Justin Mason’s Final 2022 Shortstop Ranks (w/Comments)

by Justin Mason

March 31, 2022

With the season upon us, it is time to drop my final edition of my positional ranks. I will continue to update them live on the Sleeper and the Bust Patreon until the season gets underway and in-season as well.

You can review my ranks for other positions here: https://fantasy.fangraphs.com/category/rankings/

Justin Mason’s Shortstop Base Ranks: 3/29/22

Rank	Player	Team	Position(s)	ADP	Notes
1	Trea Turner	LAD	2B, SS	1.35	#1 player on my board
2	Bo Bichette	TOR	SS	4.62	I don’t know that the ceiling is much higher, but he is a stud. #4 overall player for me.
3	Tim Anderson	CWS	SS	27.6	All around contributor with some injury risk.
4	Trevor Story	BOS	SS	34.67	Will gain 2B eligibility early, but will he run less in Boston?
5	Francisco Lindor	NYM	SS	51.96	Great spring gives me hope of a strong bounceback.
6	Xander Bogaerts	BOS	SS	45.38	Boring but reliable
7	Marcus Semien	TEX	2B, SS	43.67	Hate may be going too far.
8	Javier Báez	DET	2B, SS	62.1	Power and speed will play in Detroit.
9	Jorge Polanco	MIN	2B, SS	77.23	I believe in the breakout.
10	Wander Franco	TB	SS	56.71	I don’t think the power/speed ceiling is as high as others in 2022. Has struggled in spring.
11	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	MIA	2B, SS	72.67	Huge upside if he can stay healthy.
12	Bobby Witt Jr.	KC	SS	90.63	Should gain 3B eligibility which will be great
13	Dansby Swanson	ATL	SS	117.9	I used to fade, but now I am fine withthe price.
14	Willy Adames	MLW	SS	123.42	Move to Milwaukee let him finally breakout.
15	Carlos Correa	MIN	SS	108.21	Injury history, and lack of speed have me fading him, but Minnesota is a decent landing spot.
16	Jake Cronenworth	SD	1B, 2B, SS	128.33	Love the triple eligiblity on a great team
17	Corey Seager	LAD	SS	89.58	Injury history, lack of speed and bad lineup have me fading him
18	Chris Taylor	LAD	2B, SS, OF	141.46	Second half average drop is a bit concerning.
19	Fernando Tatis Jr.	SD	SS, OF	28.4	Out three months makes him hard to roster.
20	Amed Rosario	CLE	SS	148.38	Underrated for what he brings to the table.
21	Eugenio Suárez	SEA	3B, SS	195.06	I think the September changes mean a rebound for 2022.
22	Gleyber Torres	NYY	SS	144.86	I am a bit worried about his playing time with the additions of IKF and Donaldson.
23	Nicky Lopez	KC	SS	236.52	Discounted for lack of pop.
24	Andrés Giménez	CLE	2B, SS	239.02	Finally began to produce at the end of the season. Probably underrated.
25	Brendan Rodgers	COL	2B, SS	172.33	If healthy, he could be really good, but I need to see him stay on the field.
26	Brandon Crawford	SF	SS	213.5	No way he repeats, but still viable.
27	Jonathan Villar	CHC	3B, SS	239.31	Should play a lot in Chicago and steal a lot of bases.
28	Luis Urías	MLW	2B, 3B, SS	165.71	Injury drops him some.
29	Oneil Cruz	PIT	SS	196.1	Could be a stud once he is up, but the Pirates are playing service time games.
30	Gio Urshela	MIN	3B, SS	283.34	I actually like the move to Minnesota for him, but injuries last year scare me.
31	Paul DeJong	STL	SS	388.55	Reworking his swing could mean a return to relevance. Hitting the ball hard in spring so far!
32	Isiah Kiner-Falefa	NYY	SS	279.62	Great landing spot in NYY. Apparently has been working with Justin Turner’s hitting coach.
33	Cole Tucker	PIT	SS	571.5	Looks good in spring!
34	Josh Rojas	ARZ	2B, SS, OF	234.44	I want to believe, but the StatCast profile is gross.
35	Miguel Rojas	MIA	SS	340.88	Some cheap speed if you need it late.
36	J.P. Crawford	SEA	SS	340.21	Will rack up a bunch of runs leading off.
37	Jeremy Pena	HOU	SS	401.35	With Correa gone, he is a really interesting sleeper.
38	Gavin Lux	LAD	2B, SS	253.31	Blocked from a full time role for now.
39	Didi Gregorius	PHI	SS	430.04	I think his time is about done.
40	Kyle Farmer	CIN	SS	458.73	At somepoint, I think he loses this job.
41	David Fletcher	LAA	2B, SS	337.32	Will play everyday.
42	José Iglesias	COL	SS	586.73	Best possible landing spot
43	Ha-Seong Kim	SD	2B, 3B, SS	322.25	Has a role with Tatis out.
44	Joey Wendle	MIA	3B, SS	345.25	Kind of boring but should play somewhat regularly.
45	Edmundo Sosa	STL	2B, SS	408.34	Looks like he could have a job on Opening Day.
46	Willi Castro	DET	2B, SS	520.57	Last year’s bust is still pretty young.
47	Elvis Andrus	OAK	SS	515.27	Will play a lot in Oakland, but that lineup is about to be really bad.
48	Tyler Wade	NYY	3B, SS, OF	419.73	Could be really interesting as a super utility guy.
49	Taylor Walls	TB	SS	548.82	Could find himself in a super utility role in Tampa.
50	Andrelton Simmons	CHC	SS	658.43	Pretty decent landing spot where he should play everyday.
51	Ramón Urías	BAL	2B, SS	425.7	Could be interesting if he is a full time player.
52	Nick Ahmed	ARZ	SS	512.93	Defense first guy will continue to play.
53	Bryson Stott	PHI	SS	438.46	Could find a role if Philly decides to replace Didi.
54	Jose Barrero	CIN	SS	367.7	At somepoint he should replce Farmer. May take longer given his spring.
55	Alcides Escobar	WAS	SS	575.84	Could play a decent amount.
56	Geraldo Perdomo	ARZ	SS	659.39	He is the future in Arizona, but I don’t know when he is a full time Major Leaguer.
57	Jeter Downs	BOS	SS	722.48	Maybe up earlier than expected with Tatis down.
58	CJ Abrams	SD	SS	599.91	Could be up at somepoint late.
59	Sergio Alcantara	CHC	2B, SS	741.32	Might play a fair amount as a utility infielder.
60	Royce Lewis	MIN	SS	704.93	Former top prospect needs to find health to unlock tools.
61	Kevin Newman	PIT	SS	611.84	Probably just a utility guy
62	Luis Rengifo	LAA	SS	717.98	Probably a backup infielder.
63	Jordan Groshans	TOR	SS	743.86	Could be up at somepoint late.
64	Thairo Estrada	SF	SS	708.84	Blocked
65	Mauricio Dubon	SF	2B, SS, OF	615.39	Blocked

