Last year saw two of the most promising rookie shortstops in baseball battle for the AL Rookie of the Year award and set the stage for the next wave of talented shortstop prospects to be promoted. Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa both provided sparks for their teams and proved themselves to be two of the top players in the game today.

The next several shortstops rising to the majors are not quite as elite as the aforementioned two, but they all show promise. Players like Corey Seager, Trea Turner, and Dansby Swanson all are potentially elite shortstops and could have impacts on their big league clubs as soon as this season. Fantasy owners would be wise to draft several of these talented shortstops as they are major sleepers in the upcoming fantasy season and could prove to have significant value to owners.

Editor's note: Be sure to also check out our 2016 fantasy baseball rankings dashboard. Our rankings assistant tool combines all our staff's ranks in one place. You can easily filter and export all sorts of rankings and tiers - mixed leagues, points leagues, AL/NL only, top prospects, dynasty ranks, keeper values, and more.

Top 10 Dynasty Prospects: Shortstop

Here are the top ten shortstops for fantasy baseball in 2016:

1. Corey Seager (LAD, MLB)
Stats: 113 PA, .337/.425/.561, 4 HR, 2 SB, 12.4% BB rate, 16.8% K rate
ETA: Opening Day
What is there to say about Corey Seager that hasn’t been said already? He is a slight step below Carlos Correa in terms of offensive production at shortstop, but still looks poised to be an elite shortstop in the Major Leagues. Fantasy owners in 2016 should expect Seager to bat somewhere in the neighborhood of .275 with 15-20 home runs. He won’t steal many bases, but his overall batting ability make him well worth owning in fantasy leagues. He is a Top 5 shortstop and should be taken in the first five rounds of the draft.

2. Trevor Story (COL, AAA)
Stats: 275 PA, .277/.324/.504, 10 HR, 7 SB, 5.8% BB rate, 24.7% K rate
ETA: Opening Day
With Jose Reyes likely facing a suspension, the battle over shortstop for Colorado has come down to Cristhian Adames and Trevor Story. So far, Story is winning the battle. Last season between Triple-A and Double-A, Story displayed his promising power/speed combo, mashing 20 home runs and stealing 22 bags. Though his lack of plate discipline could wind up holding him back from hitting above .270 in the majors, fantasy owners can rest easy knowing that he should provide plenty of home run and stolen base production. Assuming Story wins the shortstop role in Colorado, he would be worth a late round draft pick.

3. Trea Turner (WAS, MLB)
Stats: (from AAA) 205 PA, .314/.353/.431, 3 HR, 14 SB, 6.3% BB rate, 20.0% K rate
ETA: Early May
It should come as no surprise that Dusty Baker is currently leaning towards Danny Espinosa as the starting shortstop for the Nationals, but make no mistake, Trea Turner is coming. Turner is an explosive talent, capable of stealing 25+ bases per season and hitting over .290 in the majors. To this point, Turner has had a big Spring and could still theoretically swipe the shortstop position out from under Espinosa. I personally don’t expect to see Turner until May, but he still holds potentially elite fantasy production at shortstop and would become a must-own shortstop once promoted.

4. Orlando Arcia (MIL, AA)
Stats: 552 PA, .307/.347/.453, 8 HR, 25 SB, 5.4% BB rate, 13.2% K rate
ETA: Mid-July
As of right now, Jonathan Villar is slated to start at shortstop for the Milwaukee Brewers. But just as the non-competitive Philadelphia Phillies promoted the MLB-ready Maikel Franco last season, I expect the non-competitive Milwaukee Brewers to promote Orlando Arcia by midseason. Arcia is one of the best shortstop prospects in the game and could potentially be an elite fantasy contributor and perennial All-Star. Arcia should be able to easily hit over .280 each season while also swiping 20-35 bags per season. Arcia is not quite worth drafting because he does not have a guarantee of playing time, but if promoted he immediately becomes a must-own prospect.

