Hello, everyone. Welcome back to my weekly dynasty positional rankings. This week the rankings for the Top 50 Dynasty Shortstops for 2026 is on tap.
Overall, if you need to boost your average or your on-base percentage, this is a group to hoard. Collectively, shortstops slashed .254/.317/.394, ranking first, second and fourth among all positions in those categories. The top end players will help you across the board. As you get beyond those players, you will still find shortstops who will help in at least one category, such has homers or steals or whatever you are looking for.
I love this position. It is full of young players with great upside as well as young players who have already reached a high level of play. But it also features older players who are still great players to have on your team.
Here is the age breakdown of this position:
- 35+: 1
- 30-34: 15
- 25-29: 24
- 20-24: 10
As you can see, of the 50 players I ranked, only one of those is in the 35+ age group. Shortstop is not a position for the aging player as more often than not, old shortstops become old third basemen (looking at you Carlos Correa). The majority of the players are in the age 25-29 group, but a healthy amount of the ranked players are in the 20-24 age group. There are a lot of very good young shortstops in this game, giving this group a lot of depth.
Just Missing The Cut
- Orlando Arcia: If you are looking for possible lightning in a bottle, I guess you can go after Arcia. He is the same player who combined to hit 34 homers and drive in 111 runs in 296 games from 2023-24. But do I think Arcia is even that player? No. Shipped to Colorado by the Braves, Arcia slashed .203/.242/.302 in a Rockies uniform with three homers and 12 RBI in 62 games.
TIER 5
*Age as of April 1, 2025
| RANK | PLAYER | 2025 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | Vidal Brujan | ATL | 28 |
| 49 | Ezequiel Duran | TEX | 26 |
| 48 | Nick Allen | ATL | 27 |
| 47 | Liover Peguero | PIT | 25 |
| 46 | Ryan Ritter | COL | 25 |
| 45 | Jose Iglesias | SD | 36 |
| 44 | Trey Sweeney | DET | 25 |
| 43 | Isiah Kiner-Falefa | TOR | 31 |
| 42 | Taylor Walls | TB | 29 |
| 41 | Ryan Fitzgerald | MIN | 31 |
Some Have Something To Offer
What I said above about “you will still find shortstops who will help in at least one category,” well, that even applies to this group. Ezequiel Duran (11), Isiah Kiner-Falefa (15) and Taylor Walls (14) all had double digit steals this past season.
I will admit that ranking Ryan Fitzgerald could be considered a stretch as he made his MLB debut this year at the age of 30 and he appeared in only 24 games, with nine of those coming at short (with five starts). But he has a chance to stick with the Twins next year and in his 46 at-bats, he hit four homers and slugged .457. If you are still looking for a possible shortstop for depth purposes at this level of player, Fitzgerald could be a solid buy low option.
TIER 4
| RANK | PLAYER | 2025 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Ha-Seong Kim | ATL | 30 |
| 39 | Mauricio Dubon | HOU | 31 |
| 38 | Thomas Saggese | STL | 23 |
| 37 | Andruw Monasterio | MIL | 28 |
| 36 | Nasim Nunez | WAS | 25 |
| 35 | Brayan Rocchio | CLE | 25 |
| 34 | Chase Meidroth | CHW | 24 |
| 33 | Jared Triolo | PIT | 28 |
| 32 | Joey Ortiz | MIL | 27 |
| 31 | Jose Caballero | NYY | 29 |
Just Here For Depth
Nearly every player in this is for depth purposes only. Mauricio Dubon has value because he can be slotted in left field, center field, second base, shortstop and third base. In any league, that is a valuable player. But he isn’t going to deliver a lot of power, RBIs, steals or a great slash line.
Ha-Seong Kim, Thomas Saggese, Andrew Monasterio, Nasim Nunez and Bryan Rocchio combined, COMBINED, for 20 homers, 110 RBI and 28 steals. That would be great if they were one player. Instead, they are five players. That is really all you need to know about them.