ADP is based on NFBC Draft Champions leagues during the. month of March.

Ranks are for 5×5 Roto leagues.

5 Comments

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jbona3Member since 2016

4 years ago

Where would you place CJ Abrams if he makes the team out of ST (or gets an early call-up)? There are rumblings he has a chance.

ArmadilloFury

Franco is a savant. For Aug-Sep, he walked more than he struck out while hitting for a 155 wrc+ – as a 20 yr old. Then there is the historic 43 game on base streak that only HOF level players have done. Same thing with his posteason performance – only HOF level players have had 3 or more multiple hit games in the playoffs. This might be the last time he can be drafted outside of the top 20 for a decade

carterMember since 2020

Reply to ArmadilloFury

I like Franco, and his peak is sky high. I think he will have some great seasons. I do feel like he can be a great real life player. He will certainly have some seasons where he ends up going closer to the first round. But I feel like he is a bit more suited for OBP leagues. I mean solid defense, great batting average. Is .310 20 and 5 a top 20 pick though? He might come into some more stolen bases, but even the most generous projection by wRC+ has him as the 24th best hitter in the mlb. Ahead of guys like Olson, Machado, Castellanos. But that pick coincides with a .298 19hrs, 9sbs, 82rs, 79rbis. For comparison, Jorge Polanco projects by same system for more home runs, same sbs, more runs, 2 less rbis, worse batting average. He is going around 75th overall. I think Franco is going to be amazing. But for August through October for example when he was putting up that ungodly wRC+, he only hit 4 hrs, and stole 0 bases in 41 games. That isn’t going to win you any leagues. Do I think he grows into more power? Yes. But I would take the under on his adp this year for next year.

Carson Kahla

With Seager, I really don’t think after the off-season they had that the rangers are gonna have a bottom 5 offense, I’d bet they’re more middle of the pack. And yeah he’s gotten unlucky but his injuries haven’t been chronic or recurring.

Fromage

When you assess ratings, do you rely on fangraphs depth charts projections for playing time? Thanks