One of the truths about baseball is your team must be strong at shortstop to be able to win. The same can be said for 2025 fantasy baseball with the sheer number of stellar shortstop options. No matter what fantasy baseball ADP you are considering a shortstop at, there is likely to be at least a handful of players who can provide value for our rosters this season. 

 

 

 

But not every shortstop is worth the ADP risk. Even looking at the relative strength of the position in 2025 fantasy baseball, a few names stand out whose draft positions have become inflated to the point where managers should pass on them for other players. This article will look at three of the fantasy baseball SS options in the top 125 ADP that are worth fading at current price. 

We have previously looked at three players who are values late in drafts. These next three players are not values where they are and should be drafted only if they slip much later.

SS Fantasy Baseball ADP - Shortstop Fades 2025

Should your draft have you looking for a fantasy baseball shortstop in these ranges, consider other names as you round out your rosters. 

Average Draft Position for each of these players is taken from all NFBC fantasy baseball drafts since February 1st.

 

 

 

Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies (ADP: 25.8)

For almost 10 years, Trea Turner’s fantastic career with the Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Philadelphia Phillies has been defined by an uncanny ability to hit for power and steal a tremendous number of bases. As he enters his age 32 season, the bulk of the skills seem to still be around, but there are cracks developing in the armor that should prevent him from being a lock at the Round 2/3 turn in fantasy baseball drafts.

While the home runs have stayed above 20 for each of the last four years, the steals are in decline from 32 in 2021 to just 19 last year, Turner’s attempts (successful and not) have dropped in recent years. That could change with recent reports that Turner is being considered for the leadoff spot in Philadelphia’s lineup again, but without the elite success rate, do the Phillies really want Turner running into outs when Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber bat?

In addition to the steals, his age is starting to bring along some under-the-hood declines in batted-ball stats, specifically hard-hit rate. According to Statcast, Turner’s league percentile ranking in hard-hit rate has declined for four straight seasons. As a result, his expected slugging percentage (xSLG) and expected on-base percentage (xOBP) has declined during that time as well.

Turner is a fantastic pick at the Round 3/4 turn, but at pick 25, I’m looking elsewhere. 

 

 

 

Corey Seager, Texas Rangers (ADP: 44.0)

Believe it or not, this is also the 11th season for Corey Seager, and he will play 2025 at 31 years old. His age, along with his aggressiveness at the shortstop position, has caused him to miss more games than fantasy managers would want over the past four years. Seager has missed at least 39 games due to injury or injury maintenance in three of the last four seasons.

The power for Seager remains elite in his early 30s.  He has hit at least 30 home runs in each of the last three seasons, while maintaining a strikeout rate under 20%. Take a look at his Statcast page, and you will see it’s redder than a Texas sunburn, so this fade is mostly about the health history. 

It’s also a fade of players in the top 45 of drafts who provide absolutely zero on the basepaths. For all the red Seager has on Statcast, you might notice that his baserunning value is in the first percentile. As in, he can’t get any worse. When players like Oneil Cruz, Wyatt Langford, and Michael Harris are in the same range, give me a player who can contribute in all five fantasy baseball categories. 

 

 

 

Xander Bogaerts, San Diego Padres (ADP: 141.9)

If you find yourself still needing a shortstop after round 11 or 12, first of all, how dare you. Second of all, don’t worry. There are still plenty of fantasy contributors left at the position. All of my shortstop value picks live in this range, and several have the potential to move into the top 75 next year if they can overcome health concerns (Bo Bichette, Matt McLain, Zach Neto), or experience concerns (Xavier Edwards, Anthony Volpe). 

Xander Bogaerts doesn’t have to worry about either of those things. He is entering his 12th full season and has played at least 144 games in four of the last five non-Covid seasons. However, all those games under his belt have started to take a toll on his production, and his counting stats fell off a cliff in 2024.

After hitting 19 home runs and stealing 19 bases two years ago, he dropped to 11 and 13 last season. His walk rate was the lowest since 2015. His hard-hit rate (27%) was the lowest of his career, and he was over 48% ground balls for the second straight year. 

This late in a draft, Bogaerts might provide a mildly safe floor, but there is little to no upside here where other younger players could pop and give fantasy rosters a much larger return on investment.