Up this week are my mostly-for-fun 2023 player rankings. I’ve done my best to list players where they’ll be 20-game 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.
Click to see other other preliminary 2023 rankings:
Top 300 | SP | RP | OF | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | C | DH
Shortstop rankings
| 2023 | Shortstops | Team | 2022 | July |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fernando Tatis Jr. | Padres | 8 | 9 |
| 2 | Trea Turner | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Bo Bichette | Blue Jays | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Bobby Witt Jr. | Royals | 13 | 14 |
| 5 | Tim Anderson | White Sox | 3 | 4 |
| 6 | Corey Seager | Rangers | 5 | 6 |
| 7 | Wander Franco | Rays | 4 | 5 |
| 8 | Francisco Lindor | Mets | 10 | 3 |
| 9 | Xander Bogaerts | Red Sox* | 6 | 7 |
| 10 | Dansby Swanson | 19 | 12 | |
| 11 | Jeremy Pena | Astros | 29 | 19 |
| 12 | Carlos Correa | Twins* | 15 | 16 |
| 13 | Tommy Edman | Cardinals | n/a | 13 |
| 14 | Willy Adames | Brewers | 17 | 17 |
| 15 | Javier Baez | Tigers | 9 | 10 |
| 16 | Adalberto Mondesi | Royals | n/a | NR |
| 17 | Oneil Cruz | Pirates | 22 | 21 |
| 18 | Andres Gimenez | Guardians | 28 | 25 |
| 19 | Amed Rosario | Guardians | 18 | 20 |
| 20 | Nico Hoerner | Cubs | n/a | 30 |
| 21 | Gunnar Henderson | Orioles | NR | NR |
| 22 | Luis Garcia | Nationals | n/a | 31 |
| 23 | Royce Lewis | Twins | 66 | NR |
| 24 | Luis Urías | Brewers | 26 | 29 |
| 25 | Ezequiel Tovar | Rockies | NR | NR |
| 26 | J.P. Crawford | Mariners | 31 | 35 |
| 27 | Nick Gordon | Twins | n/a | 48 |
| 28 | C.J. Abrams | Padres | 45 | 57 |
| 29 | Kyle Farmer | Reds | 51 | 41 |
| 30 | Brandon Crawford | Giants | 27 | 39 |
| 31 | Jose Barrero | Reds | 41 | 51 |
| 32 | Isiah Kiner-Falefa | Yankees | 36 | 38 |
| 33 | Jon Berti | Marlins | n/a | 27 |
| 34 | Joey Wendle | Marlins | 33 | 46 |
| 35 | Dylan Moore | Mariners | n/a | 45 |
| 36 | Bryson Stott | Phillies | 55 | 60 |
| 37 | Anthony Volpe | Yankees | NR | NR |
| 38 | Jordan Westburg | Orioles | NR | NR |
| 39 | Didi Gregorius | 35 | 43 | |
| 40 | Jorge Mateo | Orioles | n/a | 37 |
| 41 | Miguel Rojas | Marlins | 42 | 53 |
| 42 | Paul DeJong | Cardinals | 40 | 72 |
| 43 | Jose Iglesias | 30 | 42 | |
| 44 | Harold Castro | Tigers | 53 | 62 |
| 45 | Diego Castillo | Pirates | n/a | 65 |
| 46 | Elvis Andrus | 44 | 54 | |
| 47 | Luis Guillorme | Mets | n/a | 58 |
| 48 | Thairo Estrada | Giants | 58 | 40 |
| 49 | Garrett Hampson | Rockies | n/a | 59 |
| 50 | Lenyn Sosa | White Sox | NR | 79 |
| 51 | Aledmys Diaz | n/a | 64 | |
| 52 | Tyler Freeman | Guardians | 54 | 73 |
| 53 | Geraldo Perdomo | Diamondbacks | 70 | 76 |
| 54 | Jacob Amaya | Dodgers | NR | NR |
| 55 | Ha-Seong Kim | Padres | 48 | 55 |
| 56 | Elly De La Cruz | Reds | NR | NR |
| 57 | Nicky Lopez | Royals | 34 | 56 |
| 58 | David Fletcher | Angels | 39 | 66 |
| 59 | Orelvis Martinez | Blue Jays | NR | NR |
| 60 | Nick Maton | Phillies | NR | NR |
| 61 | Vaughn Grissom | Braves | NR | NR |
| 62 | Christian Arroyo | Red Sox | n/a | 68 |
| 63 | Kevin Newman | Pirates | 59 | 69 |
| 64 | Liover Peguero | Pirates | NR | NR |
| 65 | Jeremiah Jackson | Angels | NR | NR |
| 66 | Nick Allen | Athletics | NR | 74 |
| 67 | Oswald Peraza | Yankees | 67 | NR |
| 68 | Luis Rengifo | Angels | 62 | 61 |
| 69 | Nick Ahmed | Diamondbacks | 56 | NR |
| 70 | Taylor Walls | Rays | 52 | 77 |
- 10 of my top 25 shortstops from the beginning of this season (including Trevor Story, Jorge Polanco and Marcus Semien) are probably losing their eligibility next year, taking away some of the depth here. That’s why someone like Luis Urías, whose stock is down a little, ranks several spots higher here for 2023 than he does in my July rankings. Still, the top 19 players here all rank among my top 100 position players for next year. It’s just that things fall off quickly after that.
- It’s been interesting seeing the way the Orioles handle Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg. Oddly, both played positions other than shortstop more frequently while at Double-A Bowie (third base for Henderson, second and third for Westburg), yet both have played more shortstop than anywhere else since moving up to Triple-A Norfolk. The two grade out similarly defensively, but that Henderson is the better prospect - and one of the very best overall in the minors - might get him the nod at short and push Westburg to third on a more permanent basis. I have Henderson 21st and Westburg 38th in the rankings. I’m guessing both will open next year back in Triple-A, but since the Orioles are hoping to make some noise now, that’s not at all a given.
- Ezequiel Tovar is probably further away, but who really knows with the way the Rockies operate? He’s impressed in Double-A, hitting .318/.386/.545, and he has 30-steal ability. He could quickly become a top fantasy shortstop once his opportunity arrives.
