The top 20 shortstops for 2025 fantasy baseball are Daddy Warbucks and all of you are greedy Little Orphan Annies with your hands out wanting more, more, more. That’s all right, due to a high-yield savings account in the British Virgin Islands that he hasn’t paid taxes on for 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 2025 Fantasy Baseball Projections for Hitters and 2025 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 2025 fantasy baseball:
NOTE: All my 2025 fantasy baseball rankings are currently available on Patreon for the price of a Starbucks coffee, if you get one of those extra grande frappuccino jobbers. Don’t wait for the rankings to come out over the next month, and get them all now.
NOTE II: Free agents are marked as such and not yet projected. They are ranked for where they’re currently worth drafting.
NOTE III: Watch BDon and me discuss all the shortstop rankings:
1. Bobby Witt Jr. – Already went over him in the top 10 for fantasy baseball.
2. Elly De La Cruz – Already went over him in the top 10 for fantasy baseball.
3. Gunnar Henderson – Already went over him in the top 10 for fantasy baseball.
4. Francisco Lindor – Already went over him in the top 10 for fantasy baseball.
5. Mookie Betts – Already went over him in the top 20 for fantasy baseball.
6. Trea Turner – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Abrams. I call this tier, “Coulda.” This tier name refers to how these guys coulda been in the top 20 overall if I wanted to sell them very hard. Or buy them hard, I suppose. They all have legit cases to be made. They were coulda’s and not dida’s because I just couldn’t justify it for one reason or another, but I don’t necessarily hate them.
As for Treat Urner, briefly mentioned this in the top 20 overall, but I tried to slot Treat in there. I even ranked him briefly, I think around 18th overall. As valuable as 20/20/.290 is, which is around his projections, the problem for me with him was his two straight years where he was kinda unrosterable for months at a time. Last year it was because of a fluky injury, and year before it was because the Philly fans didn’t realize when a guy is named Treat Urner, much like a dog, you need to give him positive reenforcement. Now he’s turning 32 in June and I don’t fully trust his speed or power or average. I trust him enough to rank him here. Like I said 20/20/.290 is good, but I don’t see 30/30, 20/30 or .330. More on Treat in Oneil’s blurb too. 2025 Projections: 91/20/72/.287/22 in 541 ABs
7. Oneil Cruz – Still feel like I love the Cruz Missile more than most, so here’s the easiest way I think of explaining it: Do you think Treat Urner is ranked correctly? He is, so if you don’t think so, then you’re already losing the plot here, but let’s try this again: Treat Urner is ranked right, he’s a 20/20/.290 guy who feels pretty safe to return that value, but, if anything, he has downside (due to age), and not much upside. He’s never hit 30 homers, he hasn’t stolen 31+ steals since 2021 and hasn’t hit .300+ since then either. A long time ago for a speed guy turning 32. So, Oneil is a 21/22/.259 guy last year at 25 years of age. Power doesn’t feel close to maxed out. 25+? 30+ homers? Could he get into 35? Feels very possible. If you don’t know how, you’ve never seen him hit. As for his speed? He just stole 22. With the pitch clock, he could steal 20, 30, 35, 15, or anywhere between. Will he hit .245 due to his 30.2 K%? Possible, but he hits everything incredibly hard. Averages 95.5 MPH exit velo. That’s nuts. It’s Judge, Ohtani then him. That’s it above 95 MPH. Juan Soto is only 94.2. Vlad Jr. is only 93.8. Well, everyone is lower. You don’t make many outs when you’re making that hard of contact. Also, who knows, maybe his contact gets better as he ages, which happens to a lot of great players. So, he strikes out or hits the ball crazy hard, then goes 25/20/.250 with upside on everything. That’s a strong coulda made the top 20. 2025 Projections: 81/28/86/.257/20 in 556 ABs
8. CJ Abrams – Here’s how Corange Juice ended up in this tier and not the next one. I looked at the projections for all shortstops and saw Elly had 26/54/.252 vs. Corange’s 21/39/.254. Those aren’t my projections (they’re Steamer’s), but they sorta point to the silliness of being incredibly excited for E! and having CJ ranked too low. 5/15 difference does have E! above him, but doesn’t need to be two tiers above. That’s too much. Also, to point out one more before coming out of these weeds: Lindor is projected for 28/25/.256. So, 7/-14 for him and just above Abrams makes sense, but again, that’s not that much better. Am I at all worried that Abrams speed fell off, and he was caught 12 times in 43 attempts? Absolutely. Why he’s ranked here and not higher, but the Nats love to run so giddy up. There’s also a chance CJ Abrams will push it all in for 75 steals this year, and get to September with 75 steals, then be suspended for gambling everything for 75 steals. 2025 Projections: 87/20/66/.244/34 in 557 ABs
9. Corey Seager – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Adames. I call this tier, “Woulda.” Before you ask, no, there is no Shoulda tier. Shoulda implies I could’ve done something if only I had, but that makes no sense for ranking. If I shoulda, I woulda if I coulda. Why would I notta if I shoulda? Are you implying I’m a shoulda that don’ta? C’mon, that’s not coola. This tier refers to guys who I woulda ranked in the above tier if not for one crucial issue. If you’re thinking to yourself, the Couldas just missed the above tier and the Wouldas just missed the above tier, well, then aren’t they all the same? No. The Couldas missed the top 20 and the Wouldas missed the Couldas. Maybe there is a Shoulda with you in that tier for Shoulda thought about it.