A Little Bit Of Value
Chase Meidroth, Jared Triolo, Joey Ortiz and Jose Caballero all offer some value, especially when it comes to steals. In his rookie season, Meidroth had 14 steals for the White Sox while Triolo added 13 with the Pirates and Ortiz had 14 with the Brewers. Meidroth can also slot in as a second baseman while Triolo can also play first base, second base and third base.
Jose Caballero combined to steal 49 bases with the Rays and Yankees this season and can slot in at second base, shortstop, third base and right field. Caballero did slug .456 with the Yankees, but his career SLG is .341 with a .316 OBP. So you can count on Caballero for steals, and a lot of them as he has topped 40 the past two seasons, but that is about it.
TIER 3
| RANK | PLAYER | 2025 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Javier Baez | DET | 33 |
| 29 | J.P. Crawford | SEA | 31 |
| 28 | Gabriel Arias | CLE | 26 |
| 27 | Josh Smith | TEX | 28 |
| 26 | Xavier Edwards | MIA | 26 |
| 25 | Ezequiel Tovar | COL | 24 |
| 24 | Masyn Winn | STL | 24 |
| 23 | Carson Williams | TB | 22 |
| 22 | Brooks Lee | MIN | 25 |
| 21 | Xander Bogaerts | SD | 33 |
Two Similar Players
Javier Baez and J.P. Crawford are pretty similar in what they will provide your team. You will get around 15 homers, 55 RBI and some steals and a slash line that is basically league average. They are also past 30 years of age. Both Baez and Crawford had nice bounce back seasons after horrid 2024 campaigns, but I don’t see them suddenly returning to their best seasons and are really solid depth options at this point of their careers.
Love Versatile Players
Josh Smith is like a host of players in these rankings in that he can play multiple positions. But he also delivers more than just positional versatility. He hit 10 homers and stole 12 bags this past season and had 13 homers and 11 steals in 2024. Whenever the Rangers have an injury to an infielder, Smith is there to step in and provide decent numbers. Over the last two seasons, Smith has averaged 147 games with a .254/.336/.380 slash line.
Tough Debut
Tampa Bay’s Carson Williams did not set the world on fire during his 32 game stint with the Rays. He posted a .172/.219/.354 slash line with five homers, 12 RBI and two steals. But his minor league history suggests this was just a young player being thrown into the deep end of the pool. At Class A ball in 2022 he hit 10 home runs, drove in 70 and stole 28 bases. His 2023 numbers at A+-AA-AAA were 23-81-20. In 2024 at Double-A he went 20-69-33 and this past season at Triple-A his numbers were 23-55-22.
He has never had a great batting average in the minors (career .247) but his career OBP and SLG are .345 and .471. Williams will hit for power and give you steals. If he increases his batting average over time, then that is a bonus.
TIER 2
| RANK | PLAYER | 2025 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Carlos Correa | HOU | 31 |
| 19 | Otto Lopez | MIA | 27 |
| 18 | Anthony Volpe | NYY | 24 |
| 17 | CJ Abrams | WAS | 25 |
| 16 | Dansby Swanson | CHC | 32 |
| 15 | Trevor Story | BOS | 33 |
| 14 | Corey Seager | TEX | 31 |
| 13 | Mookie Betts | LAD | 33 |
| 12 | Jacob Wilson | ATH | 24 |
| 11 | Colson Montgomery | CHW | 24 |
Trending Upward
I talked about Otto Lopez last week in the second base rankings. To quote me: “Some people look at Lopez and see the glass half empty as he is 27 and just now experiencing success on the baseball field. I look at Lopez and see the glass as being half full. He hit 15 homers and stole 15 bases while driving in 77 runs to pair with a .246/.305/.368 slash line. But his xBA was .279 and his xSLG was .447, according to Statcast. His home run rate increased from 1.4% to 2.5% this season while increasing his walk rate (5.8% to 7.4%) and lowering his strikeout rate (17.3% to 13.8%). Those numbers show Lopez is trending up.”
