Fantasy Baseball > 2017 Rankings > Shortstops
Fantasy Shortstop Rankings: 2017Are we living in the golden age of Shortstops? It certainly seems like it. The list of top fantasy shortstops is deep with really good hitters, and not the traditional slap-hitters. We're talking serious power sources - power that used to only be found in the outfield and on the corners. Corey Seager proved last year that he is beyond legit, and Xander Bogaerts - like we predicted - just churned out hit after hit after hit with good power, run and RBI production and a little speed, contributing in all 5 categories. Then there was also the injury-shortened Cinderella, Trevor Story story. He hit .272 with 27 HR in just 97 games... we don't expect that kind of pace this season and we want to see how healthy he is. There's more below on these guys and the rest of the top 20 fantasy shortstops for 2017.
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LEFT: Xander Bogaerts could very well become the top fantasy shortstop as he continues to improve; ABOVE: but Corey Seager is the real deal and he's the number one fantasy SS and could be for the next 10 years.
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Who are the Top Fantasy Shortstops in 2017?
Trevor Story was on pace for a ridiculous 110 run, 45 HR, 120 RBI season before being derailed by an injury. But who really thinks he would have continued on that pace? We don't. We could have seen him finishing around 95 runs, 35 HR and 90-100 RBI, but his strikeout pace is just too high to have kept up that early pace (that's a 200+ strikeout season). Still, keep an eye on Trevor Story in '17. If he comes back healthy and a little more patient at the plate, he could end up as a top-3 fantasy shortstop, but we don't think that's likely this season... And keep an eye on Jean Segura and Jonathan Villar: Segura is also our 5th-ranked Second Baseman and he's now entering a lineup in Seattle that's pretty stacked. Villar is also our 5th-ranked Third Baseman. Villar plays for the Brewers, but his speed is just too much to ignore. He may only have Ryan Braun to drive him in, but that just means more stolen bases for Villar as he does everything he possibly can to get into scoring position for someone in Milwaukee.
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Fantasy Shortstop Rankings for 2017
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Carlos Correa still has a great chance at being the #1 fantasy shortstop given the tools he has to work with. He's also in a potent lineup in a hitter-friendly park, so as he matures both physically and mentally (he's only 22 years old), we'll see his stats climb across the board. For now, expect what he did last year to continue, but add on about 10-15 more runs and a batting average in the .280-.290 range... and hope for 20+ steals as well. If it all comes together for Carlos Correa in 2017, we could see a 30 HR/30 SB performance, but that's if it all works out for him. But we can see it happening in a perfect scenario.
And Francisco Lindor is capable of being a #1 fantasy shortstop, too. He does a little of everything and he's only 23 years old, which means he'll develop more patience, more power and more production so long as he stays healthy. Already at his young age, he only struck out 88 times in 604 at bats last season, so as he develops physically over the next 3-5 years, we can expect more power output and/or more stolen bases as he learns to read pitchers better and better. Look for Lindor to continue with about the same numbers as last season with a possible bump up across the board with the addition of Edwin Encarnacion in the lineup.
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#8 Fantasy SS: Troy Tulowitzki
Troy Tulowitzki used to be the hands-down, best shortstop in fantasy baseball when he was in Colorado. Who would have thought that a move to a contending team in a hitter's ball park and with a better lineup would equate to worse stats for Tulowitzki? Well, it's happened. Last year, it just seemed like Tulo didn't want to play - like, because he wasn't the main source of offense for his team, he thought it would be cool to take some time off. But when we look at his splits, maybe he just doesn't handle pressure well.
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Troy Tulowitzki Splits: Batting 5th vs. Batting 6th in the Lineup
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When Troy Tulowitzki bats 5th in the lineup with Toronto, his batting average is .056 lower, which is significant. Somehow, he also manages to walk more while having a lower on-base percentage. Furthermore, his slugging percentage and OPS both go way up when he bats out of the 6th spot, and his RBI production is more efficient when he bats 6th vs. batting 5th. So... what does all this tell us? Either he doesn't like the pressure of being "the guy" to drive in all the runs in the lineup, or he just fits in better with the lineup when he bats 6th.
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Somehow, Troy Tulowitzki is getting better pitches to hit in the 6th spot. Either that or he's a good example of a guy who you don't want to walk. You want him swinging at everything instead of being patient. Some guys are like that (Vladimir Guerrero, anyone?), but this is an odd case. Tulo shouldn't be getting better pitches to hit in the 6th spot since there's no protection behind him. Then again, the way John Gibbons shuffles that lineup around may be the biggest problem the Blue Jays face as a whole. Seriously... Jose Bautista hitting leadoff? Saber Metrics, my ass. But that's another story.
Predictions for #9 Fantasy SS, Aledmys DiazFirst, to answer your question, yes, Aledmys Diaz is the real deal. He's 26 years old has been consistent throughout his career in Cuba and in the minors. Pacing out his rookie-season stats from last year, you're looking at a pace of 100 runs, 20-25 HR, 85-90 RBI and a .297 batting average. We'll take it. Depending on your fantasy league, though, he may go earlier than necessary, but don't worry - there are tons of good shortstops out there. Aledmys Diaz, however, could end up being a top-5 fantasy shortstop in 2017 if he keeps up his pace from last season. Expect 20 HR, 80 Runs and 70 RBI out of Aledmys Diaz in 2017 - give him a little wiggle room to struggle in his second season in the big leagues, but we don't expect a significant struggle from him given his experience and the fact that he's already 26 years old.
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#10 Brad Miller vs. #11 Marcus Semien
Brad Miller and Marcus Semien are roughly the same guy in terms of fantasy output. They're both on crappy teams, they both play in crappy ball parks, and they both hit for a crappy average but have lots of power and fantasy production otherwise. So which one do you draft? Eeny-meeny-miny-moe it, dude. The main difference is the home ball park: Tropicana Field (while it's a dump) is a better park to hit in; the Oakland Coliseum (which is also a dump) has a HUGE amount of foul territory which probably makes up the difference in their respective batting averages.
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Fantasy Shortstop Sleepers for 2017
#12 Brandon Crawford |
#13 Freddy Galvis vs. #16 Didi Gregorius |
 Brandon Crawford could end up as a top fantasy shortstop in 2017.
Last season, Brandon Crawford was an "en vogue" pick, and after his mediocre season, he's back to being a sleeper pick. Crawford could go back to the 20 HR range pretty easily this year, especially given the fact that he hit 11 triples last season - 9 of those triples were at home, so those very easily could have been home runs on the road. Crawford also set career highs in games played (155), Runs scored (67) and tied his career high in RBI with 84 - all on a down year. Expect 15-20 HR, 70+ runs scored and the rest of the same numbers across the board in 2017.
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Like Semien and Miller, Freddy Galvis and Didi Gregorius are pretty much the same guy. Galvis has a little more upside given his ability to steal some bases. Also, Galvis' sudden power surge last season was no fluke. Not only did his HR go up, his doubles went up significantly as well. On the bad side, his walks went down and his strikeouts went up, so he's purposefully swinging for the fences more which could make him streaky and unreliable... Didi Gregorius also increased both his homers and doubles last season, but he didn't increase his strikeouts (nor his walks). Gregorius however, is not a good base-stealer at all and we don't see any signs of him suddenly figuring out how to steal bases, either. Galvis is the better of the two, but not by much.
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