Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Check-In: Standouts and Disappointments

It's time to dive back into our fantasy baseball position breakdown series. We'll look at shortstops in this article.

We have looked at second basemen, third basemen, first basemen and catchers so far. Check back for more position breakdowns in the days/weeks/months to come. 

Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including waiver pickups, projections, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant.

Top Shortstops

Washington's CJ Abrams is the top-scoring fantasy shortstop right now, but he's barely ahead of the guy in second. Abrams is enjoying a breakout season in his age-25 season, which makes sense. For that reason, I'd be more inclined to hold Abrams and hope he keeps producing instead of trying to sell him high.

Miami's Xavier Edwards is only two fantasy points behind Abrams right now. He's flashed more power this season, and continues to have a high average and on-base percentage. He might not be a huge name either, but Edwards is a safe fantasy asset worth holding or acquiring.

Kansas City's Bobby Witt Jr. is the No. 3 fantasy shortstop right now. He was drafted as the top SS, so to see him near the top is a good thing. Even better days could be ahead for Witt, so expect big things all season from him.

Cincinnati's Elly De La Cruz is another high-end fantasy shortstop, both right now and before the season. He sits fourth right now, and if he stays healthy, he should stick in the top five. De La Cruz is another one to keep rostering, although some high-strikeout marks would keep him from being untouchable in my book.

Miami's Otto Lopez is the No. 5 fantasy shortstop - he's also eligible at second base, like Edwards, so the two Miami infielders are high-value fantasy assets. Lopez is going to regress from his early-season numbers over the course of a full season, so he is a sell-high option, but I still like holding him and anticipating a top-10 finish among middle infielders.

Struggling Shortstops

Baltimore's Gunnar Henderson was the No. 2 fantasy shortstop taken in drafts on average this year. He's barely inside the top 20 at the position, so he's underwhelmed and disappointed so far. It's a time to buy low on Henderson if you believe in him in the long run.

New York Mets' Francisco Lindor was the fourth fantasy SS taken, and just a couple spots after De La Cruz and Henderson. Lindor has dealt with injuries, but has underwhelmed when healthy and sits near the No. 40 SS spot. We'll see if he can get healthy and make up for lost time at some point, otherwise he's going to be a big-time draft bust.

Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts was the next fantasy shortstop taken after Lindor. Betts has dealt with injuries as well, and currently has scored less fantasy points than Lindor. Betts is healthy and producing more, but he has to really turn it up if he doesn't want to go down as a big draft bust in 2026.

Philadelphia's Trea Turner was the next shortstop taken after Betts, going around pick 51 on average. He's only a couple slots outside the top 10 right now, but he's still underwhelmed to this point. Turner could work his way inside the top 10, or even top five, by the time the regular season wraps up.

Position Fantasy Outlook

Shortstop is a loaded fantasy spot, and it muddies the waters on how to approach some fantasy players.

Guys who have struggled so far, like Henderson, Lindor, Betts and Turner are not guys you'd ever drop. Their trade values are a bit down from the start of the year, so trading them away doesn't make much sense either.

I think buying low on those players is the best way to approach the shortstops off to slow starts. Sure, there's plenty of other options to choose from, but those guys are top-end assets for a reason, and when healthy, typically deliver as such.

As for the guys out to strong starts, like Abrams, Edwards and Lopez, some would argue to sell high on them, while others will ride the wave and hope they deliver all year. Dive into stats on each player and determine which guy's hot start is somewhat sustainable, which could determine if you should sell high or just hold them.

There's a bunch of fantasy shortstops out there though. Eight have scored 125 fantasy points already, and another four are over 100 points. Eight more are between 90-100 points.

What I'm getting at is that there's fantasy options all over the place, some of whom are available in your leagues. You could mix and match with shortstops all season and come out with a pretty good fantasy season, and that's probably the best way to approach the spot.

There will be lots of movement at the position over time, so be watching things consistently to determine the best options, guys who are struggling and who to roster/go after for the long run.