Top 10 Shortstop Prospect Rankings for Fantasy Baseball (2025)

January 9, 2025

Eric Cross' top shortstop fantasy baseball prospects. Read his latest 2025 fantasy baseball SS prospect rankings, including which players to target in dynasty.

The shortstop position abbreviation "SS" also stands for super sexy, which describes this position every year, both in the Majors and minors. Everyone wants to play shortstop, and the best athletes on the field at the youth level usually wind up there.

Per usual, this position is loaded with high-upside fantasy baseball prospects, and the below 10 are all within my Top 40 overall. However, only two, maybe three of them, will see the Majors this season. Most of the top names in this position are a year or two away from the Majors.

For my entire Top 100 and additional write-ups, check out my Patreon, where you can find the full Top 100 here. And make sure to continue checking RotoBaller, as I'm going to be going through all positions in the coming weeks!

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Shortstop Prospect Rankings for Fantasy Baseball

Age and highest level in parenthesis

NOTE: If you're looking for Kristian Campbell and Kevin McGonigle, I ranked and discussed them in my second base prospect rankings article.

1. Sebastian Walcott, TEX (18/AA)

If everything clicks, you could make an argument that Sebastian Walcott has more upside than any other shortstop prospect in the game today.

Walcott has already flashed plus raw power from his projectable 6-foot-4 frame and stands to add even more bulk/power in the next year or two. If he does, watch out. But Walcott is far more than just a projectable power bat as he's a phenomenal athlete who I believe will still be an above-average runner after he fills out.

Welcome to Double-A, Sebastian Walcott! 🔥

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— Frisco RoughRiders (@RidersBaseball) September 11, 2024

The power/speed upside here is considerable, but Walcott is still fairly raw and improving as a hitter. He did make strides there in 2024, including trimming his strikeout rate, but Walcott is still a sub-70% contact bat, which will need to improve moving forward. He's yet to put up the truly gaudy offensive stats, but those could be on the horizon in 2025.

2. Leodalis De Vries, SDP (18/A)

In a surprising move, the San Diego Padres had Leodalis De Vries skip the DSL (not surprising) and also the Complex Level (surprising), assigning him to Lo-A Lake Elsinore to start the 2024 season and his professional career.

While it took De Vries a couple of months to find a groove, he really took off once he did. Over his final 36 games, De Vries slashed .288/.407/.582 with 21 extra-base hits, 10 home runs, and nearly as many walks (27) as strikeouts (33).

Leo De Vries opposite field single.#letsgopadres pic.twitter.com/JRKmNfmvKh

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) November 2, 2024

De Vries shows an advanced feel for hitting for someone his age and has legitimate power from both sides of the plate, potentially leading to 25+ home runs annually down the road. There's also sneaky speed/athleticism here, and DeVries could also push 20 steals annually early in his career. While the upside might be a tick below Walcott's, De Vries is the more polished bat and a bit safer. You can't go wrong either way.

3. Jordan Lawlar, ARI (22/MLB)

After back-to-back seasons of 15+ HR and 35+ SB in the minors in 2022 and 2023, along with his brief MLB debut, Jordan Lawlar was limited to only 23 games in 2024 and has yet to reach the 500 plate appearance plateau in any season.

Lawlar has shown an exciting offensive blend throughout his minor league career, with the upside for more than 20 home runs and 25 steals annually.  and also has a good approach at the plate.

However, Lawlar's durability is a notable question mark right now and is the main reason why his ranking and perceived value have both dipped. I'm still a believer and looking to buy low heading into 2025, but we really need to see a full, healthy season from Lawlar. Just please stay healthy in 2025. Please! Seriously, who do I need to pay for a healthy season from Lawlar?

4. JJ Wetherholt, STL (22/A)

The seventh overall pick in the 2024 draft, JJ Wetherholt, immediately hit the ground running in the minors, hitting .295 with a .405 OBP and more walks (16) than strikeouts (15) in 29 games for Lo-A Palm Beach.

The offensive upside with Wetherholt is considerable as he's shown above-average power and speed and was considered one of the best pure hitters in the entire 2024 draft class, which showed with a contact rate above 80% in his professional debut along with a 91.9 mph AVG EV and 54.9% hard-hit rate.

With that said, the question surrounding Wetherholt has nothing to do with his skills and everything to do with his durability. But hopefully, the hamstring issues are behind him as Wetherholt has the skill set to be a top-10 prospect for fantasy purposes thanks to his blend of contact, approach, power, and speed.

