Mid-Season Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Dynasty Rankings, Prospect Rankings, Buys, and Sells (2025)

July 30, 2025

Eric Cross provides his 2025 fantasy baseball prospect and dynasty rankings for the shortstop position and discusses SS to buy, sell, or hold moving forward.

After covering catcher, first base, second base, and the hot corner so far, we now round out the infield with my mid-season dynasty and prospect rankings for the always exciting shortstop position.

Per usual, the shortstop position is loaded with elite players and has plenty of depth, both on the Major League side and down in the minors. There's a good blend of reliable veterans, rising young MLB talent, and a plethora of high-upside prospects.

Below you'll find my current Top 20 dynasty rankings and Top 15 prospect rankings for the third base position, along with thoughts on several notable players, their values moving forward, and whether to buy, sell, or hold right now. You can check out all of the other positions here: Catcher | First Base | Second Base | Third Base

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Shortstop Dynasty Rankings

Tier 1: Bobby Witt Jr., Elly De La Cruz

Tier 2: Gunnar Henderson, CJ Abrams, Francisco Lindor, Zach Neto

Tier 3: Trea Turner, Mookie Betts, Corey Seager

Tier 4: Konnor Griffin, Jeremy Pena, Kevin McGonigle, Sebastian Walcott, Leodalis De Vries, Jesús Made, Luis Peña

Tier 5: Jacob Wilson, Bo Bichette, Ezequiel Tovar, J.J. Wetherholt, and others

Shortstop Prospect Rankings

Tier 1: Konnor Griffin, Kevin McGonigle, Sebastian Walcott

Tier 2: Leodalis De Vries, Jesús Made, Luis Peña

Tier 3: J.J. Wetherholt, Colt Emerson, Arjun Nimmala

Tier 4: Jordan Lawlar, Jojo Parker, Carson Williams, Eli Willits, Franklin Arias, Ethan Holliday

Shortstops to Buy/Sell/Hold

Konnor Griffin, Pittsburgh Pirates (Buy)

Yes, the price tag is already high, but we're talking about a potential fantasy first-rounder who joins the top tier of dynasty shortstops in a few years. That uber-elite potential is worth buying high on, as I'm a firm believer that Griffin's value is only going to continue rising until he's one of baseball's next exciting young superstars.

Konnor Griffin HOMER!

Hoppers: 7 | IronBirds: 2 pic.twitter.com/jDSYgkYiNX

— Greensboro Grasshoppers (@GSOHoppers) July 3, 2025

In 352 plate appearances between Low-A and High-A, Griffin has slashed .325/.399/.516 with 16 doubles, 13 home runs, and 41 steals in 50 attempts for an 82% success rate. Griffin is an elite runner who could be an annual threat to exceed 40 steals, and the power upside is also considerable. He's the only current prospect in the minor leagues who I see having a legit shot at going 30/30 someday.

But what has been just as encouraging as the power/speed blend has been Griffin's improvements as a pure hitter already in just his first professional season. As the season has progressed, Griffin's contact and walk rates have trended up, and his strikeout rate has come down. In High-A, Griffin has recorded a 76% contact rate, 10.1% SwStr rate, 12.4% walk rate, and a 19.8% strikeout rate.

With Roman Anthony about to graduate, Griffin is going to take over the top spot in my prospect rankings.

Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles (Hold)

After joining the elite ranks last season as an overall top-10 player thanks to 37 home runs, 21 steals, and a .281/.364/.529 slash line, Henderson has taken a bit of a step back offensively this season. In 391 plate appearances so far, Henderson is slashing .278/.345/.456 with 11 home runs and 13 steals. This has still been a solid season, but it's fair to say that those who roster Henderson are probably a bit underwhelmed with his production.

I'm not that worried, though. Henderson is still hitting the ball hard with a 52.5% hard-hit rate and 92.9 mph AVG EV while having similar contact, walk, and strikeout rates to his elite 2024 season. The only two metrics that have fallen off are his chase rate (5.9% higher) and barrel rate (3.2% lower). Henderson still ranks in the Top-8% of hitters in bat speed  and is a 76th percentile runner.

