Since Little League, the shortstop has been the focal point of many great teams. Names like Ripken, Yount, Banks, Smith, Trammell, Jeter, Rodriguez, Betts, and Turner are just a handful of the stars who graced the position and led their teams to World Series titles. The current crop of dynasty stars is just as talented, and although outfield superstars reigned supreme in 2026, today’s shortstops are still the building blocks for so many real-life and fantasy teams. The landscape is shifting significantly as 2027 approaches, but what did we learn in 2026? Let’s dive in!
Bobby Witt Jr. is HIM
No matter what team you root for, we can all agree Bobby Witt Jr. is the class of the shortstop position. For me, he’s not only SS1; he’s also 1.1 in dynasty, surpassing Shohei Ohtani, who has manned that position for three-plus seasons. Witt has arguably the safest profile of any fantasy asset in the game. He has a patient approach, draws plenty of walks, makes quality swing decisions, and posts well-above-average contact rates. He hits for average and power and is arguably the fastest player in baseball, giving him a high floor for stolen-base output that few can match. Although his age-26 season was his ‘worst’ statistically, Witt still hit over .280 with 18 homers, 45 steals, and 94 runs scored. His home run and RBI totals (54) were certainly underwhelming, but on a team that finished 22nd in runs scored, he did what he could. And, even in his ‘down’ year, Witt was SS3 in fantasy and finished as a Top 30 player overall.
We could ding him a bit in fantasy because he plays in a poor hitting ballpark, or because the team context around him lacks consistency and star power, but why would we? Underlying data shows that Witt is one of the best hitters in baseball and has been since his debut in 2022. This past season, he ranked 90th percentile or higher in every expected metric (xBA, xSLG, xWOBA), plus average EV, hard-hit rate, and, of course, 99th percentile in SprintSpeed. FWIW, he’s also the top-rated defensive shortstop in the major leagues and doesn’t turn 27 until next June.
Witt can’t do much more as a fantasy asset and did what he could in 2026. Let’s not forget that the Royals played most of the season without Maikel Garcia, got horrendous production from Vinnie Pasquantino, and, outside of two rookies (Jensen, Cags), ran out one of the worst sets of regulars in the Majors. When you look back at 2026 and see his stat line, it will stand out as a clear outlier in an otherwise Hall of Fame career for the Royals’ superstar.
Gunnar Henderson is very difficult to rank.
What is Gunnar Henderson as a fantasy asset? If you had asked me that question before the 2025 season, I would have pushed him awfully close to the Bobby Witt Jr. range, especially after a 37-homer, 21-steal season in which he also hit .281 with over 200 combined runs and RBI. That was about as good an age-23 season as you can have for a young shortstop, particularly one who was locked in as the best player on a budding dynasty. Last year, he hit .274 with 17 homers and 30 steals, a pretty respectable season overall but a bit underwhelming compared to his breakout the previous season. This year was odd. He hit 24 homers, but that came with a .226 average and just ten steals, leaving you to wonder what Henderson actually is.
From a data standpoint, 2025 was very solid, but 2026 was confusing. He ranked at or below league average in all but two categories: hard-hit rate and bat speed. In addition to career-worst quality-of-contact metrics, his .404 SLG was the lowest of his career, while his ten steals ranked 14th among shortstops, an odd place for a once-elite base stealer. Henderson said he played with a wrist injury for ‘half the season’, but that no offseason surgery will be required. That would explain some of the batted-ball data, but what happened to his legs?
In every season since his debut in 2021, Henderson has continued to decline in sprint speed, with this season falling to the 71st percentile. Could this be Bo Bichette 2.0? If Gunnar isn’t running, his value takes a big hit (more to come). A lack of speed puts more pressure on the bat to produce, and a .226 average won’t cut it from a premium position. While it’s too early to write off Henderson as a top-tier fantasy asset, 2027 will go a long way toward determining how we should value him moving forward.
CJ Abrams has become ELITE
As difficult as Gunnar has become to rank, CJ Abrams remains much easier. Abrams had a monster 2026 season, posting career-highs in batting average (.261), homers (33), runs (93), RBI (106), and nearly every quality-of-contact metric in his age-25 season. The former Top-10 pick has the pedigree and has always showcased a potentially elite blend of power and speed, but has never quite put it all together. Now that he has, what’s next?
Underlying data shows that Abrams has an outstanding hit tool, making plenty of contact, particularly in-zone, with a knack for finding the barrel. His power has come along better than expected, as Abrams is now well above the league average for EVs while also getting to his pull-side power at a 25% clip. The key moving forward is for him to tighten up his plate discipline, which continues to trend in the wrong direction from a chase perspective, as Abrams has become much more aggressive in the box.