As for Seager, sung like John Lennon a’la Imagine, “Maybe I’m a hater, but I know I ain’t the only one…” Sure, Seager is ranked higher elsewhere, but I have said this before and will say it again right now: I cannot boogie with a guy who steals between 1-3 bags unless he’s a 40+ homer guy, a perennial 150+ game guy, a .310 guy, a lock for 100+ runs and RBIs, and Seager does none of this. I don’t hate 30/3/.280 if it’s available around here in drafts, but it never is. 2025 Projections: 76/31/82/.282/2 in 489 ABs
10. Willy Adames – Here’s what I said this offseason, “Mark Twain said the coldest winter he ever spent was a San Francisco summer, so I assume the opposite is true, therefore the Giants queued up this hot and humid November to pay their respects to their iconic shortstop, Brandon Crawford, who was retiring. Much like when fans lined up to pay their respects at the casket of Elvis or Michael Jackson or Princess Di, they left memorabilia that reminded them of Brandon Crawford. A World Series program, a hat, a shirt, one leather-pantsed fan placed what appeared to be a police nightstick but it was very floppy and it had Brandon’s face drawn on it. This fan called this his Brandong. With the bright sun and lovely summer-like November conditions in San Fran, this Brandong sprouted in the earth, like a beanstalk, but instead of growing into a larger Brandong it grew into a Willy, and they called it Willy Adames–[intern whispers in ear]–Oh, I see. Turns out Willy Adames signed with the Giants for $167 million, as Posey, Buster’d his cherry as Giants’ President of Baseball Operations. Buster Posey just shrugging and having the attitude, “It ain’t my money,” all offseason would be pretty amazing. It is also not my money, so more power to him. You know that old saying, if you don’t know who the sucker at the table is, it’s you? Why do I get the sense that’s Buster Posey? Willy Adames just came off a career year and it’s hard not to see that being a pinnacle vs. the beginning of many similar years as he enters his age 29 season. His .297 BABIP doesn’t sound high, but it appears it was for him. I had a premonition about his BABIP, so I dug in a little and he had the 61st highest fly ball rate since 2000 (49.8%) and only two of those 61 had a .300+ BABIP. Brandon Moss at .301 in 2013 and Jonny Gomes in 2010 (there’s a throwback name). Gomes hit .266 that year and Moss hit .256. They are not all the same players, but they’re not completely dissimilar either. You cannot have a 50% fly ball rate and a good average. Adames hit .251 last year, that was good for him! Spending time on the average, because the rest looks fairly repeatable. He would’ve hit 31 homers in San Fran last year; he hit 32. He stole 21 bags, and the Giants, besides Matt Chapman don’t run, though he could. On further inspection, maybe they did just grow a slightly bigger Brandong.” And that’s me quoting me! 2025 Projections: 81/27/92/.238/12 in 581 ABs
11. Ezequiel Tovar – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Edwards. I call this tier, “Brimming with excitement.” I’m the Man in the Yellow Hat, smiling and hanging out with Curious George, living my best life because I am brimming with excitement. I have gorgeous hair, but if I were a bald man, donning a wide-brimmed hat, blocking the sun from getting melanoma on the cranium, I wouldn’t be more brimming for these guys. If grim is bad and brim is good, I’m 100% brim on these guys.
