Top 25 Fantasy Shortstops for 2021 – Week 18

The trade deadline is history, and what a trade deadline it was as one All-Star after another All-Star changed teams.

Two of the big names on the move were shortstops – Javier Baez and Trea Turner. Baez is now a member of the New York Mets while Turner moved west and is now with the Dodgers. How do the two trades affect fantasy owners?

Statistically, I think the move will benefit both players. Baez was already playing well over the last month. But now that he is in a race for a division title, look for him to continue his hot streak and become even more productive. This is a player who has shown in the past that he can rise to the occasion.

As for Turner, he is now in a lineup that will be loaded with players who get on base or can drive him in. When he returns from the COVID list, he will likely slot into the top of the lineup and score a ton of runs while also using his speed to steal bases to get into scoring position. But the bottom of the Los Angeles lineup gets on so much that Turner won’t suffer a drop in RBI.

Positionally, both players are going to add to their versatility, especially for next season. That will help dynasty owners. With Francisco Lindor on the shelf for possibly another month, Baez will slot in a shortstop before moving to second when Lindor gets back.

But if that return is near the end of August and closes in on the start of fantasy league playoffs, Baez may not get a lot of starts at second to help fantasy owners who could use him at second base. Turner, however, will be starting at second base as soon as he returns as Corey Seager has returned from the IL. So within a week or two, Turner will have that second position to be able to play.

Have the trades of Baez and Turner changed where they are ranked among the shortstops? Let’s find out.

Tier 1

As you can see, Turner moves from fifth to fourth in this week’s rankings. I think fantasy owners will love his move to the Dodgers. They are aggressive on the base paths, so Turner’s steals shouldn’t suffer. Los Angeles has a deep lineup as well, giving Turner the chance to add to his RBI totals.

Bo Bichette is now ranked second thanks to an impressive July by slashing .349-.413-.518 with 15 runs scored, four homers, 18 RBI, and four steals. Teammate Marcus Semien has been a bit cooler at the plate the past month, slashing .238-.304-.488 with 18 runs scored, five homers, 12 RBI and no steals. Semien has more homers (24) and a higher slugging percentage (.524) compared to Bichette (19 and .490), but Bichette has more runs scored, RBI, and stolen bases to go along with a higher batting average and OBP.

Manny Machado is back in Tier 1 thanks to his outstanding July, though this only helps Yahoo fantasy players. Over the last 30 days, Machado is slashing .360-.430-.744 with 24 runs scored, eight homers, 25 RBI, and one steal. Padres fans must love watching Tatis Jr. and Machado man the left side of the infield every night.

Tier 2

Just as Turner moved up in the Tier 1 rankings, I moved Baez up two slots in the Tier 2 rankings. I doubt he will move into the Tier 1 rankings as he still has a 36 percent strikeout rate and his slashing numbers aren’t going to equal those in Tier 1. But Baez is doing his best to prove me wrong over the past month as he is slashing .324-.355-.535 to go with four homers, 126 RBI, and four steals.

Meanwhile, Willy Adames continues his climb up the rankings. In the last 30 days, he has five homers and 13 RBI and has scored 19 runs while slashing .333-.431-.586. In his first 60 games with Milwaukee, Adames is slashing .301-.390-.545 with 39 runs scored, 12 home runs, and 41 RBI with two steals.

I’m sure every fantasy owner of Adames has loved this trade as much as Brewer fans have. I have stated this before, but if Adames is available, add him. In fact, he is rostered on only 71 percent of Yahoo teams and 68 percent of ESPN teams.

Tier 3

Carlos Correa is still having a good season overall for the Astros, but he is coming off a horrible month in which he slashed .188-.269-.319, including a 1-for-38 stretch at the plate. That lack of production dropped him from Tier 2 into Tier 3 this week.

While Correa has struggled at the plate, Jorge Polanco and Dansby Swanson have been fantastic for the Twins and Braves, respectively. Over the past month, Polanco has six home runs and 20 RBI to go with 14 runs scored and three steals while slashing .323-.364-.545. He has been even hotter the past two weeks, slashing .377-.421-.604 with three dingers, eight RBI, nine runs scored, and two steals. Why he is owned in only 77 percent of Yahoo leagues (90% of ESPN leagues) is a mystery to me.