The biggest question with Abrams now is how long he’ll remain SS-eligible. The Nationals have already said he’ll shift to second base in 2027, a logical move for a player who ranks among the worst defensive shortstops in the league. It also helps that two top prospects, Seaver King and Eli Willits, are pushing toward the majors and, in King’s case, are expected to impact the club in 2027. Regardless of position, Abrams has climbed into the upper echelon of dynasty assets and is a consensus Top-25 player entering 2027.
The rookie class of 2026 was as advertised…kind of.
Entering the 2026 season, we knew Konnor Griffin, Kevin McGonigle, and JJ Wetherholt would reach the majors at some point. Both McGonigle and JJW made their team’s Opening Day roster and made an immediate impact. McGonigle went 4-for-4 on Opening Day, while Wetherholt hit a home run in his pro debut. McGonigle would continue to hit all season long, finishing with a .278/.376/.430 slash line, adding 18 homers and 12 steals. That performance will result in at least a Top-2 finish in the AL Rookie of the Year race, with McGonigle currently being the favorite to win the award. His early-season versatility also lets him enter 2027 with both shortstop and third base eligibility, a big win for dynasty owners, even if only temporary.
Wetherholt also had a strong season, batting .242 with 17 homers and 14 steals while putting himself in contention for the NL Rookie of the Year award. Like McGonigle, he will enter 2027 with multiple position eligibility, although he is locked in as the Cardinals’ everyday second baseman in 2027. Griffin was the most hyped of the three and debuted a few weeks later. After some early struggles, he had a fine debut while also navigating a few injuries. In 80 games, the 20-year-old hit .272 with six homers and 23 steals, but the underlying data was mixed.
Beyond the top three, we had debuts from Colt Emerson, Kaelen Culpepper, Angel Genao, and George Lombard Jr. Jr. Lombard has pushed himself into the discussion among the best young shortstops in the game, hitting for both average and power and doing so in the postseason, a stage that none of the others reached. Emerson’s call-up was a bit surprising, and he looked the most overmatched. In 69 games, he hit just .190 with eight homers and three steals, but also posted a strikeout rate of over 34% before an injury ended his season. Genao struggled to find his footing, while Culpepper performed well (104 wRC+) in a 33-game sample. All in all, the class of 2026 was pretty solid at shortstop, and those three top names will be fixtures in the dynasty world for the next decade plus….
But the 2027 class will drastically alter the dynasty landscape.
Looking ahead to 2027, MLB debuts are coming for Jesús Made, Sebastian Walcott, Franklin Arias, Leo De Vries, Caleb Bonemer, Seaver King, Arjun Nimmala, Aidan Miller, and the top pick from the 2026 Draft, Roch Cholowsky. The 2027 class is one of the most dynamic in recent history and will completely change the SS position moving forward. Let’s start with the big four: Made, Walcott, Arias, and De Vries.
Made is the top prospect in baseball, possessing one of the most complete fantasy skill sets in recent years, rivaling the big three from 2026. Walcott is just as toolsy and could have more upside than Made, assuming the power continues to trend in that direction. Arias has the highest floor among the four, but lacks one key element: stolen bases. De Vries is the wildcard. On paper, he’s just as tooled up as the Made/Walcott combination, but will be coming off a significant shoulder injury sustained at the end of 2026.
Behind them is a blend of high ceiling, high floor, and plenty of volatility. Nimmala and Miller are potential Top-5 shorstops in fantasy, but each comes with their risks. Nimmala has all of the tools but lacks consistency, making him more prone to prolonged slumps or periods of offensive inefficiency. Miller can be an elite fantasy asset, possessing game-changing power and speed that few can match. But he’s been inconsistent, and he also suffered a significant back injury this season that could linger. Bonemer has the best power in the entire class but also the most questionable hit tool. If he can make league-average contact, he’s got 40+ homer upside. King and Cholowsky are high-floor guys. Each has an advanced hit tool with upside in both power and speed, but neither projects as an elite fantasy asset right now.
