Bo Bichette, Jeremy Pena, More: Value At Shortstop (2025 Fantasy Baseball)
Look at any MLB shortstop lists in 2025 fantasy baseball rankings, or any fantasy baseball ADP from recent drafts, and the same names will pop up again and again.
Fantasy baseball shortstop rankings are top-heavy this year with Bobby Witt, Elly De La Cruz, Gunnar Henderson, and Francisco Lindor as headliners. However, there are also plenty of 2025 fantasy baseball sleepers at the position as well that can be found after pick 100 in most drafts.
Fantasy Baseball SS Rankings: Top Value Shortstops For 2025
Should your draft guide you in the direction of waiting until late to draft a shortstop, consider these 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.
Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays (ADP: 121.2)
There is no way to sugarcoat it. Bo Bichette had an abysmal season in 2024. After slashing .306/339/.475 in 135 games in 2023, Bichette crashed back down to Earth. He played just 81 games thanks to a variety of injuries to his calf and hand and barely saw the field in the second half. A slow start didn’t help things, either. Add it all up and Bichette hit .225/.277/.322 with just four homers and five steals.
However, his situation has only improved heading into 2025. Bichette is fully healthy. He is still hitting fourth, and now has George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero, and Anthony Santander hitting in front of him. Justin Turner’s .259 average and .383 slugging percentage last year didn’t do Bichette any favors either from the third spot.
It would be foolish to write off Bichette in his age-26 season when he should be reaching the peak of his prime. We have already seen three seasons with more than 20 home runs, two seasons with more than 23 steals, and even counting last season he has a career .290 batting average.
As seen in the visual above from Baseball Savant, Bichette still was raking the ball to all fields last year. His injuries didn’t impact his all-fields approach and he still had a max exit velocity over 111 miles per hour. I’m drafting him with confidence as a shortstop or middle infielder this season.
Xavier Edwards, Miami Marlins (ADP: 139.5)
Entering the fantasy baseball late rounds of a draft, if you feel as though your team is set for home runs and RBI, Xavier Edwards might be of great interest for anyone looking to add more steals and runs. In just 70 games with Miami last season, Edwards stole 31 bases and scored 39 runs. Double those numbers for a full season, and we are looking at a fantasy star.
There’s not much to like on this Miami Marlins offense, but Edwards is the crown jewel of the offense. He was able to hit for average (.328 last year), he can take walks (10.9% walk rate), and he increased his line-drive percentage from 13.6% in the first half to 25.1% in the second half.
Edwards is about the 80th percentile in spring speed at his position, according to Baseball Savant, but he was able to pick his spots well as he was only caught stealing four times in 35 tries in the Major Leagues.
The most encouraging part of Edwards’ profile from 2024 comes from his approach at the plate. As his season went along, Edwards’ ability to identify and swing at pitches only in the zone greatly improved his on-base ability and opportunity for runs and steals. The graph above shows how he was able to steadily improve this throughout the 2024 season.
Fantasy managers will be hoping that those gains stick, and that Edwards will be able to run wild on the basepaths in 2025.
Jeremy Pena, Houston Astros (ADP: 163.5)
In 2024, there were only eight shortstops who had at least 15 home runs, 20 stolen bases, 70 RBI, and 70 runs. Most of the names would jump right into your brain: Witt, Cruz, Henderson, Lindor, Adames, etc. But Jeremy Pena found himself on that list by the end of the season and he is somehow being drafted more than 100 picks after those players.
There are essentially two knocks on Jeremy Pena that have kept him from reaching the next tier or two among shortstops. First, he does not walk. His 3.8% walk rate in 2024 was almost half of what it was in 2023 (6.8%). That limits his opportunities on base for steals and runs. He does balance that with a 17% strikeout rate, but he needs to find a way to work more walks.
The second knock is that he just doesn’t get the ball in the air enough. He has at least a 50% ground ball rate in the last two seasons and just a 7.5-degree launch angle last season. For a player who has proven 110-mph exit velocity on his batted balls, Pena needs to drive the ball more.
But at pick 163 and coming into his age-27 season, right now is the perfect time to take a gamble that the power, speed, and on-base ability all make a jump this season. Pena’s home runs, steals, and slugging percentage all improved from 2023 to 2024. As shown in the FanGraphs rolling game chart above, Pena also needs to jump off the contact rate rollercoaster and show he can consistently get balls in play.
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Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.
José Soriano allowed three runs over five innings while not factoring in the decision Thursday against the Blue Jays.
Soriano left with a 4-3 lead, but it was erased quickly after his departure. The 26-year-old was not exactly dominant in his outing with eight hits allowed and four free passes, but he did strike out six to help balance things out a smidgen. Soriano takes an even ERA of 4.00 into a scheduled start against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday. There should be better options for that one.