the final rounds of most drafts now, but there is still something to be said for these names. Berti is one of the highest upside base stealers in the league, and Simmons and Fletcher are awesome batting average boosts in deep leagues. Swanson comes with a yawn, but relative safety and a bunch of stud hitters around him, and we have not been through the required time period needed to forget about Adames’ top prospect pedigree yet.
These should be bench or utility hitters, but there is certainly something to be said for drafting each of them.
Key Takeaways
This is a position that offers a ton of guys you want to draft so early that position does not even matter. Some of the league’s best hitters were mentioned here, with tons of steals and homers projected in the top couple tiers. It also gives you a wide variety of category specialists late in the ranks. If you play in a league where you start a middle infielder, it seems like a pretty good strategy to fill that spot with one of the guys from tier five or six that best fits your team’s needs.
Practice makes perfect, so why not head on over to our mock draft simulator and see how these shortstop tiers go in a real (fake) draft?
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Jon Anderson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Jon, check out his archive and follow him @JonPgh.
