Justin Mason’s Top 50 Shortstops for 2020

December 26, 2019

It is that time of year again! With the new year upon us, I am releasing my first set of ranks during this week and next for those doing early drafts or prep over the holidays. All ADP and position eligibility are based on NFBC Draft Champions leagues.

Rank	Player	Team	Position(s)	ADP	Comments
1	Francisco Lindor	CLE	SS	8.45	Missed the first three weeks of the season and still went 32/22. A move to a better overall team will make the price rise as well.
2	Trea Turner	WAS	SS	9.82	Had an arguably better year with 40 less games than 2018. If he stays healthy, he could be the best player in fantasy.
3	Trevor Story	COL	SS	11.32	Pretty much repeated 2018 which makes him feel safer, but needs to stay on the field.
4	Alex Bregman	HOU	3B, SS	8.23	Arguably the highest floor of the top four, but lack of speed keeps him outside of the top three.
5	Fernando Tatis Jr.	SD	SS	18.18	Rookie year was amazing before being cut short by injury. Can he do it again?
6	Gleyber Torres	NYY	2B, SS	26.32	Murdered the Orioles to the tune of a 394/.467/1.045 triple slash and .267/.316/.470 versus the rest of the league. I am not saying he can’t repeat it, especially since he gets to play the Orioles a ton again.
7	Jonathan Villar	MIA	SS, 2B	29.36	If he was going to leave the Orioles, Miami was a pretty good landing spot. He still bats high and no reason to not let him run.
8	Javier Baez	CHC	SS	36.64	Lost the multi-positional eligibility, but I have no problem seeing him ranked anywhere in the top 10 at SS.
9	Adalberto Mondesi	KC	SS	38.5	Price could go up if shoulder looks good, but there are things that worry me. Shoulder, Matheny, OBP.
10	Xander Bogaerts	BOS	SS	34.95	About as stable as they come, but what happens if Boston starts dismantling?
11	Marcus Semien	OAK	SS	74.27	Coming off of a career year. Can he do it again?
12	Carlos Correa	HOU	SS	87.45	No way he finishes at this spot. He is either much higher or much lower depending on health.
13	Tim Anderson	CWS	SS	90.64	Still trying to figure out how he hit .335
14	Manny Machado	SD	3B, SS	61.95	ADP this high because of name value.
15	Bo Bichette	TOR	SS	78.05	Bichette has a ton of upside, but will he struggle as he gets more exposure?
16	Jorge Polanco	MIN	SS	147.41	No reason to think he can’t repeat breakout.
17	Elvis Andrus	TEX	SS	119.27	Andrus being this low shows how amazing the position is.
18	Paul DeJong	STL	SS	189	Who is the real DeJong, the first half guy or second half?
19	Kevin Newman	PIT	2B, SS	198.27	My most drafted player thus far. Should leadoff in Pitt and contribute in all categories.
20	Amed Rosario	NYM	SS	130.32	Showed growth with contact and patience. Could jump up a tier or two with more growth.
21	Corey Seager	LAD	SS	152.23	Name value is the only thing keeping him relevant at this point.
22	Jean Segura	PHI	SS	179.05	Will gain more eligibility. Lineup is stacked.
23	Didi Gregorius	PHI	SS	221.14	Where he hits in that lineup could determine a lot.
24	Willy Adames	TB	SS	268.82	Love adames, but will he lose playing time in Tampa?
25	Luis Uris	MLW	SS, 2B	337.32	Move to Milwaukee should help him deliver on pedigree.
26	Nico Hoerner	CHC	SS	337.59	High floor, low ceiling.
27	Jorge Mateo	OAK	SS	499.18	Could be a fantasy star, if he gets playing time.
28	Carter Kieboom	WAS	SS	294.86	Post-hype prospect has a path to playing time.
29	Dansby Swanson	ATL	SS	244.64	Has never publicly responded to our feud.
30	Andrelton Simmons	LAA	SS	330.23	Decent AL Only accumulator
31	Jon Berti	MIA	3B, SS, OF	200.27	Was a sneaky sleeper until the Marlins started signing people.
32	Nick Ahmed	ARZ	SS	340.14	Probably going too late, but the position is stacked.
33	Miguel Rojas	MIA	SS	473.23	Not super interesting.
34	Orlando Arcia	MLW	SS	453.23	Defense will give him at bats, but will be on a short leash.
35	Niko Goodrum	DET	2B, SS, OF	303.64	Great multi-positional eligible for your reserve list.
36	David Fletcher	LAA	SS, OF, 2B, 3B	308.41	Plays all the positions.
37	Jose Peraza	BOS	OF, 2B, SS	444.18	If Boston doesn’t sign anyone else, he is a really sneaky grab.
38	J.P. Crawford	SEA	SS	475.5	Defense first.
39	Freddy Galvis	CIN	2B, SS	352.5	Defense keeps him in the lineup, but his bat isn’t empty.
40	Nicky Lopez	KC	2B, SS	489.14	Remember when people spent all their faab on him during the season last year? Pepperidge Farms remembers.
41	Chris Taylor	LAD	2B, SS, OF	400.27	No longer starting limits his value.
42	Brandon Crawford	SF	SS	546.82	Great defender, poor offensively on a bad team.
43	Cole Tucker	PIT	SS	563.32	Remember when everyone spent a bunch of FAAB on him? That was fun.
44	Royce Lewis	MIN	SS	546.82	He should be up at some point this year.
45	Willi Castro	DET	SS	548.95	Low ceiling, but should play.
46	Richie Martin	BAL	SS	709.09	Will play, but does it matter?
47	Myles Straw	HOU	SS	598	Correa insurance.
48	Wander Franco	TB	SS	469.18	Most likely not going to be up this year, but has a ton of promise.
49	Ehire Adrianza	MIN	1B, SS, 3B	661.23	Always figures a way to get at bats.
50	Danny Mendick	CWS	SS	740.91	Should be replaced in Chicago within a few weeks of the start of the season.

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hipsterdoofus

5 years ago

Embarrassing Dansby Swanson rank

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LightenUpFGMember since 2018

Reply to hipsterdoofus

I’m missing the inside joke/comment there about the ‘feud’, for I imagine he should be higher unless Justin doesn’t believe in a repeat.

Reply to LightenUpFG

He was injured, he’s not going to repeat last year, he’s going to do even better (unless he’s hurt, which is possible).

RonnieDobbs

I figure he had a lucky first half. He has always reminded me of Addison Russell – just an average guy with a super long leash fueled by his prospect status in a great spot. In this era anyone can put together a good offensive stretch, especially with unlimited opportunity. In nearly 2000 PA he has been well below average

Sonny Price

Dansby seems to stay hurt/injured since turning pro. Actually even missed most his freshman year in 2013 because of injuries. It’s a shame he missed so much time with the juiced ball in play this year because when he retires he could have been able to say he had a 20-homer season. But alas, Dansby gets injured very often. Probably gonna happen again this year given his track record. Hopefully at some point in his career he can hit for some real average, stay healthy, get on base at a healthy clip while playing good defense for an entire season. Just do it once, Dansby. Please. For crying out loud stay healthy.

-6