As for Tovar, nearly wrote a sleeper post for him, but I gave everyone credit for knowing what’s up and figuring he would be drafted at a reasonable spot. You know who he reminds me of? See if you follow this: [drops a shot glass of vodka into a pint glass of Coors] Get it? No? C’mon! It’s Ketel in Coors! That was easy. Ezequiel is in perhaps the best park for him, and, ya know what? Cool. That works for me for drafting him. Would love a bit more speed, but we know the Pitch Clock 12 could suddenly appear in his stats and he ends up with 18 steals one random year. He’s also only 23, and was considered a great contact guy coming up in the minors. If he finds that in the majors, he’s going to go 30/15/.280 and be huge. Draft aggressively. 2025 Projections: 92/24/71/.274/10 in 612 ABs
12. Anthony Volpe – Between Gleyber and Volpe, not sure what happened to the 20-ish homer guys on the Yanks last year. “The bottom keeps getting squeezed in the American economy, MLB team payrolls and Yankees’ homers. That and this bird flew north during the winter. Climate change or bad GPS? All that and the Knicks late rally after the break…” That’s the news. Volpe only hit 12 homers last year, and that took a lot of the attention away from the legitimate gains made. Ks went way down, his average went from .209 to .243 and steals went up to 28. If he rediscovers his power, he’s going to be only 24 years old and breaking out in a huge way, in a great lineup and park for it. Now’s not the time to get out of Volpe. 2025 Projections: 87/20/62/.252/26 in 587 ABs
13. Matt McLain – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for fantasy baseball.
14. Nico Hoerner – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for fantasy baseball.
15. Bryson Stott – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for fantasy baseball.
16. Masyn Winn – Already gave you my Masyn Winn sleeper. It was written while sipping coffee with Mocha Joe. 2025 Projections: 94/24/60/.271/15 in 591 ABs
17. Xavier Edwards – Ya know who X-Ed is? No, it’s not showing kids how to put a condom on a banana. That’s sex ed. X-Ed is Jose Caballero but with a legit chance to hit .300. His 17.2 K% last year and 10.9 BB% were as a 24-year-old rookie! C’mon, that’s impressive. He only hit one homer last year in 265 ABs, but that isn’t necessarily indicative of his future. He hit seven bombs in Triple-A and .351! Yeah, I’m a fan, a freaky-ass fan. The problem is you need the power from other places to be able to draft him. 2025 Projections: 84/4/39/.286/36 in 546 ABs
18. Xander Bogaerts – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Correa. I call this tier, “MIs 2 deep and much 2 complicated.” This tier is Gang Starr lyrics and middle infidels. Clearly. This tier showcases how deep the shortstops are, but don’t make it too complicated. These guys are MIs. I guess if the league is 2 deep and much 2 complicated there’s a case that some of these guys could be a shortstop, but I’d feel more comfortable with them being an MI. Why “2 complicated?” Because these guys are confusing as all-get-out on what you’re going to get, uh, out of them.
As for Bogaerts, already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for fantasy baseball.
19. Jeremy Pena – Steals were always tough to project, because they’re about desire more than ability, but now with the pitch clock, well, good luck. Pena is one of the biggest examples of who knows with steals projections. 11, 13, 20, the last three years, what’s next? 22? 24? 12? You’re lying if you have any idea. He gets caught a decent amount, so I’d guess below 20, but if he gets 25, it wouldn’t shock me. Not to say, Pena’s power output isn’t easy to project either. Last three years: 22, 10, 15. Oh, kay. He does hit a ton of ground balls and not hard, so, yeah, he seems fine as an MI as long as you don’t expect 25/25, though he’s been close to both in separate seasons. 2025 Projections: 74/14/72/.258/17 in 581 ABs
20. Willi Castro – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for fantasy baseball.
21. Dansby Swanson – Remember the 2nd basemen rankings (there basically sprinkled all throughout these shortstops) and how there were so many 12/30 guys? Shortstops are solid up top, but these shortstop MIs are more 15/20 to 12/15 vs. 30/30. Or I guess in Dansby, Pena and Neto’s case, they’re 12?/20? or 20?/12? or something in between. Swanson’s done everything as far as power and speed go while always hitting .250-ish. Wrigley played poorly last year for power. Maybe that was an anomaly, but I don’t think there’s any way of knowing. This tier has more question marks than The Riddler’s leotards. 2025 Projections: 78/19/67/.248/15 in 527 ABs
