Shortstop Overview

Shortstop is a fun position with a lot of big drop offs. The top of the tiers make up half of the first six picks in the ADP and there are 10 shortstops in the top 100 pick. While there are a lot of interesting players at the position that present a lot of upside, the drop offs are pretty severe and in deeper leagues you can find yourself pretty weak at the position if you wait too long.

Changelog

• 3/10/2025 – Gunnar Henderson injury and projections/ADP Update
• 2/18/2025 – Projections and ADP Update
• 1/29/2025 – Projections and ADP Update
• 1/13/2025 – Projections and ADP Update
• 12/12/2024 – Adames signs in San Francisco
• 12/5/2024 – First Release

Ranking Methodology

• ADP is based on 30-day rolling NFBC Draft Champions Leagues.
• $ Values are based on standard 5×5 12-team league using the FanGraphs Depth Charts and these Auction Calculator settings. They default to a player’s most valuable position, so if the first base list includes a catcher, it will show that player’s value at catcher.
• ADP and $ Values are updated as of the last update date on this post.
• 5-game eligibility was used for these lists to cast the widest net.

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Catcher Overview

Catcher is a much better fantasy position than it used to be, but it still has pretty big drop offs that fantasy managers need to be aware of. The position is filled with a plethora of interesting young players and older vets to pick from, but the deeper the league you are in, the tougher the position becomes.

Today’s Discussion

New year, new catcher ranks!

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Here is today’s chat transcript
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American League

Orioles

• Albert Suárez 수아레즈 and Cade Povich will be the sixth and seventh starters.

“If everybody stays healthy throughout camp, you’ve got five guys, plus Albert [Suárez] is the sixth and [Cade Povich] is the seventh,” Hyde said. “It’s so early in camp right now. You’re just keeping your fingers crossed these guys can get built up and stay healthy at the same time.”

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Justin Mason is joined by some of the best fantasy analysts in the industry to raise money for Fantasy Cares.

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Justin Mason is joined by some of the best fantasy analysts in the industry to raise money for Fantasy Cares. Read the rest of this entry »

Are you a hitter who can’t time up the fastball? Feeling over-powered? Not having your best day? Just wait it out, the hook will come eventually. Keep that weight back and search for that little bump, that little loop, as the pitch comes towards the plate. Wait on it, wait on it, wait on it….strike! It’s not as easy as it sounds. Of the 115 starting pitchers who threw at least 100 innings in 2024, 76 threw a curveball. Some of them got blasted; Miles Mikolas, Pablo López, Jameson Taillon. Some of them did the blasting; Framber Valdez, Seth Lugo, Max Fried. Take a look at some finer details below and see if you can find a few pitchers with positive curveball metrics for the back end of your fantasy rotation.

Fastballs: Four-seamers | Sinkers | Cutters

Breaking and Offspeed Pitches: Sliders | Changeups | Curveballs | Splitters | Sweepers
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Transcript is now available, thanks for coming out!

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American League

Angels

• In an article about shortstop replacements for Zach Neto, there was no mention of Luis Rengifo.

Neto remains ahead of schedule after undergoing shoulder surgery in early November but hasn’t been cleared to throw across the diamond or hit live pitching just yet. With Neto out, the Angels will have to turn to an internal option at shortstop to begin the season. Washington said he didn’t know whether Neto would miss a week or a month, but he didn’t expect him to be out too long.

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Heading into the 2025 season, second base will once again be one of the weakest positions in all of fantasy baseball. Truthfully, once we get past even the Top 5, things start to go downhill very quickly. The elite names are all very sure things in terms of returning draft day value, but even players that will be drafted as starters could potentially struggle and fall short of expectations. Eligibility on your site of choice will also play a major factor here. In fact, my #1 option at second base wont even be eligible there on a majority of sites (Bless your heart, Yahoo), making things even more challenging for a majority of players as we will go from five elite options down to four on CBS, Fantrax, NFBC, etc.

It appears that the wisest thing that you can do when planning out your draft is to take one of the elite options and then not have to worry so much about the vast wasteland that is the keystone position. This has been the case for the last several seasons, and it will likely benefit your squad if you take one of the elite talents at the position, as opposed to waiting for the later rounds to secure your target(s).It simply cannot be overstated how barren the position will be in 2025 draft rooms, so go get yourself a Betts, Altuve, Marte, Albies, or Semien.

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