5. Carson Williams, TBR (21/AAA)

After going 19/28 in 2022 and 23/20 in 2023, Carson Williams smacked 20 home runs and stole 33 bases in 115 games for Double-A Montgomery in 2024, along with a .256/.353/.469 slash line. With Williams, he's consistently shown above-average plus power and speed, along with outstanding defense at the shortstop position, but his contact skills and strikeout rate are still a concern.

Arizona Fall League Batting Practice

Carson Williams#Rays #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/slKuqUnxy7

— Eric Cross (@EricCrossMLB) November 5, 2023

We saw some improvements in the strikeout department as Williams dropped his strikeout rate from 31.8% in 2023 to 28.5% in 2024, but he was still making contact below 70% of the time. At this point, I'm comfortable projecting Williams as a Major League regular and 20/20 threat, but he looks like a .250ish hitter.

6. Felnin Celesten, SEA (19/CPX)

We've only seen Felnin Celesten for 32 games, but he certainly made an impression in limited time. In 144 plate appearances at the Complex Level, Celesten slashed a robust .352/.431/.568 with 17 extra-base hits, three home runs, and five steals.

Celesten is a plus runner with plenty of strength and athleticism. And once he fills out his frame a bit more, we could be looking at a plus power/speed threat capable of going 25/20 annually if everything clicks.

Many evaluators who have seen him live have praised his advanced abilities at the plate as well, giving hope that he could hit for a high average with a good OBP down the road as well. All the ingredients are here for a high-impact fantasy shortstop. Let's see if he can put those ingredients together over the next few years as he works his way up to Seattle.

7. Jesus Made, MIL (17/DSL)

You'll have a difficult time finding many prospects with more helium than Jesus Made right now. In 51 DSL games, Made slashed .331/.458/.554 with 21 extra-base hits, 28 steals, and more walks (39) than strikeouts (28). He's still very young with a small track record, but Made flashed loud offensive tools and could wind up above-average or plus across the board offensively.

Made is also very advanced for his age, and some evaluators who saw him live said he was one of the best prospects to come through the DSL in several years. If Made is able to continue showcasing these skills consistently when he comes stateside in 2025, we're most likely looking at a Top-10 prospect for fantasy with a shot at the No. 1 prospect title.

8. Colt Emerson, SEA (19/A+)

Colt Emerson has become a difficult player to rank. Undoubtedly, he's a phenomenal pure hitter, as Emerson made contact at a clip above 80% in both Lo-A and Hi-A in 2024 while walking nearly as much as he struck out. However, how much power and speed Emerson brings to the table is another question.

He's still young and will probably add more power, but at this point, I'm not sure I see him reaching 20 home runs or 20 steals either as an average current runner that might dip to 45-grade.

Emerson is certainly a good prospect, but he's starting to give me the "better in real life than fantasy" vibes. The development of his power will be huge, both in terms of raw power and his ability to elevate more consistently. As of now, he's more of a line drive into the gap type of hitter.

9. Konnor Griffin, PIT (18/High School)

While Konnor Griffin has yet to debut, there's plenty of excitement surrounding the #9 overall pick from the 2024 draft. Griffin is a premium athlete who stole a whopping 85 bags in his final high school season.

There's easy double-plus speed here, and Griffin has plenty of raw power as well, potentially winding up as plus down the road. There was also a video that surfaced recently where he looked much bigger and stronger than he did in 2024.

Here is an HD quality video of Konnor Griffin’s swing in case anyone wanted to see it. pic.twitter.com/OWeXccSoVq

— Kody Duncan (@KodyDuncanPGH) August 30, 2024

Given his elite speed and top-notch athleticism, I don't think Griffin will lose much speed as he matures, either, which means we could be looking at a plus power/speed threat. But the real question is where does the hit tool wind up?

Griffin was a multi-sport athlete in high school and has only solely focused on baseball for the last year or two. With further development in the Pirates system, the hope is that Griffin can develop into at least a 50-grade hitter. The upside here is a Top-5 overall prospect.

10. Joendry Vargas, LAD (19/CPX)

After impressing in the DSL back in 2023, Joendry Vargas had another impressive showing at the Complex Level in 2024. In 171 plate appearances, the lanky shortstop slashed .303/.406/.493 with 16 extra-base hits, four home runs, 11 steals, and 21 walks. While he's still raw as a hitter, Vargas has flashed above-average or better raw power that should only increase as he adds more bulk to his frame.

As he fills out, there's some concern that he'll tick down and be a fringe-average or below-average runner on the bases. But if Vargas is able to make enough contact and still add double-digit steals annually, he could wind up as an above-average offensive player for fantasy purposes.

If you enjoyed these rankings and want to see additional rankings, analysis, and more, check out Eric's Toolshed Fantasy Patreon.

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