That’s just part of what could be coming in 2027, making this positional class a game-changer for dynasty. Before we get too excited about the long-term effect, we need to be cognizant that some of them won’t stick at the position. Walcott and Miller are likely headed for third base, while De Vries and Arias project to slide over to second. Bonemer is already playing center field in the AFL. Made, Cholowsky, King, and Nimmala are the most likely to stick at their current positions, but…
Decisions are coming
I mentioned earlier that Abrams is likely to slide over to the keystone in 2027, paving the way for Seaver King to replace him at SS. In addition, decisions are coming for the Brewers, White Sox, and Angels, among others. In Milwaukee, the Brewers have already extended Cooper Pratt, their incumbent shortstop, knowing full well that Jesús Made (and Luis Peña) are both on the cusp of being MLB-ready. Pratt is a very good real-life player, offering plus defense along with a serviceable bat, but Made is the future. What will they do? They also have Joey Ortiz, who can slide over to third base, although that move could be short-term with top prospect Andrew Fischer coming soon. Could Made move off the position, and if so, to where? Third base is the only available option with All-Star Brice Turang at second base. 2027 could be really interesting in Milwaukee.
The White Sox have a potential face of the franchise in Roch Cholowsky, their top pick in the 2026 Draft. But they also have Caleb Bonemer, a former top pick in his own right and one of the best offensive prospects in the game. Bonemer is already dabbling in center field, but could easily transition to third if the team wanted Miguel Vargas at first base and then moved Munetaka Murakami to DH. Let’s not forget Colson Montgomery, their current shortstop, a 24-year-old who has back-to-back 20+ HR seasons in years one and two as a pro. Cholowsky is the safest player among the group, but has less upside than Bonemer and certainly less power upside than Colson. Time will tell.
Angels’ shortstop Zach Neto is one of the best young players in baseball and is often overlooked as being an elite fantasy asset. But the team is financially hamstrung, and Neto will command big money as a free agent. The most likely outcome is that Neto gets traded this offseason while he’s on a team-friendly arbitration deal with top prospect Arjun Nimmala in line to replace him. That move could come as early as Opening Day if they do in fact move him, as Nimmala has already reached Double-A and the Angels don’t believe in top prospects playing at Triple-A Salt Lake City.
Geraldo Perdomo is what we thought he was.
The breakout shortstop of 2025 made a quick trip back to Earth this season, as Geraldo Perdomo managed just a .262/.370/.377 slash line with nine homers and 21 steals in 157 games. That’s a far cry from the .290/.389/.462/20/27 he had in the breakout year the season prior. I wish I could say I’m surprised by the lack of a repeat performance, but this is essentially who Perdomo has been all along.
The 26-year-old is a contact-oriented hitter with above-average speed and very questionable power. So when he turned bottom-third quality of contact data into a career-high 20 homers on just 31 barrels in 2025, it was easy to be skeptical. The batted-ball data was almost identical this season as Perdomo once again fell into the bottom third, managing just nine homers on 15 barrels.
Perdomo excels at squaring up the ball and hitting it at ideal launch angles, particularly to the pull side. But when your EVs average less than 88mph and your barrel rate is 3%, over-the-fence production is unlikely. Perdomo remains a respectable low-end SS1, or middle-infield option, but his days as a Top 50 dynasty asset were isolated to one season.
Anything less than a four-category shortstop doesn’t help anyone.
Five-category production in fantasy is not easy to come by. Among the Top-100 dynasty hitters, only about 30 are league-average or better in all five categories. Those who are not (i.e., Caminero, Alvarez, Rice) are at least above-average contributors, some elite, in the other four categories. In most instances, shortstops contribute to at least four categories, or they’re on the outside looking in. I get a lot of guff about Franklin Arias, who projects as a four-category guy but won’t run. Corey Seager doesn’t run, and he’s been a Top 10 guy before; not in my world, but for others. Typically that cliff begins in the mid-teens at most other positions, as opposed to shortstop, where the 40th-ranked player starts the shift to three-category production. No player can give you enough in three categories to make you forget the other two; keep that in mind as you build your dynasty rosters and target prospects.
Rostering multiple shortstops in dynasty is more important than ever!
Speaking of middle-infield options, having a second or third shortstop is crucial. Second base is arguably the worst position in dynasty right now, and while it may improve as prospects flip to the keystone, it’s unrealistic to start a second baseman and then use another second baseman in your MI spot. As it stands, the range from the #1 second baseman (Tatis Jr.) to the #10 second baseman (B. Lowe) is from #16 overall to #195. By comparison, Giants prospect Luis Hernández is ranked a few spots ahead of Lowe in my Top 400, yet is the 32nd-ranked shortstop. In fact, you should genuinely consider rostering three MLB shortstops wherever possible, PLUS stockpiling as many as you can in your minors. There’s so much quality depth at the position that you’d be making a grave mistake relying on mid-tier second basemen who would barely be fringe assets at shortstop. With that in mind, rostering multiple shortstops has become critical to your fantasy foundation and cannot be overlooked as 2027 approaches.