5. Aledmys Diaz (STL, AAA)
Stats: (from AA) 409 PA, .264/.324/.421, 10 HR, 6 SB, 7.1% BB rate, 15.2% K rate
ETA: Opening Day
Though he is far from a guaranteed thing to open as the Cardinals’ shortstop, Aledmys Diaz is going to build a strong case to at the very least open the year in St. Louis and start at short over Jedd Gyorko. For starters, Gyorko has not played much shortstop in his career and he has not been a very sound defender. Also, while Gyorko has flashed some home run power, he has produced little else as he has yet to post a batitng average above .300 in his career and his highest OBP in a season is .301. Meanwhile, Diaz has flashed power in the minors (mashed 17 home runs between three levels last season), he has shown well above-average plate discipline (.342 OBP, 0.53 BB/K over those levels last season). Gyorko is the most likely guy to begin the year at short, but expect Diaz to eventually overtake him and make himself a strong fantasy contributor at shortstop.

6. Dansby Swanson (ATL, A-)
Stats: 99 PA, .289/.394/.482, 1 HR, 0 SB, 14.1% BB rate, 14.1% K rate
ETA: Early August
That’s right, I think Dansby Swanson will debut this season. In fact, I think he will be the Braves’ starting shortstop shortly after the trade deadline. The Braves have shown a willingness to trade anyone who could theoretically be deemed a ‘veteran’ and for that reason I believe they will trade Erick Aybar at the trade deadline. Is it a little bit bold to think that Swanson will take over at short? Sure it is, but I think that by the trade deadline, Swanson will be in either Double-A or Triple-A and will be ready for the majors. Swanson is a potentially elite shortstop and could have a major impact on fantasy teams. If it does appear that he will be promoted, he immediately becomes a must own player in all fantasy leagues.

7. Jorge Polanco (MIN, MLB)
Stats: (from AAA) 94 PA, .284/.309/.352, 0 HR, 1 SB, 4.3% BB rate, 10.6% rate
ETA: Early June
The Twins have several people ahead of Jorge Polanco at shortstop, and none of them are particularly good. Eduardo Escobar is probably the best of the bunch and he could potentially prevent Polanco from reaching the majors, but I feel that before long Polanco will find his way into the Twins’ lineup. Polanco does not really have any outstanding skills: he could hit .260+, he can steal 20 bases, and he might hit five home runs. But for fantasy teams in need of some reliable production at shortstop, Polanco could be a solid add.

8. Tim Anderson (CHW, AA)
Stats: 550 PA, .312/.350/.429, 5 HR, 49 SB, 4.4% BB rate, 20.7% K rate
ETA: Mid-July
White Sox general manager Rick Hahn has all but completely ruled out the notion of Tim Anderson breaking camp with the team, but he did hint at the possibility that Anderson will debut later this season. Anderson would have to battle with Jimmy Rollins for playing time, but as Jimmy Rollins showed last year he is no longer the shortstop he once was and the White Sox are seemingly in a win-now mode. Anderson should be able to hit for a decent average for fantasy owners, but the real catch with him is his speed which could steal 25+ bags in a full season of play. Because he will not break camp with the team and he is not an elite talent, Anderson is not worth drafting, but fantasy owners in need of help at shortstop should add Anderson off the waiver wire and be better off for it.

9. JP Crawford (PHI, AA)
Stats: 405 PA, .265/.354/.407, 5 HR, 7 SB, 12.1% BB rate, 11.1% K rate
ETA: September
Though JP Crawford is on the brink of being Major League ready, it would be a stretch to assume that he is promoted at any point before September. The Phillies will probably want to retain as many years of control over him as possible. But in September, Crawford could see semi-regular playing time at shortstop as there is no doubt the Phillies will at least want to get a taste of the future at shortstop. For fantasy owners, Crawford is not worth drafting, but as we get closer to September he could be worth stashing as he could be a big impact bat for fantasy owners in the playoffs.

10. Raul Mondesi (KC, AA)
Stats: 338 PA, .243/.279/.372, 6 HR, 19 SB, 5.0% BB rate, 26.0% K rate
ETA: September
Raul Mondesi will not be displacing Alcides Escobar at shortstop any time soon, but that does not mean that he will have no fantasy value in 2016. If the Royals have shown anything in the past, it’s that they love to have players on their team who will pinch run just to come in and steal a base. Unless Mondesi displaces Omar Infante at second base, however, he will not have much value to fantasy owners in shallow leagues (< 12 teams). But for owners in deeper leagues, Mondesi could be a solid source of stolen bases in September.

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