Strike Zone

2020 Shortstop Rankings

by Matthew Pouliot

July 17, 2019, 5:11 am ET

Updated On: July 17, 2019, 5:11 am ET

I usually do this over the All-Star break, but time didn’t allow for it last week. So here now are my very, very preliminary 2020 player rankings. I’ve done my best to list players where they’ll be eligible next year, and the free agents-to-be are listed without teams. Players with options for next year are still listed with their current teams if those options have a legitimate chance of being exercised. Those players are noted with asterisks.

Along with the position rankings is a top 300 list for 2020. Click to see other preliminary 2020 rankings:

Top 300 | SP | RP | OF | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | C | DH

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2020 Shortstop Rankings

2020	Shortstop	Team	2019	July
1	Trevor Story	Rockies	1	1
2	Francisco Lindor	Indians	3	3
3	Trea Turner	Nationals	2	2
4	Alex Bregman	Astros	4	4
5	Javier Baez	Cubs	6	5
6	Xander Bogaerts	Red Sox	5	6
7	Adalberto Mondesi	Royals	9	7
8	Fernando Tatis Jr.	Padres	26	11
9	Carlos Correa	Astros	8	14
10	Manny Machado	Padres	7	8
11	Gleyber Torres	Yankees	17	12
12	Corey Seager	Dodgers	11	15
13	Elvis Andrus	Rangers*	14	10
14	Tim Anderson	White Sox	15	21
15	Jonathan Villar	Orioles	4 2B	13
16	Jean Segura	Phillies	10	16
17	Bo Bichette	Blue Jays	48	36
18	Jorge Polanco	Twins	24	19
19	Dansby Swanson	Braves	34	22
20	Paul DeJong	Cardinals	19	20
21	Amed Rosario	Mets	18	24
22	Marcus Semien	Athletics	28	23
23	Andrelton Simmons	Angels	21	27
24	Willy Adames	Rays	23	28
25	Jose Peraza	Reds	12	38
26	J.P. Crawford	Mariners	46	35
27	Didi Gregorius		31	26
28	Gavin Lux	Dodgers	76	NR
29	Kevin Newman	Pirates	56	31
30	Chris Taylor	Dodgers	30	34
31	Addison Russell	Cubs	36	42
32	Orlando Arcia	Brewers	33	39
33	Wander Franco	Rays	NR	NR
34	Niko Goodrum	Tigers	26 2B	33
35	Carter Kieboom	Nationals	69	60
36	David Fletcher	Angels	35 2B	43
37	Freddy Galvis	Blue Jays*	39	41
38	Leury Garcia	White Sox	124 OF	44
39	Mauricio Dubon	Brewers	45	NR
40	Nick Ahmed	Diamondbacks	43	45
41	Willi Castro	Tigers	72	NR
42	Brandon Crawford	Giants	37	50
43	Myles Straw	Astros	165 OF	51
44	Daniel Robertson	Rays	42	NR
45	Tim Beckham	Mariners	38	49
46	Jose Iglesias		44	54
47	Jorge Mateo	Athletics	61	57
48	Cole Tucker	Pirates	58	NR
49	Miguel Rojas	Marlins	57	52
50	Andres Gimenez	Mets	78	NR

With Alex Bregman and Manny Machado set to retain eligibility, the shortstop position boasts 12 players in the overall top 50 here. Top prospect Bo Bichette might only rank 17th on this list, but he’s in the overall top 100.
Amed Rosario’s defense hasn’t been as bad lately as it was in April and May, but there would still seem to be a pretty good chance that he’ll move to center field next year. The Mets, though, would need a stopgap at shortstop in order to pull that off, since it doesn’t look like top prospect Andres Gimenez will be ready in April. He’s hit a modest .240/.306/.360 as a 20-year-old in Double-A.
Dodgers prospect Gavin Lux is crushing it since moving up to Triple-A, hitting .469/.519/.878 in 12 games for his new team after coming in at .313/.375/.521 in 64 games for Double-A Tulsa. He should be a factor at second base next year, if not down the stretch this season.
One can’t expect the same of Wander Franco, who has taken over as the game’s No. 1 prospect while excelling in A-ball as an 18-year-old this season. He might force the issue come June or July if he keeps progressing at this rate, but the Rays tend to be cautious and Willy Adames figures to progress some.