There's really nothing in the profile that is a notable concern for me moving forward, and nothing that signals that Henderson isn't going to be an elite player or possibly even return to top-10 overall status at some point. If the price tag has fallen at all in your league, I'd try to capitalize on that.

Jacob Wilson, Athletics (Sell)

As I've posted my updated shortstop dynasty rankings throughout the season, I've gotten some comments about me having Jacob Wilson too low, especially when he was the talk of the town earlier this season. There's no denying that Wilson has had an impressive rookie season, slashing .315/.357/.445 with 10 home runs and five steals in 388 plate appearances. But the perceived value is way too high right now, making him a strong dynasty sell for me.

The contact skills always have been and probably always will be elite here with Wilson. He currently has a 91.6% zone and 89.8% overall contact rate while only striking out in 7.7% of his plate appearances. Wilson is also hitting over .300 against all three pitch types.

However, the quality of contact is among the worst in baseball with a 2.1% barrel rate, 85.2 mph AVG EV, and a 24.9% hard-hit rate. And it's not like Wilson hits the ball at ideal angles to maximize power either, as he has a 53.6% groundball rate, 14.4% Pull-Air rate, and an average launch angle of eight degrees.

Don't let those eight home runs in his first 60 games this season fool you into thinking that Wilson can be a 20-homer bat. I'd bet every penny I have that he will never have a 20-homer season in his career. There's slightly more power potential here than with someone like Luis Arraez, which is why I rank Wilson higher than I ever ranked Arraez, but I can't put a guy who is capped at around 12 home runs and 5-10 steals annually as a top-100 player.

Kaelen Culpepper, Minnesota Twins (Buy)

While all the attention is on the elite shortstop prospects in Single-A, Kaelen Culpepper has quietly been putting together a really solid season and has been steadily rising up my prospect rankings. In 336 plate appearances between High-A and Double-A, Culpepper is slashing an impressive .306/.393/.486 with 13 home runs and 18 steals in 21 attempts.

While Culpepper doesn't stand out in any one area, he's a well-rounded offensive shortstop who can do a bit of everything with no glaring red flags in the profile. Culpepper is around an average to slightly above-average raw power bat with 15-20 homer upside, and he's an above-average runner who has been efficient with his stolen base attempts this season.

There's also an above-average blend of contact and approach here as Culpepper is currently running a 10.7% walk rate, 16.1% strikeout rate, 10.2% SwStr rate, and a contact rate around 77% this season. Culpepper has moved into my top-100 prospect rankings, and I don't believe you'll have to pay a top-100 prospect price tag to acquire him in dynasty leagues right now.

Jordan Lawlar, Arizona Diamondbacks (Hold)

My thought process here with Jordan Lawlar is similar to what I discussed with Coby Mayo in the third base edition of this mid-season dynasty and prospect rankings series. Like with Mayo, rostering Lawlar over the last year has been frustrating due to inconsistent production and inconsistent playing time at the Major League level. In Lawlar's case, there are also some durability concerns here with multiple trips to the IL over the last couple of years.

Fresh off making his second straight Prospect Team of the Week, Jordan Lawlar is at it again.

MLB's No. 10 prospect (@Dbacks) starts this week off with a double and a homer for the @Aces. pic.twitter.com/CsZjDiDhkf

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 29, 2025

If you have Lawlar, selling right now would definitely fall under the "selling low" umbrella. Yes, the last two seasons haven't quite gone according to plan, but this is still a talented shortstop with a fantasy-friendly profile. Just look at his Triple-A numbers this season if you need a reminder of that upside. In 53 Triple-A games, Lawlar is slashing .319/.410/.483 with 33 extra-base hits, 10 home runs, and 18 steals in 20 attempts.

If Arizona ends up trading Eugenio Suarez at the trade deadline, Lawlar could get some run at the hot corner in Arizona down the stretch, assuming he's able to make it back from his current hamstring strain. There's plenty of risk with rostering Lawlar, but also considerable upside. I'd hold if you have him and possibly even buy low if the price tag has dropped in your league, as I assume it likely has.

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