22. Ceddanne Rafaela – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for fantasy baseball.
23. Zach Neto – Seeing him drafted way higher than this, but that might be from early ADP and people who blindly follow it. ADP from when he was healthy and not from when it was announced that he might miss the start of the season, due to shoulder surgery. That’s no bueno, but Wash runs everyone like he needs them to go on a ciggie run, so Neto could still steal 25+ bags, and maybe chips in 14-17 homers, but his batted ball profile was already scaring me. If he was healthy, I was likely out. Now, I might still be out based on ADP, but I’m willing to try him if he falls to here. 2025 Projections: 62/15/69/.241/26 in 477 ABs
24. Bo Bichette – Is there a bigger question mark? If you have a category in your fantasy league labeled ?’s, then draft aggressively! Is he Bo, No or give me Mo? Heck if I know. His K% was fine, his BABIP looks unlucky, his HardHit% seems fine and his barrels went into the dumper. Most of his numbers look like an off-year that was predicated on injuries, but also his best case scenario was 20/5/.300, which is solid if unspectacular. Does he go back to becoming Vlad Jr.’s partner-in-crime and tablesetter with a dessert plate for Cake or are the Jays rumored to want to trade him by July 15th for any middle reliever available? Does Boba suck or get sucked up a straw as God intended? 2025 Projections: 71/16/73/.272/6 in 507 ABs
25. Carlos Correa – Projections have Correa for less games played in 2025 than Trevor Story, and that’s some disrespect. I do think Correa, by nature of his profile, does have less upside, i.e., he has no speed whatsoever, so, uh, what could you expect at most? 22 HRs, .270? That’s not bad, but Story in two-thirds of a season bests it, though Story’s never getting two-thirds of a season, the utter disrespect. 2025 Projections: 64/17/52/.276 in 456 ABs
26. Tommy Edman – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Acuña. I call this tier, “Merely flesh wound.” This tier is filled with guys who if things break right, they could be very valuable. Sadly, they’re prolly just gonna break.
As for Edman, it’s not hard for me to see Edman being incredibly valuable. If you give him 525 ABs in that Dodgers’ lineup with his power and speed, he’s going to blow away this ranking. The problem with marginal players in a stacked lineup is they could easily be bumped. You have to give bench players at-bats and who suffers there? Ohtani, Betts, Freeman or others. And Edman is lost in the others. The good news is, compared to the other players in this tier, Edman’s injuries are a new thing, and not something bound to happen again. 2025 Projections: 62/11/64/.251/17 in 431 ABs
27. Tyler Fitzgerald – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for fantasy baseball.
28. Joey Ortiz – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for fantasy baseball.
29. Otto Lopez – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for fantasy baseball.
30. Trevor Story – I saw projections for him at 144 games played and I chuckled so long that my family contacted the producers of A&E’s Intervention about coming in and trying to get me to stop chuckling, but they feared I was unreachable. Too far gone, they said. 144 games played for Trevor Story? Yes, and I just went to the underwater city of Atlantis, and opened a oxygen bar and am making a solid living. Would you like to invest? 144 games played is nearly his combined games played in the last three years. Please stop, I can no longer chuckle. 2025 Projections: 41/8/38/.228/12 in 303 ABs
31. Luisangel Acuña – He needs so many breaks that aren’t readily obvious as I write this. If he gets 550 ABs, I would be excited for him, but we won’t know if 550 ABs are there for him until midseason. Bit like Edman in that respect, and much like him, why is Acuña not playing? That goes back to not knowing what we don’t know. His path to playing time looks obvious, then we get a week into the season and he’s platooning out of the nine hole. There is absolutely a chance where Tilbaby hits well in April and is hitting 2nd by May 1st between Soto and Lindor as the Mets need to shake up their lineup as they are 1-21 in April. 2025 Projections: 53/12/49/.261/15 in 388 ABs
32. Jordan Lawlar – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until Clement. I call this tier, “Larry Fishburne.” This tier name refers to a Morpheus, or rather an amorphous upside that all these players supposedly have, but they might struggle to solidify it.