Swanson doesn’t have the gaudy slash line Polanco has over the last month (.275-.327-.554), but he does have five home runs, 16 RBI, 14 runs scored, and three RBI. For the year Swanson now has 18 homers and 50 RBI to go along with 47 runs scored and seven steals.

Tier 4

Kiké Hernandez has improved at the plate as the months have heated up this season. After slugging .400 in April and May with a combined 5 homers and 12 RBI, Hernandez slugged .437 with three homers and 12 RBI in June and is now slashing .267-.380-.578 in July with six home runs and 15 RBI. In Yahoo leagues, he can both middle infield positions and all three outfield spots, yet he is owned in only 67 percent of Yahoo leagues (he is not listed as a shortstop by ESPN). The man is hot. If you are in a Yahoo league and Hernandez is out there, then add him now.

Trevor Story has to be driving fantasy owners nuts. After a so-so start to the season, Story slumped in May by slashing .244-.327-.400. He started showing signs of life in June, slashing .269-.359-.507 with four homers, 13 RBI, and six steals. But July has not been kind to Story. As the month comes to a close, he is slashing .183-.250-.378, though he has hit four-homer and driven in 12. Perhaps with the trade deadline behind him and he knows he will remain with the Rockies the rest of the season, his numbers will return to the levels everyone expects of him.

Tier 5

Tier 5 features four new players with only Tommy Edman remain. Are you wondering how the San Francisco Giants are in first place in the NL West? Aside from outstanding pitching, they are getting rebound seasons from players such as Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey. Additionally, the team is getting breakout performance from players such as Thairo Estrada. The past month saw Estrada join the lineup and slash .333-.408-.508 with 11 runs scored, three homers, 13 RBI, and a stolen base.

The Cincinnati Reds are still in a battle for a Wild Card slot, and one reason is due to Kyle Farmer. He is owned in only 19 percent of ESPN leagues and 44 percent of Yahoo leagues, but that should and will change if he continues hitting like he has. Over the past month Farmer is slashing .382-.447-.658 with 13 runs scored, four homers, and eight RBI. Over the last two weeks, no pitcher has figured out how to stop Farmer as he is slashing .426-.491-.702 and has two homers, five RBI, and seven runs scored.

Jean Segura has put together a nice season when he has been on the field. Injuries have limited him to 75 games entering the weekend, but he is slashing .306-.360-.442 with six homers, 33 RBI, and seven steals overall. Over the past 30 days, he has hit three homers, driven in 12, and scored 16 runs.

Paul DeJong has had a tough season for the Cardinals. Overall, he is slashing .203-.295-.394 with 14 homers and 33 RBI. But the shortstop has enjoyed a solid July for the Redbirds, slashing .294-.360-.500 with four home runs and 10 RBI. Most fantasy owners have given up on DeJong as he is owned in only 28 percent of Yahoo leagues and 39 percent of ESPN leagues. It might be a good time to give DeJong a chance right now.

Dropped Out

Franciso Lindor probably can’t wait for 2021 to be over. Finding his stroke after a horrible start, Lindor is now on the disabled list with an oblique injury. Since he could be out another month, he isn’t helping any fantasy owners and thus is now out of the rankings.

Jazz Chisholm hasn’t been horrible at the plate the last month, but he has not matched the slew of new players now in the rankings. The same for Gio Urshela, who actually hit .292 over the last month but didn’t hit with power as he has only one homer during that span of time. Isiah Kiner-Felefa and J.P. Crawford, however, are glad to see July come to an end.

Like everyone on the Rangers in July, Kiner-Falefa struggled, slashing .185-.233-.222 and scoring only four runs with six RBI. He also failed to seal a single base. Crawford was nearly as cold at the plate as Kiner-Falefa, slashing .208-.276-.250 with zero homers and two RBI.