Top 70 Shortstop Fantasy Baseball Rankings: January Updates

January 23, 2026

Top 70 shortstop (SS) fantasy baseball rankings, draft tiers for roto leagues (January updates). Nick Mariano's tiered SS fantasy baseball draft rankings.

Spring training will be here before you know it, and the baseball offseason continues to heat up. At RotoBaller HQ, we are back with more rankings advice. Today, we review our MLB teams' updated 2026 fantasy baseball shortstop rankings and tiers for roto leagues (5x5 category mixed leagues). These January rankings cover the top 70 for 2026. The shortstop position is loaded and has a few five-category studs, as 14 shortstops are ranked within the top 100 of our overall rankings. 

Kansas City Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr. leads the way as our No. 1-ranked shortstop after slashing 295/.351/.501 with 23 homers and 38 steals. Elly De La Cruz, Gunnar Henderson, Trea Turner, and Zach Neto follow Witt and are in the second tier. There are also several news items, recent transactions, and rumors floating around about trades/signings this offseason involving the shortstop position, which affect the rest of our rankings. Top free agent SS Bo Bichette signed with the Mets and will shift to the hot corner, while the Brewers acquired top SS prospect Jett Williams. 

The shortstop rankings below are specifically designed for traditional roto leagues, put together by RotoBaller's lead MLB forecaster Nick Mariano. We're also writing fresh articles all throughout the off-season for fantasy baseball prospects, fantasy baseball dynasty, and so much more. Win more in 2026!

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Updated Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Rankings (January)

Fantasy Baseball Shortstop (SS) News

Jett Williams, Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired shortstop prospect Jett Williams from the New York Mets in a four-player trade, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.com. Starter Freddy Peralta and reliever Tobias Myers are headed to the Mets, while Williams joins starting pitching prospect Brandon Sproat in the package headed back to Milwaukee.

Williams is 22 years old and was the Mets' first-round pick in 2022. He spent last season in Double-A and Triple-A, and he struggled adjusting to Triple-A pitching. Through 34 games there, he slashed .209/.285/.433 with a 9.3% walk rate and 23.2% strikeout rate. Still, he finished the year with an overall 136 wRC+ thanks to the success he had at Double-A.

The 5-foot-7 infielder finished the 2025 minor league season with 17 home runs and 34 stolen bases. FanGraphs grades Williams' future value at a 50, with speed and power being his best attributes. Although he primarily plays shortstop, he offers defensive versatility with significant experience at second base and in center field. Prior to the trade, FanGraphs projected that he would make his MLB debut in 2026.

Carson Williams, Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa Bay Rays top infield prospect Carson Williams made his MLB debut late in the season and appears to be the favorite to land the starting shortstop job out of spring training. During his first 32-game stint with Tampa Bay, the former 28th overall pick (from the 2021 MLB Draft) posted a .172/.219/.354 line but showed solid power upside, launching five home runs. However, his hefty 41.5% K% tainted his production.

Earlier in the season, Williams spent the entire campaign with Triple-A Durham, where he posted a .213/.318/.447 line with a .765 OPS. He hit 23 home runs and swiped 22 bases. While his strikeout rate will hinder his upside in points leagues, Williams has shown a solid power and speed skill set that could translate to deeper category formats. He is worth monitoring in spring training as he could be a viable late-round depth middle infielder in 15+ team formats.

Masyn Winn, St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (knee) feels healthy and says he is extremely excited to take the field again, facing no limitations in Spring Training. The Gold Glove-winning shortstop was shut down in mid-September for an arthroscopic procedure on his knee to deal with a torn meniscus. He impressed with a .253/.310/.363 triple-slash line despite playing through the knee issue most of the season.

The injury may have limited his aggression on the basepaths, where he finished with nine stolen bases to go with his nine homers, 51 RBI, and 72 runs scored. He's expected to be a key part of the Cardinals' lineup in 2026, and he could be a sneaky source of steals and run production if fully healthy and hitting at the top of the order. The Cardinals did lose some key bats, though, so the lineup could struggle as a whole next season.

Jorge Mateo, Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves announced on Monday that they signed free-agent infielder Jorge Mateo to a one-year, $1 million deal. Mateo will essentially be insurance after it was announced over the weekend that infielder Ha-Seong Kim (finger) will miss around the first six weeks of the 2026 season due to finger surgery.

Like Kim, the 30-year-old Dominican has been injured in recent seasons, playing in only 110 combined games the last two years with the Baltimore Orioles, slashing .214/.253/.362 with six home runs, 21 RBI, 39 runs scored, and 28 stolen bases. He hit only .177 in 42 games for the O's last year.

The most likely scenario to open the year with Kim injured is that utility man Mauricio Dubon will begin as the primary shortstop in Atlanta. If Mateo does get an extended chance at the 6 or another position for the Braves, he could be interesting for his speed (he stole a league-high 35 bags in 2022).

Kevin McGonigle, Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers top prospect Kevin McGonigle is a name to closely monitor early in the season. McGonigle enjoyed an impressive 2025 campaign and is quickly approaching the top level of the Detroit system. Last season, the No. 2-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline, trailing only Pittsburgh's Konnor Griffin, opened the season at Low-A but quickly reached Double-A by the second half.

Across 88 total games, McGonigle held an elite .305/.408/.583 line. Through 46 games with Double-A Erie, the 21-year-old posted a .254/.369/.550 line with 10 doubles, 12 home runs, and seven stolen bases. While McGonigle remains at least one stop away from the majors, he could be in the mix for a second-half MLB debut if he can carry this production into Triple-A. He remains a high-end dynasty asset that could hold redraft value late in the regular season.

Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds offered star shortstop Elly De La Cruz a contract extension last spring that would have been the largest contract in franchise history, according to MLB.com's Manny Randhawa, but De La Cruz declined the offer. The largest current contract in Reds history is Joey Votto's 10-year, $225 million deal in 2012.

De La Cruz became the fifth player in MLB history to hit at least 20 home runs (25) and steal at least 60 bases (67) in a single season in 2024. The 6-foot-5, 200-pounder took a step back offensively in 2025, though, hitting 22 home runs and stealing 37 bases in 162 games played.

However, a left-quad injury that he played with during the second half of the season may have been to blame. Despite his defensive shortcomings, De La Cruz is an elite athlete who could definitely bounce back offensively in 2026 with better health.

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