As for Lawlar, already gave you my Jordan Lawlar fantasy. It was written while sugar-crashing from too many gummy bears. 2025 Projections: 47/7/52/.251/22 in 374 ABs
33. Ha-Seong Kim – UPDATED: Signed with the Rays. He just had shoulder surgery, so he can’t become a middle reliever! What on earth are they doing? So, with the addition of Kim, and the Rays in a new stadium this year, that’s gonna bring the walls in further. Only this time it’s the Taylor Walls, and brought in to the bench. This also becomes a confusing trade for what Caballero is going to be doing, but I already had questions on him, as his blurb says in the 2nd baseman rankings. When I put Kim through my Steinbrenner Field Converter it says he becomes, “I paid Roy Smalley and Willie Randolph how much?!” Not sure that helps us, but Kim’s shoulder won’t help him either and I’d only draft him for 320 ABs, as he’s expected to miss April, and some steals. 2025 Projections: 47/8/51/.243/20 in 319 ABs
34. Jose Caballero – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for fantasy baseball.
35. David Hamilton – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for fantasy baseball.
36. Jacob Wilson – Wilson’s value is predicated on how much of his time he has to worry about that stupid-ass kid Dennis the Menace. A’s have no reason to not give Wilson 550 ABs, and he makes contact with everything — 9.7 K% in his first career 103 plate appearances. However, that contact was a bottle of Evian poured into a pot of ketchup, because it was weak sauce. 2025 Projections: 51/7/54/.263/3 in 503 ABs
37. Max Muncy – Here’s what Itch said, “It’s not the loudest tool box you’ve ever heard clattering around the worksite that is wherever this team will be playing in four years, but Muncy might be able to get the job done at the keystone. He’s been playing against older players since he entered the league out of high school, so there’s probably a little more than meets the eye in his 6’0” 180 lb frame. In 50 Triple-A games this year, he slashed .277/.374/.491 with eight home runs and four stolen bases. Zack Gelof is listed at second base with Gio Urshela at third, but it makes more sense to me for the club to play Muncy and Gelof at second and third or vice versa. On a side note, I’m in the tree outside Grey’s house ready to pounce.” Wait, which tree? 2025 Projections: 37/10/34/.272/6 in 321 ABs
38. Ernie Clement – Doesn’t he sound like 1980’s player who has the exact same skills — a 10/10/.270 hitter? Is Ernie Clement a time-shifter? A Time Bandit? Does every generation get one Ernie Clement but it’s actually the same player time traveling? I have questions, y’all! 2025 Projections: 53/10/55/.272/10 in 441 ABs
39. J.P. Crawford – This is a new tier. This tier goes from here until the end. I call this tier, “Check you out, Punty McPunterson.” So, you punted shortstops, lowercase yay.
As for J’ustice Peace Crawford, the good news is he usually plays a lot. The bad news is, he didn’t last year. The neither-here-nor-there news, even if he plays a lot, his production is usually pretty light for fantasy. 2025 Projections: 63/11/51/.233/5 in 466 ABs
40. Isiah Kiner-Falefa – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for fantasy baseball.
41. Amed Rosario – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for fantasy baseball.
42. Oswaldo Cabrera – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.
43. Dylan Moore – Already went over him in the top 20 1st basemen for 2025 fantasy baseball.
44. Nick Gonzales – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for fantasy baseball.
45. Brooks Lee – Already went over him in the top 20 2nd basemen for fantasy baseball.
46. Geraldo Perdomo – Thinking about how if Geraldo leaves the USA for Nippon Baseball how many Geraldos there would be Perdomo arrigato. So many. Can’t count that high. 2025 Projections: 66/6/42/.261/13 in 471 ABs
47. Orlando Arcia – He hit 17 homers last year and [takes 45 days to come up with another positive] he plays a lot! 2025 Projections: 53/15/56/.231/2 in 531 ABs
48. Brayan Rocchio – Summing up the last few, including Rocchio, “Oh, heck yeah, he’s playing!” Then, “Wait, he stinks. Maybe he should play less.” 2025 Projections: 51/10/47/.235/12 in 478 ABs
Omitted but considered: Josh H. Smith, Paul DeJong, Trey Sweeney, Colson Montgomery, Max Schuemann, Marcelo Mayer, Carson Williams, Edmundo Sosa, Romy Gonzalez, Zach McKinstry, Scott Kingery, Liover Peguero, Jett Williams, Javier Baez, Blaze Alexander, Marco Luciano, Brett Wisely, Miguel Rojas, Nicky Lopez, Taylor Walls, Vidal Brujan, Daniel Schneemann, Leo Jimenez, Nasim Nunez, Cole Young, Alex Freeland, Nick Allen, Tim Anderson, Chase Meidroth
