Howdy again, y’all. After throwing back a few keystones last week, it’s time to get a little spiritual about the spot labeled with a “6” on lineup cards: Shortstop.
There’s a lot of fun numerology surrounding the number six. The sixth anniversary is the sugar anniversary in Western tradition. Six is the number symbol for Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty, sex, fertility, and victory—though it is believed that she was co-opted from Aphrodite, who in turn was co-opted from Inanna (also called Ishtar), the Mesopotamian goddess of love and battle. It was considered a perfect number by ancient Greek mathematicians because it was the sum of all its divisors (aside from itself).
It makes sense that shortstops are often still regarded as the sweet, sexy, perfect little angels of your fantasy baseball roster. This is why, over the last two weeks, 12 shortstops leave the board in the first seven rounds in 12-team NFBC drafts on average. Compare this to the other offensive slots in your lineup:
- SS – 12
- 1B – 7
- 2B – 8
- 3B – 8
- OF – 19
- C – 3
All this to say, there is a decent amount of depth at shortstop, but the premium options are highly sought after, and it’s worth reaching for the guy you want. Don’t wait around expecting love to find you.
(Editor’s Note: Speaking of not waiting, all our free Razzball Commenter Leagues are full, however, you can still throw down $20 and take on MarmosDad this coming Saturday night 3/23 @ 9 ET. If this still needs a manager by Friday night, I’ll toss my Andrew Jackson in the ring and autodraft away, so there could be some dead money in here. CLICK HERE TO JOIN!)
Tier 1 – Inanna – Bobby Witt Jr.
The original. The blueprint.
After a rookie season that left many managers optimistic, his sophomore effort firmly placed him in an echelon all his own. He is singular, and the one that all shortstops should be modeled after. An AL MVP season could very well be in the cards now that Shohei Ohtani has made his way to the NL.
Tier 2 – Aphrodite – Corey Seager, Trea Turner, Francisco Lindor, Bo Bichette
Not quite Inanna, but still iconic.
All of these guys do something as well as Witt, but none of them are as good as the original. Seager comes with questions surrounding the sports hernia he is recovering from, but he will hit for plenty of power and an elite average. Turner, despite his slow start to the season, came on strong in August to provide another elite fantasy season. Lindor padded his status as an elite fantasy asset by providing the first 30/30 season of his career as an early 30th birthday present to himself. Bichette continues to provide one of the best average floors at the position, though his lower SB totals despite the new rules push him to the bottom of this tier for me.
Tier 3 – Venus – Elly De La Cruz, Gunnar Henderson, Oneil Cruz, CJ Abrams
When you make a copy of a copy of a copy, things start to get diluted, but there’s still plenty to love.
Elly De La Cruz is the most divisive player brought up when I’m talking about fantasy baseball. The K rates are still frighteningly high, which will limit his on-base skills, but man oh man is he electric. He might be the only one on this list who could go 30/50 like Bobby Witt Jr., but the average will almost assuredly be a drag. Gunnar Henderson is going to be a steady contributor, but the steals are yet to show up despite his excellent sprint speed. Oneil Cruz has blistered the ball in Spring Training, but I’m always hesitant with a player coming off an injury. CJ Abrams was a pleasant surprise last year in terms of his pop, though his ceiling is limited by the lackluster offensive options surrounding him in Washington.
Tier 4 – Selene – Nico Hoerner, Matt McLain, Xander Bogaerts
Just because they are the moon personified doesn’t mean you should sleep on them. (This was corny and bad and I’m not sorry.)
I love Nico a lot more when he’s my second baseman, but wouldn’t feel too bad having him as my shortstop with his solid floor in average, runs, and steals. Go elsewhere if you want power. I expect Matt McLain’s walk rates to creep back up into the double digits as they had traditionally been in the minors, and that should lead to a handful more stolen base opportunities. Xander’s career high in stolen bases was a nice little surprise last year despite being on the north side of 30 years old, and he’s one of the most reliable playing time bets in the league. (Since he’s moving to second, he will pop up over in my rankings there once he gains eligibility.)
Tier 5 – Cupid – Jackson Holliday
I explicitly named this tier “Cupid” because his rosy cheeks and baby face make him look fit to play the role in a high school dinner theatre production.
This is, admittedly a high-variance pick, and his ranking moving forward will largely depend on how quickly he can find his footing against big-league talent. The added impeding second base eligibility doesn’t hurt either, but I can’t help singling him out.
Tier 6 – Helios – Dansby Swanson, Anthony Volpe, Thairo Estrada, Willy Adames, Trevor Story, Ezequiel Tovar, Jeremy Peña, Carlos Correa, Zach Neto, Jackson Merrill, Luis Rengifo, Tommy Edman
In an oddly fitting bit of lore, Helios was often prayed to by lovesick men. I’d feel a bit like this if I were in a position where I’d have to roster one of these names instead of someone in, say, the first four tiers of this list. I’d briefly court any of these names to fill a starting roster slot temporarily, but which name depends on greater team composition and category needs.
Full Rankings
- Bobby Witt Jr.
- Corey Seager
- Trea Turner
- Francisco Lindor
- Bo Bichette
- Elly De La Cruz
- Gunnar Henderson
- Oneil Cruz
- CJ Abrams
- Nico Hoerner
- Matt McLain
- Xander Bogaerts
- Jackson Holliday
- Dansby Swanson
- Anthony Volpe
- Thairo Estrada
- Willy Adames
- Trevor Story
- Ezequiel Tovar
- Jeremy Peña
- Carlos Correa
- Zach Neto
- Jackson Merrill
- Luis Rengifo
- Tommy Edman
