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Jeremy's shortstop (SS) fantasy baseball breakouts, sleepers, value picks for 2025 drafts. His undervalued targets include Xavier Edwards, Carlos Correa, more.
Shortstop has been one of the best positions for top-end fantasy talent in recent years, and that isn't going to change in 2025. There are nine shortstops in the top 50, according to NFBC ADP, so there is a good chance you'll be walking away from the early rounds with a starting shortstop.
However, that isn't the only way to approach filling the position. There is a ton of depth in the middle and late rounds, too. Throughout all stages of the draft, there will almost always be a shortstop available with huge breakout potential.
Whether you need to fill your starting shortstop, middle infield, or utility spot, these shortstops make for great options with a good chance to outperform their current draft cost.
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Xavier Edwards, Miami Marlins
ADP: 139
Xavier Edwards burst onto the scene in 2024, slashing .329/.397/.423 with one home run, 26 RBI, 39 runs, and 31 steals in 70 games. The power is nonexistent, but that doesn't matter when it's tagging along with a 162-game pace of 71 stolen bases. There have been valuable single-category speed specialists in the past, such as Billy Hamilton, but Edwards stands out as more than that with his .329 batting average.
It's also extremely rare for this type of player to have good plate discipline, yet Edwards walked at an excellent clip of 10.9 percent, leading to his .397 OBP.
Xavier Edwards is a solid target in drafts if you have enough power elsewhere.
- Contact skills and approach should lead to a good AVG/OBP
- Should leadoff for MIA with 80+ R upside
- 31 SB in 303 PA in 2024, maybe 40+ in 2025?#FantasyBaseball pic.twitter.com/KzanO2P6Q9— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) December 6, 2024
His underlying metrics don't hold up to his .329 AVG, with his expected batting average (xBA) working out to just .252. Still, that ranks him at just above league average, and it's typical for players with extreme speed to outperform their xBA.
He is able to maximize his contact by swinging with a low bat speed, making his quality of contact metrics look similar to the former Marlin, Luis Arraez. His squared-up rate and launch angle sweet-spot rate both graded out as elite, while his hard-hit rate and barrel rate finished as some of the lowest in the league.
He has the potential to be a plus source of runs and batting average while being an extreme outlier in steals. ATC is projecting him to slash .281/.345/.361 with three home runs, 43 RBI, 68 runs, and 36 steals. That type of output would be well worth his 139 ADP, particularly if you load up on power early in the draft.
Edwards is the perfect complement to low-average sluggers such as Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso, and Anthony Santander.
Carlos Correa, Minnesota Twins
ADP: 230
Carlos Correa had trouble staying on the field in 2024 but was as productive as ever when healthy. He slashed .310/.388/.517 with 14 home runs, 54 RBI, and 55 runs in 86 games. This pace would have put him at over 100 runs and RBI with 26 homers in a full 162-game season.
While you shouldn't expect a full 162 from Correa in 2025, he is being drafted way too late for his level of per-game production. He looked like he was back in the prime of his career, posting a .278 xBA (89th percentile), .455 xSLG (78th percentile), and 16.6 percent strikeout rate (80th percentile).
#MNTwins Carlos Correa was 🔥 in 2024, slashing .310/.388/.517 with 14 HR in 86 games.
Underlying metrics:
.358 xwOBA 👀
10.9% BB rate 🎯
44.7% Hard-hit rate 💸Could he be the best-value SS at 255.5 ADP? 🤔⚾ (@TheReal_NFC) #FantasyBaseball pic.twitter.com/w1onc6dWPL
— Andy Smith (@A_Smith_FS) January 12, 2025
He is also only 30 years old, far from some washed-up player fighting off Father Time. His one down year in 2023, where he slashed just .230/.312/.399 seemingly scared people off from the shortstop permanently, leading to this disrespectful ADP of just 230.
Even if he does get injured again, a draft cost in the 20th round, on average, is a price well worth paying for potential elite production.
Masyn Winn, St. Louis Cardinals
ADP: 150
Masyn Winn had a solid season in his first year as the Cardinals' everyday shortstop, slashing .267/.314/.416 with 15 home runs, 57 RBI, 85 runs, and 11 stolen bases.
The power-speed threat interestingly traded one for the other at the halfway point of the season. He batted .284 with five homers and nine steals in the first half and hit .247 with 10 homers and two steals in the second half.
While neither stat line is overly impressive, it makes you wonder if he can combine those approaches into one and be a potential 20-homer and 20-steal threat for 2025.
Whether he can up his home run total from 15 to 20 remains to be seen, but he definitely has the potential to swipe way more bags. His 28.8 feet per second sprint speed ranked in the 87th percentile, and Winn spent time with a track coach this offseason with the goal of stealing over 30 bases.
That isn't a farfetched claim for the youngster, who stole 43 bases in 119 minor league games in 2022.
While it's not always good to trust what players claim they want to do, the willingness to steal more bases is one thing that can make a guaranteed impact. He is still only 23 years old, with plenty of room to take another step forward after he held his own in his first full major league season.
With an ADP of 150, it's worth taking the chance on a potential 15-homer, 30-steal season when the floor is still a pretty useful 15 and 15.
Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays
ADP: 116
Heading into last season, it would have seemed impossible to imagine that Bichette could end up on a breakouts list for 2025. He was as proven as they come, with an ADP in the top 36 overall every season dating back to 2021. However, after a disastrously bad 2024, he has an ADP of just 116 for the upcoming season.
The former batting-average standout hit just .225 with four home runs, 31 RBI, 29 runs, and five stolen bases in 81 games last year. It might be easy to just write him off for this year, but it's hard to believe that he just lost all of his skills overnight as a 26-year-old.
The more likely cause of his struggles was a recurring calf injury that landed him on the injured list multiple times, forcing him to try his best to play through it for the 81 games he did appear in.
His plate discipline and batted-ball metrics didn't take nearly as much of a dip as his actual production, with his strikeout rate, whiff rate, and hard-hit rate looking almost identical to 2023. He is fully healthy heading into 2025 and is already starting to look like his former self.
Bo Bichette Is Tearing The Cover Off The Ball This Spring
4 HR I 9 RBI I .400 AVG I .440 OBP I 1.173 OPS
The 27 year old struggled with injuries in 2024 but could have a monster bounce back season with the Bluejays. He will also be a FA in 2026!pic.twitter.com/89Uo1w1ECt
— Running From The OPS (@OPS_BASEBALL) March 21, 2025
The former star is tearing the cover off the ball in spring training. A fully healthy Bichette could easily return the value of an early-round player, considering he has already done it throughout most of his career. This will also be a contract year for the shortstop, as he's set to become a free agent following the season.
This should give him even more motivation to stay on the field and maybe even run more. He stole 25 bases in 2021 but has been less active on the basepaths since.
He is an easy choice to fill your starting spot if you miss out on the elite guys early on.
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