Fantasy Baseball Shortstops: Who to Start and Who to Stream

A look through the rankings of the shortstop position and which players are valued as every day starters versus those who should be played only in the right matchups.

Spring has a different feeling depending on where in the country you reside. I grew up in Alaska, where actual “spring” is still winter. There’s plenty of snow on the ground when baseball begins in Arizona and Florida.

Now residing in Arizona, spring also doesn’t have much of a feel to it, as it’s warm throughout most of the winter anyway, so there’s nothing to really “spring” out of. The calendar has always told me when the seasons technically come and go, and no event really gets me out of winter mode like Spring Training.

I am going through each baseball position to see who is perceived as must-start or stream-worthy heading into the season. This won’t be my own analysis of the players as much as analyzing their value in terms of average draft position.

To determine that status, I used FantasySP’s Average Draft Position tool. That’s important: Other sites will have different rankings and values, and this is exclusively based on FantasySP’s calculations.

I am thinking in terms of a 10-team league with Roto scoring and standard lineup structure, with a player at each infield position, three outfielders and a DH/utility among position players.

Let’s look at shortstop, where there is a ton of talent and multiple paths toward high-level fantasy production.

 

Daily Starters

• Bobby Witt Jr. KC 1st Round
• Trea Turner, WAS 2nd Round
• Corey Seager, TEX 3rd Round
• Francisco Lindor, NYM 4th Round
• Bo Bichette, TOR 5th Round
• Elly De La Cruz, CIN 5th Round
• Matt McLain, CIN 7th Round
• CJ Abrams, WAS 8th Round
• Oneil Cruz, PIT 9th Round

Shortstop is DEEP. It’s hard to know where to draw the line, and it feels wrong to put Xander Bogaerts with the streamers.

Witt signed a huge extension to be the face of the Royals, showing enough after two major league seasons to convince KC’s brass that he is the future. He has been good, but I don’t love his value in the first or beginning of the second round. Witt will surely put up numbers, but he’s not a step above the next group, and I’d rather grab Seager or Lindor later.

Turner had a slow start to 2023 but still finished with comparable counting stats to the previous few seasons, just with a much lower batting average. He righted the ship as the season went along and should finish among the top shortstops.

Injuries are the only issue for Seager: He has played 145 games just three times in seven full seasons and played just 119 games last year. He’s already dealing with an injury but hopes to be ready by Opening Day, but Seager brings an injury history.

Lindor was a little worse by batting average last season but had his best power numbers since before the COVID season. The trade-off created about the same amount of fantasy value, and the power will play better than speed as he ages. Speaking of speed, Lindor stole a career high 31 bases last year, taking advantage of the rule changes.

Bichette looks good for about 180 hits, 35 doubles and 25 home runs per season. He missed about 30 games last season after playing 159 each of the two previous years but was up to his standard while on the field. In the middle of a good lineup, Bichette will have plenty of opportunities to score and drive in runs.

De La Cruz and McLain are part of a young, exciting infield in Cincinnati, and both bring high ceilings. McLain has a higher floor, but De La Cruz has the higher ceiling; I prefer McLain, but it’s really close.

Abrams and Cruz are on the line, but they are both young players with tons of upside, so they make the daily starter cut for now. That could change if the season starts and either struggle early.

 

Stream-Worthy

• Xander Bogaerts, SD 11th Round
• Ha-Seong Kim, SD 11th Round
• Dansby Swanson, CHC 15th Round
• Anthony Volpe, NYY 15th Round
• Willy Adames, MIL 16th Round

J.P. Crawford, Carlos Correa, Trevor Story and Gavin Lux are a few of the names not listed. Baltimore’s Jackson Holliday, the top overall pick in 2022, will likely get an early call up to the big leagues, according to some around the league. I wasn’t kidding when I said this position is deep.

Bogaerts and Kim are close to the next level, but they are better at streamers given the depth. Kim is eligible to play shortstop, second and third base in most leagues, a huge boost to his value. He is a much better hitter against left-handers and can be used strategically while filling holes when needed from day to day.

Swanson has played all but 17 games over the last three seasons and racked up stats at a less-than-elite level. He averaged 154 hits, 30 doubles and 25 homers over that time, fine output, but struck out close to 170 times per year and didn’t add much for stolen bases (36 total). He’s a fine fantasy player who is best used as a streamer.

Volpe showed some of his promise, finishing his rookie season with 23 doubles, 21 home runs and 24 stolen bases. He also struck out 167 times and finished with a .209 batting average. He will turn 23 early in the season, so there’s a lot of growth to be done, but Volpe isn’t up to the standard of a consistent player yet.

Adames had close production over the last two seasons to what Volpe did last year, just with a little more power and no stolen bases. Volpe has more upside, ranking him higher, but they can each be expected to have similar stats this season.

 

Streaming Advice

There is a lot at the top of this position, and the trickle-down effects are felt in the middle class. Solid contributors like Bogaerts and Swanson are fungible, meaning you can find value throughout your draft.

The first five at the position are proven stars and worth their status. It starts to fall slightly from there, with more upside and less proven production.

Grabbing a guy among the “Daily Starters” is a fairly easy task with so many useful players. If you truly do get shut out of that top group with your league over-drafting, just take advantage of the extra value elsewhere knowing you can find a good shortstop option later.

Gunnar Henderson isn’t listed here, but he is available at both third base and shortstop in many leagues, making him extra valuable. He is one of my favorite fantasy picks because of his high level of production (valued near the fourth-fifth round) and positional versatility.

The top shortstops are worth investing in at the top of your fantasy draft. Witt, Turner and Seager could all end up as the best player on your fantasy team.

There is logic to the strategy of streaming shortstop all year because of the depth of talent. It’s not my preferred method this season, but it’s also something I can see working with so many good players. I’m high on Henderson then a later talent, like Bogaerts, to create consistency and flexibility.

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