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Please see our player page for Brayan Rocchio to see projections for today, the next 7 days and rest of season as well as stats and gamelogs designed with the fantasy baseball player in mind.

Welcome back to another week of Top Dynasty Keepers for 2025. The spotlight turns to shortstops this week.

Unlike second base, which has a pretty steep drop off in talent outside the top 15 or so players, the shortstop position is loaded with talent, the type of talent that is ranked among the best in baseball, not just this position. The players ranked in Tier 2 will still provide solid production and that continues into the players ranked in Tier 3.

And this talent is young. Of the 30 players ranked in Tiers 1 through 3, 23 of them are under the age of 30. Missing out on a Tier 1 player is not going to cripple your team.

Now, let’s get to the rankings.

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1. Pirates RHP Paul Skenes | 21 | MLB | 2024

2. Nationals OF James Wood | 21 | AAA | 2024

3. Orioles SS Jackson Holliday | 20 | MLB | 2024

4. Rangers OF Wyatt Langford | 22 | MLB | 2024

5. Rays 3B Junior Caminero | 20 | MLB | 2023

These guys are untouchable like Sean Connery swearing at Kevin Costner. Despite rocky starts for Holliday and Langford, few questions remain about their long-term viability as core dynasty assets.

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76. Reds RHP Chase Petty | 20 | AA | 2024

The 26th overall pick in 2021, Petty enjoyed a breakout season in 2023, recording a 1.73 ERA in 68 innings across two levels where he was younger than his competitors by 3.1 years and 4.3 years on average. At 6 ‘1” 190 lbs, Petty features a wipeout slider and demonstrates an aptitude for spin that portends well for his year-over-year development.

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twenty years, Warbucks has plenty to go around and you should be plenty satiated for cashola, I mean, shortstops. I.e., there’s a lot of shortstops and you should be drafting them early and often. Okay, let’s get to it! Here’s Steamer’s 2024 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Hitters and 2024 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Pitchers. Subscriptions are up and running, and you can already get Rudy’s Draft War Room. Anyway, here’s the top 20 shortstops for 2024 fantasy baseball:

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1. OF Chase DeLauter | 22 | AA | 2024

A gifted left-handed hitter at 6’4” 235 lbs, DeLauter could be a middle order mainstay and fantasy superstar. In 57 games spread across three levels, he slashed .355/.417/.528 with 30 strikeouts, 23 walks, five home runs and six stolen bases. He then extended his season by 23 games in the Arizona Fall League, where he slashed .299/.385/.529 with five homers and five steals. His blend of patience, power and contact skills are enticing and could land him in the majors late this season if Cleveland is contending. Hard to imagine they won’t be squarely in the mix given the relative weakness of the AL Central.

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The journey through the 2024 Top Keepers continues this week with a look at the top shortstops. Compared to some of the other positions we’ve covered, shortstop is actually a pretty deep position. If you get stuck with a Tier 4 player, like a Jeremy Pena or Tommy Edman, you still have a decent shortstop on your hands.

Even in Tier 5 (players ranked 31-40), you still can get a decent utility player or fulltime shortstop with some solid upside. Meanwhile, the top shortstops are players who are not just the best at this position, but are some of the best players in the game. Overall, this is a strong group of players.

Now, on to the rankings!

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Jeimer Candelario stares out at the desert landscape in New Mexico. Behind him, an El Pollo Loco, in front of him nothing as far as the eye can see. “Now I Am Become Death, the Destroyer of Balls.” That’s a wide open Jeimer. Um, ‘open-for-business.’ That’s an important distinction. Also, it’s an important distinction to say “balls” as in baseballs. The open Jeimer pushes a button and–it’s a bomb. The explosion reverberates. A mushroom cloud ascends to the heavens. The bomb is a home run into the Wrigley bleachers. Prolly a good distinction to make, as well. Finally the open Jeimer says, “I wanted to hit that bomb off German. Uh, Domingo.” So, Jeimer Candelario was a sleeper of mine two years ago, and he did not pan out at all, but it shows you there was pedigree. It just took a little while longer. His Launch Angle is perfect for Wrigley and his HR/FB is actually not that inflated, meaning he could actually become a home run hitter (27-homer-power) with a solid-enough average (.255) for 2024 fantasy, but this is for this year, and he’s been hot. Like nuclear. Anyway, here’s some more players to Buy or Sell this week in fantasy baseball:

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Joe Ryan (4 IP, 7 ER, ERA at 4.43) got cooked faster than an instant pot, if an instant pot actually cooked things in an instant. I’d be lyin’ on Ryan (poet and aware of it) if I said I trusted him right now, even if I am a believer long-term for 2024 fantasy and beyond. Everyone seems to have caught up to his four-seamer and now it’s Dong City, population every hitter facing him. He’s a two-pitch pitcher, and hitters figured out the ‘good’ one, which is not good. There’s two months left, and, in shallower leagues, it’s time to move on. Getting him for homers (everyone, like I said), Jordan Walker (2-for-3) hit his 10th homer. Jordan Walker is my father, please respect our family time together. Tyler O’Neill (1-for-4) hit his 4th homer, and 2nd homer in two games. Tyler O’Neill has 35-homer power. Might take a miracle for him to even get to 15 this year, but there would be stranger things than him going off for two months. Like Dustin. He’s Stranger Things. Also, getting into the act, Lars Nootbaar (2-for-4, 2 RBIs) hit his 11th homer, and 4th homer in the last week. Snack baars open, baby! Finally, Alec Burleson (1-for-3, 3 RBIs) went ding-dong for his 7th homer. In previous seasons, the Cards would’ve traded Burleson for a middle reliever and watched Burleson become an All-Star on another team, but now he will remain in St. Louis as a 4th outfielder. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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Domingo German was coasting once again, had the line 3 IP, 0 ER, ERA at 3.75, when he was ejected for sticky substance. Oh, Domingoo, you giant freakin’ moron. What’s the German word for hearing the Jays talk about the Yankees cheating and thinking, “Hey, that’s a good idea?” Fadenfraud. Also, this whole “touching a guy’s hand” to see if there’s anything on it is so hilariously stupid. Like touching a guy’s hand is scientific. The Handump’s Tale, a dystopian story of how one umpire touched things and was able to discern what on earth was on someone’s hand. “That’s chewing gum and the adhesive from a baby’s diaper.” Umps touching pitchers’ hands is like Name That Tune, but with touching. Domingo German, though, this guy’s a real bumbling idiot:

He’s like the kid who has ice cream all over his shirt then says, “I didn’t eat ice cream.” You’re covered in it, you absolute ding dong! Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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Max Scherzer was cruising, as is often the case with Max Scherzer — had a line of 3 IP, 0 ER — when he was ejected for having (what the umpires believed to be) a foreign substance on his glove. Scherzer was screaming, “It’s rosin!” It seemed like the Pitchcom tape inside his glove because he calls his own game. It better — again, with some stank — IT BETTER check out as a foreign substance or all of those umpires should be suspended without pay for thirty games. Umps are power-mad idiots. You throw out a first ballot Hall of Famer for what you believe is something sticky? That’s absurd. You taint his legacy with some utter nonsense? Are you completely daft? Now, MLB instituted an automatic 10-game suspension for the offender, so Scherzer might miss another two starts due to this? Oh, this is some serious BS.

Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:

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