While the 2nd basemen to target is a necessary evil like changing your underwear. This post, well, have you seen the top 20 shortstops for 2025 fantasy baseball? Dude, why did you not draft one of the glorious top top TOP guys? Did you show up late to your draft because they required you to wear pants? I’m hopeful that everyone rosters at least one shortstop prior to getting to the sleepers in this post, and likely two. Top shortstops are the bee’s knees, and bees have knees; I’m a scientist. This is a (legal-in-all-countries-except-Lichtenstein) supplement to the top 20 shortstops for 2025 fantasy baseball. The players listed have a draft rank after 200 on other sites. I love lots of top shortstops, but they’re not here because I didn’t see them after the draft price of 200. Click on the player’s name where applicable to read more and see their 2025 projections. Anyway, here’s some shortstops to target for 2025 fantasy baseball:
Carlos Correa (ESPN 229, Yahoo 225, NFBC 243) So, first off the bat, the shortstops to target are awful. These aren’t shortstops to target. The shortstops to target are Gunnar Henderson! The shortstops to target are Oneil Cruz, are Elly De La Cruz, are Bobby Witt Jr., are Treat Urner! Are you following? There’s roughly six dozen top shortstops, you better draft one of those. These shortstops to target are in deep leagues if you punted UTIL or MI, maybe, but even MI — listen, if you have Gunnar Henderson, awesome, then draft Westburg or Tovar or Volpe or someone else as your MI. Then, you mosey up to pick 200 and you need a UTIL guy? Fine, Carlos Correa. Or one of these shortstops to “target.” As I said in the opening, 2nd basemen to target or catchers or next the third basemen to target, those are guys to target. These are, “Crap, I accidentally forgot to draft a shortstop and now I’m a little screwed, please help.”
Tommy Edman (ESPN 247) I don’t know if Tom Ed can pull off getting 500+ plate appearances in the Dodgers’ lineup because there are a lot of mouths to feed, but, if T.E. can, he’s going to struggle to not be top 200 overall valuable. His last three years when he had 500+ PAs:
11/30/.262
13/32/.265
13/27/.248
That’s 2021, 2022 and 2023. Last year was a lost year, and he’s still 29. Give him 500+ PAs in Dodgers’ lineup and a glimpse of who he used to be (am I singing Gotye?) and he goes 12/30/.250 with 70 RuBIs pretty easily.
Tyler Fitzgerald (ESPN 273, Yahoo 224, NFBC 233) This goes back to what I was saying in the Correa blurb. I am not 100% sold on these guys. They are flyers or Tylers, in this case. I can’t figure out if Fitzgerald is a guy who went 15/17/.280 last year in only 314 ABs and is about to go 30/30/.280 over the course of a full year (incredibly unlikely but I’d defer to Mr. Prorater for further prorating) or if he’s about to go 15/17/.230 as almost every projections system seems to think, as, I guess, they think he had Maas Appeal last year. I don’t know, tee bee aitch. He did go 22/32/.292 in 2023 in the minors, so it’s not like he’s never shown this, but he is also 27 already. He might be a late bloomer, but a lot of times people who seem like late bloomers get exposed in their 2nd season. I’m gently farting in Joey Meneses’s direction for the latest late bloomer who bloomed and then died on the vine.
Kristian Campbell (ESPN NR, Yahoo 318, NFBC 300) Gave you an entire Kristian Campbell fantasy. It was written in the dark, drab month of November, but it holds up remarkably well. I printed it up, leant it against a cabinet and it’s still holding up. Still think David Hamilton is the Red Sox starter in April, but Campbell could be up quickly in May. Then we will call him Soup, because of his last name and the can is red like his hair. Could Campbell be the best redhead in Boston since. Dot dot dot. Who? Dennis Johnson?
Jacob Wilson (ESPN NR, Yahoo NR, NFBC 368) He’s hitting .220 in the spring with a 4.9% strikeout rate, which is hilarious and also him to a tee, i.e., if you placed the ball on a tee, he’d hit a grounder to 2nd base. He does have two random spring homers though, so maybe he gets poppin’ in SacTown like a white boy listening to Macklemore in Seattle.
Luisangel Acuña (ESPN NR, Yahoo NR, NFBC 387) Don’t have much faith in Brett Baty and had more faith in Acuña, but he seems behind Baty in the McNeil Great Replacement Theory. (That’s the only time that’s been used, right?) Guys and five girl readers, for the love of all that is holy, draft a shortstop early. It is a deep position and should not be punted for later options.