All Power, No Hit
In his first three seasons as a Yankee, Anthony Volpe has hit 21, 12 and 19 homers and stolen 24, 28 and 18 bases. Numbers like that should have him ranked higher than 18th. But Volpe is a hinderance to your team when it comes to batting average or OBP. His career AVG/OBP is .222/.283. His hit .212 this season with a career worst .272 OBP. Those are not the numbers of a top shortstop.
Will Volpe ever figure out how to increase the AVG and OBP? I think the answer to that is no unless he learns to become a little more selective at the plate. His career walk rate (7.3%) is below the MLB average of 8.4% while his career strikeout rate of 25.1% is way above the MLB average of 22.5%. He’s a solid player when it comes to power and speed, but that is all he really provides right now.
Waiting For A Breakout
Is CJ Abrams ever going to really break out, or is what we have seen the last three seasons who he is on the baseball field? Since his first full season with the Nationals in 2023, Abrams has averaged 19 homers, 63 RBI and 36 steals per season. Those steals are why I rank him so high because his slash line over this period is .249/.310/.426. His Statcast numbers aren’t great as his best percentage ranking is 57th in K%. I still think there is more power in Garcia’s game, but right now he is Volpe with more speed.
The Old Guard
Dansby Swanson, Trevor Story, Corey Seager and Mookie Betts are all very good shortstops, but they are all 31 years old or more and their numbers are not remaining where they once were. I would include Carlos Correa in his group, but he has moved to third base and I don’t think he will get enough time at shortstop next season to remain eligible to be a shortstop past 2026.
While the players I listed are aging, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ignore them if the top shortstops are gone. Swanson and Story both delivered seasons in which they topped 20 homers, 75 RBI and 20 steals while playing in 157 games or more. For Story, it was his best season since 2021 when he hit 24 homers, drove in 75 runs and stole 20 bases for the Rockies. But it is also the first season in which he has played in more than 94 games, and that came in 2022. The 157 games played tied a career high set in 2018. I’m not a firm believer that Story will be able to stay healthy for a full season again.
Seager is coming off a down year with the Rangers, hitting 21 home runs with 50 RBI with his second worst SLG since 2020. Over the last three years he has played in 119, 123 and 102 games. When he is one the field, he is still a productive hitter. But staying on the field has been a problem.
Betts is still a key player for the Dodgers, but his best days appear to be behind him. This is his slash line over the last three seasons:
- 2023: .307/.408/.579
- 2024: .289/.372/.491
- 2025: .258/.326/.406
There is some hope that Betts, who battled an illness that saw him lose 20 pounds in 2025, will rebound. He slashed .288/.358/.404 with three homers and 13 RBI in August and then .299/.343/.557 with six bombs and 23 RBI in September, looking more like the player he has been for much of his career. But at age 33, I wouldn’t count of Betts finding the Fountain of Youth. I think he will still be a very good shortstop, just not one of the Top 13 shortstops moving forward.
The Young Guns
Jacob Wilson and Colson Montgomery are two very different players. Wilson, who finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting behind teammate Nick Kurtz, is going to provide you a strong slash line (.311/.355/.444 this past season) while providing some power as he hit 13 homers and drove in 63 runs. His xBA ranked in the 88th percentile while his Squared-Up% ranked in the 97th percentile. He also doesn’t strike out as his 9.6 Whiff% ranked in the 99th percentile and his 7.5 K% ranked in the 100th percentile. Wilson is going to put the ball into play, get on base and help you in a lot of those percentage categories.
