Jon Anderson's Shortstop Tiered Rankings and Projections

February 28, 2021

Jon Anderson's tiered rankings and projections for 2021 fantasy baseball roto leagues at shortstop (SS). Follow his fantasy baseball draft rankings and win big.

I am on to shortstop in my position-by-position tiered rankings. Check out the rest of the series at the links below:

First Base
Second Base
Third Base

This is quite a different position than what we've seen so far with first and second base. There are four studs at the position, and lots and lots of steals to be had. Here's how I see the tiers. At the end of each write-up, I'll give you my "favorite" name from each tier. This is who I like the best at their current ADP.

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Tier 1

You could certainly make the case that Tatis should be in a tier by himself, but I'm just a little hesitant to jump on that wagon since we've seen just 154 Major Leagues game from the guy. There is no doubt he's the best bet in the entire league for 30/30 season with a strong batting average, and you can see his projections are just through the roof.

I include Story here just because of the track record. He has been a fantasy stud three straight seasons now, and while the run and RBI count may drop a bit with Nolan Arenado leaving town, he is still a young, phenomenal hitter playing half of his games in Coors. Who knows, you may even see him take his base-stealing to a new level without Arenado's bat around.

Favorite: Tatis

Tier 2

These could have been tier-one guys, and in a lot of drafts, they are first-round picks. However, Tatis and Story just seem to separate themselves a bit. There are doubts that Turner can hit 30 homers and some questions about Lindor's batting average that don't really exist as much with Tatis and Story, so I have them just a small step behind. I think both of these guys has every bit of the upside of the other two players though, and you could see them both doing something crazy like a 30/30 season with a .300 batting average. You really can't lose if you're picking one of these first four shortstops.

Favorite: Lindor

Tier 3

There's a pretty significant drop-off from tier two to tier three, and the projections show that. Mondesi is, of course, the most polarizing fantasy player in the game. If he actually steals you 55 bases, he's going to be very valuable, but if he's a real risk to completely ruin your roster. The other three guys are much safer options that will contribute across the board, but the ceilings are just not at the same level as the four players in the top two tiers.

At this point, we've already ranked seven shortstops, so that's probably around or over half the teams in your league having a shortstop. I would really want to get one of these top seven guys, as I think the floor drops off at this point.

Tier 4

This is no doubt disrespectful of Tim Anderson given what he's done over the last two years, I just don't believe in the batting average, and neither do the projections. I think a .274 mark is fair, although we might be a little low on runs and homers here. He's clearly the top option in this tier.

After Anderson, you have Torres and Baez who should hit you some home runs but are unlikely to help you in batting average or steal a ton of bases. Then there's Semien, who maybe should be in the next tier, but I think he's in for a nice season in that revamped Blue Jays lineup in a much better park to hit in. He won't be hitting .290 or hitting 30 homers or stealing 20 bags, but I think you'll be pretty happy with the production you get from pick 141.

Favorite: Semien

Tier 5

This is the last tier where playing time is secure, but all of these players have gone long stretches without being very valuable as fantasy players. The only strong steals source left is Villar, who is now in a utility role with the Mets as you can see by that 424 plate appearance projection. Edman is interesting for steals as well, but stole just two bases in the short 2020 season while looking much worse at the plate overall.

Favorite: Correa

Tier 6

We have big question marks with every name here, whether it be skill-wise or playing time. These aren't players you want to depend on to be starters on your fantasy team.

Favorite: Gimenez (for late steals)

Tier 7

And here we have guys that don't do anything particularly well for fantasy purposes, mostly with playing time questions as well. Most of these names will go undrafted in standard leagues, so it's not a very consequential tier. If Kim can find some playing time, he's easily the most interesting name here because of his perceived upside.

Favorite: Kim

Rundown

• This is a position that is heavy on studs at the top, there are four huge ceiling players at the top that you may want to invest a first-round pick on. However, there are also some strong names in tiers three and four that fall quite a bit in the draft, making this a fine position to fill in a bit later.
• More than likely, you're going to be getting a lot of your steals from this position. There are way more base-stealers here than other positions, so keep an eye on those projections when filling your shortstop position, if you don't get some here you might not be getting any at all.
• There's really not much to like late, so prioritize getting one of the top seven names on your squad.

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