Top 35 Shortstops for 2020
by Paul Sporer
October 7, 2019
We knew coming into the season that shortstop was deep, but it even exceeded the expectations from the spring. Studs being studs, rookies coming through in a major way, development for several others, and of course the ball created an explosion at the position. Even more impressive is the fact that we have another wave of potential gems on the horizon.
Other 2020 Rankings:
Let me know what you think in the comments.
Top 35 SS for 2020
| RK | Player | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trevor Story | The ultimate dream fantasy player: power, speed, and Coors |
| 2 | Francisco Lindor | Just keeps dominating; hit 6+ HR in each of the final 3 months |
| 3 | Trea Turner | Matched HR and fell just 8 SB shy of ’18 totals despite 171 fewer PA |
| 4 | Alex Bregman | SB evaporating as he becomes power force, but still just 26 y/o |
| 5 | Xander Bogaerts | Bregmanesque evolution w/12 SB in ’18-19 total after 10+ in ’15-17 |
| 6 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | Spd will keep BABIP high, but .410 is unrealistic, endangering AVG |
| 7 | Adalberto Mondesi | Labrum surgery in Oct requires 5-6 mos of recovery; be careful |
| 8 | Jonathan Villar | Might’ve been best SS in ’19 when factoring SB value v. HR |
| 9 | Javier Báez | Didn’t regress nearly as much as expected; solid investment |
| 10 | Gleyber Torres | Had a solid .783 OPS, 25 HR, 70 RBI, 74 R v. non-Baltimore teams |
| 11 | Ketel Marte | Hinted at pwr in ’18 w/.177 ISO; has raw speed for more SBs if he chooses |
| 12 | Tim Anderson | Injury undercut special yr, but still led MLB w/.335 AVG |
| 13 | Bo Bichette | Bat soared in 46 gm sample, spd could follow (30 SB/600 PA in MiLB) |
| 14 | Manny Machado | Depth of position & sporadic SBs curb his value a bit |
| 15 | Marcus Semien | Sharpened plate approach brought ’16 pwr back and then some |
| 16 | Carlos Correa | 3 seasons of 110 gms or fewer dampens outlook w/this much depth |
| 17 | Jorge Polanco | AVG & R investment; has spd for more SBs, but must fix 62% SB rate |
| 18 | Corey Seager | Frustrating, but still wouldn’t be surprised by .310/35/110 season |
| 19 | Gavin Lux | Brilliant .347 AVG/26 HR/10 SB in AA/AAA will fuel 2020 hype |
| 20 | Scott Kingery | Cheaper & older version of FTJ; shows FTJ outlook w/lower BABIP |
| 21 | Kevin Newman | Quietly dropped a .308 AVG/12 HR/16 SB yr & landed atop PIT lineup |
| 22 | Elvis Andrus | Spd (31 SB) saved punchless bat to finish 12th among SS |
| 23 | Amed Rosario | CS could stifle chances, but .804 OPS/.319 AVG in 2H is promising |
| 24 | Jean Segura | Only 10 SB after 20+ for 6 yrs, but spd didn’t fall that much |
| 25 | Garrett Hampson | Massive flop thru 5 mos. before winning lgs in Sept: .318/5 HR/9 SB |
| 26 | Lourdes Gurriel Jr. | Has 606 MLB PA now: 31 HR-85 RBI-82 R-7 SB-.279 AVG |
| 27 | Paul DeJong | 1.010 OPS in April; just .701 OPS & .206 AVG from May 1st on |
| 28 | Didi Gregorius | .270-25-5 just doesn’t go that far anymore; FA this offseason, too |
| 29 | Willy Adames | Volatility plagued yr (2 sub-.600 OPS mos; 3 at .800+); just 24 next yr |
| 30 | Jon Berti | Late-bloomer (30 y/o) has legit spd; should have PT w/MIA, too |
| 31 | Nick Senzel | Monitor labrum recovery, but this is a 20/20 bat w/some health |
| 32 | Nick Ahmed | Small pwr gains last 3 yrs, but still can’t hit vRH (career .624 OPS) |
| 33 | Niko Goodrum | B2B double-doubles, but poor team & AVG stunt upside |
| 34 | Nico Hoerner | Flashed strong bat-to-ball skill (13% K) & bouncy ball added pop |
| 35 | Luis Urías | Ball aided MiLB pwr jump (.285 ISO), but couldn’t bring it to MLB (.102) |
Honorable Mentions: Andrelton Simmons, Jurickson Profar, Dansby Swanson, Brendan Rodgers, Royce Lewis, Carter Kieboom, Wander Franco, Andrés Giménez, Hanser Alberto, Orlando Arcia, Freddy Galvis, Cole Tucker, Josh VanMeter
Holy smokes Semien at 15? Wow what a deep position group.
I know and I’m a huge Semien fan, so I feel like I’m gonna be a bit higher than some others. Maybe put him over Bichette, but I’m betting on Bichette’s big speed coming through next year. Not sure I see anyone else he *must* be over.
Bichette actually has average to below average peak speed. Not that it means a lot when stealing bases, but still.
Ya obv referring to minor league SB track record, as I did in the comment
Indeed! Semien might even get a boost depending on the context of your league’s scoring. For example, in my points league he was the 2nd top scoring SS (801) behind Bregman (813.5) and 3rd place Bogaerts was a distant 781 points. He was the 4th overall hitter.
What surprised me most about him this year was his plate discipline as far as it appeared in BB and K numbers. Everything about his XBH looks sustainable and he even has room to grow in steals, but the latter is more doubtful as a player ages and I would not be surprised for some regression after a career season, especially in batting average.
He’ll come back down to earth next year. Look at his OPS+ each year and note how huge an outlier this was.