Montgomery, who finished fifth in the AL ROY voting, blasted his way onto the scene in 2025, smashing 21 bombs with 55 RBI in 71 games for the White Sox. He had a .529 SLG but his average and OBP were .239 and .311 respectively. A Top 100 prospect entering the 2025 campaign, Montgomery had a career .414 SLG in the minors, so perhaps the power output will slow down a bit, but it shouldn’t be a significant drop. Drafted out of high school in the first round, he had a 60 grade for power and that grade has held steady since becoming a professional.
The only question concerning Montgomery is will he stick at shortstop? He started 10 games at third base and appeared in 12 games there overall, and at 6-3, 230 pounds, he may be more suited to be a third baseman in the future. But that is something to worry about down the road. Right now just enjoy him being a slugging shortstop.
TIER 1
| RANK | PLAYER | 2025 TEAM | AGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Jeremy Pena | HOU | 28 |
| 9 | Bo Bichette | TOR | 28 |
| 8 | Willy Adames | SF | 30 |
| 7 | Zach Neto | LAA | 25 |
| 6 | Geraldo Perdomo | ARI | 26 |
| 5 | Trea Turner | PHI | 32 |
| 4 | Francisco Lindor | NYM | 32 |
| 3 | Gunnar Henderson | BAL | 24 |
| 2 | Elly De La Cruz | CIN | 24 |
| 1 | Bobby Witt Jr. | KCR | 25 |
Up And Coming And Already Established
Jeremy Pena had the tough task of taking over for Carlos Correa as the shortstop of the Astros in 2022. All he did as a rookie was hit 22 homers, drive in 63 runs and steal 20 bases while finishing fifth in the ROY voting. The power numbers have never increased since that rookie year, but despite playing in only 125 games this year due to a injury, Pena hit 17 homers, drove in 62 runs and stole 20 bases. But he also found consistency at the plate as he had a .304/.363/.477 slash line. Pena has tinkered with his stance over the last several seasons, but the changes he made ahead of this season led to a breakout as far as his slash line while also leading to his best HR% since his rookie year.
It is hard to believe that Bo Bichette is the same age as Pena, because while Pena just completed his fourth year in the majors, Bichette has seven years of experience, though his first two years consisted of 46 and 29 games. Since becoming a regular in 2021, Bichette’s average season has been 19 homers, 78 RBI and 10 steals over 135 games with a .292/.335/.460 slash line. From 2021-2023 Bichette finished 12th, 11th and 16th in the MVP voting before struggling in 2024. But he bounced back this past season with a .311/.357/.483 slash line to go with 18 homers and 94 RBI in 139 games.
He’s had one down season out of five as a regular starter. I think what we saw this year is just a return to his normal level of production with 2024 being a small bump in the road.
Change of Scenery Didn’t Affect Him
When Willy Adames signed with the San Francisco Giants, there was some concern that the move would hurt his power numbers. Guess there shouldn’t have been any concern. Adames’ first season by the bay procued 32 homers and 87 RBI with a .225/.318/.421 slash line. The power numbers basically matched what he did each year with Milwaukee from 2022-2024. Adames has a 162-game average of 30 homers, 87 RBI and 10 steals and he has played in 161 and 160 games the last two seasons. Having a player of his caliber also take the field every day is something that shouldn’t be ignored.
Power Is His Game
Zach Neto is not a complete shortstop yet like those ranked ahead of him as his career slash line is .247/.316/.440. But what he lacks when it comes to his slash line he makes up for with his power as he has hit 23 and 26 homers the last two seasons and his career SLG is .440. But Neto has the ability to increase his slash line. In college his career batting average was .403 and in 61 minor league games his slash line was .314/.407/.559. The power is already there for Neto, and I think the average and OBP will improve.
The Question Mark
I went back and forth on where to rank Geraldo Perdomo. The reason? From 2022-2024, his best season was 71 runs scored, six homers, 47 RBI and 16 steals in 2023 and his best slash line was .273/.344/.374 in 2024. Then came 2025. Perdomo’s numbers exploded this past season with a .290/.389/.462 slash to go with 98 runs scored, 20 homers, 100 RBI and 27 steals. Those numbers do not align with anything he has ever done before, as either a minor leaguer or major leaguer.
However, as players age, they make adjustments and soon everything clicks. I think everything finally clicked for Perdomo in 2025. His Average EV the past three years has increased from 81.9 mph to 84.2 to 85.8 this past season. His strikeout rate has dropped from 17.4% to 11.5% while his walk rate has increased from 12.9% to 13.1%. Perdomo has made adjustments and those changes finally produced big results that I think will be more the norm (at least the homers and steals) going forward.
The Veterans
Trea Turner and Francisco Lindor are both getting closer to being 35 than 30 years old, but they have shown no signs of dropping off the cliff. The only thing when it comes to them is go with a two- to three-year-plan for them and not five or six like some of the younger players in this tier.
Since turning 30, Turner’s average season has been .287/.337/.461 with 95 runs scored, 21 homers, 69 RBI and 28 steals. From 2018-2022 (age 25-29) his average season was .301/.357/.486 with 91 runs scored, 20 homers, 70 RBI and 30 steals (*includes 2020 COVID season). Outside of the slash line, his numbers are basically the same. I love a player who is that consistent.
If Francisco Lindor was 25 and not 31 (32 on Nov. 14), he would be ranked second. But while his production as a shortstop is one of the best in the game, I have to figure in to Father Time a little, so that is why he is ranked fourth. Otherwise, there is no reason to not want Lindor as your shortstop. The last three years he has scored 108, 107, and 117 runs, hit 31, 29 and 31 homers, driven in 98, 91 and 86 runs and stole 31, 29 and 31 bases.
Scratching The Surface
Gunnar Henderson and Elly De La Cruz are two great shortstops, yet it seems they have yet to really reach their full potential. But if this past season is their floor, I will still be very happy to have that production on my team.
Henderson hit 17 homers this past season with 68 RBI and 30 steals to go with a .274/.349/.438 slash line. That production is a pretty steep drop from the 37 homers and 92 RBI last year. But Henderson’s underlying numbers in 2025 aren’t that different from his previous two seasons except for a big drop in his fly ball rate, as it was 18.9% this season compared to 26.5% and 23.6% his two previous seasons. I will assume this is a blip on the radar and that he will get back to thumping homers and driving in runs at this previous level.
De La Cruz is coming off another solid season (.264/.336/.440, 22 homers, 86 RBI, 37 steals), though his steals were down from the 67 he recorded in 2024. But over the last two years his average season is 104 runs scored, 24 homers, 81 RBI and 52 steals with a .261/.337/.445 slash line. My guess is his steals will be closer to 35 each season but his homers and RBI will increase over the years. You have to remember that he only turns 24 in January. He has a ton of room to improve.
Simply The Best
Since breaking in with the Royals in 2022, Bobby Witt Jr. has easily become the top shortstop in the game. Was this past season as good as his 2024 season? No. But if you are complaining about a .295/.351/.501 slash line with 99 runs scored, 23 homers, 88 RBI and 38 steals, then there is likely no pleasing you.
Through his first four seasons, Witt is averaging 157 games, 101 runs scored, 26 homers, 93 RBI and 37 steals per season with a .290/.340/.504 slash line. And he doesn’t even turn 26 until June. It is not often that the top-ranked prospect lives up to the hype, but Witt has done that and more.
Thank You
Thanks for reading and come back next week when we continue our trip around the infield and put on a spotlight on third basemen.
Previous Rankings
Top 50 Dynasty Relievers for 2026 Fantasy Baseball
Top 100 Dynasty Starting Pitchers for 2026 Fantasy Baseball
Top 50 Dynasty Catchers for 2026 Fantasy Baseball
Top 50 Dynasty First Basemen for 2026 Fantasy Baseball
Top 50 Dynasty Second Basemen for 2026 Fantasy Baseball
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