2026 Fantasy Baseball Sleepers: Shortstop

We are living in a time with amazing shortstops. Bobby Witt Jr., Elly De La Cruz, Gunnar Henderson, Francisco Lindor, and Trea Turner lead the pack with Zach Neto, among others, gaining ground. Without a doubt, this position is loaded.

However, most of those names are going within the top 50 picks, which might not always meet your draft-board desires or pick position. Sure, you could take care of shortstop early and not look back, or you could wait, take advantage of a deep class, and try to capitalize later in the draft.

Today, we are going to look at sleepers within the shortstop position. These are players who currently hold an ADP 250 or later, according to the National Fantasy Championship ADP Rankings. The players below are those who might fall near the end of most drafts or the back half of deeper leagues.

With the shortstop position, this deeper range is a unique mixture of high-upside rookies paired with modest-floor veterans. There’s different variations of value, risk, and upside — with at-bats being more difficult to predict — when assessing this position, making the discussion all that much more interesting.

Carlos Correa Shines Back in Houston — No. 269 NFBC ADP

By now, you have likely rostered Carlos Correa at some point in your fantasy baseball journey. Maybe you got burned by one of his injury-riddled seasons, or perhaps you got lucky and had him for 130 games. Either way, you know what Correa can bring to your team.

Last season, Correa was mostly pedestrian before a move sent him back to Houston where he finished the year slashing .290/.355/.430 with six home runs and a 122 wRC+ across 51 games. It was improvements across the board compared to how he started the season in Minnesota.

The power numbers can be hit or miss with Correa, but I do think they have a better chance to shine in Houston than Minnesota. He still puts up a respectable OBP and will help you in the average department. Correa will now come with both shortstop and third base eligibility, too, which only helps his draft stock.

In 2024, we saw an impressive .310/.388/.517 slash line with 14 home runs across 86 games. Once again, injuries held him from a full season. We know there is going to be a level of risk you’ll have to be willing to take when drafting Correa, but we have seen a lot more good than bad from the 31-year-old across the past two season.

Kevin McGonigle: Best Hitter in Minor League Baseball — No. 316 NFBC ADP

Kevin McGonigle is a census top-five prospect in all of baseball. He features a silky-smooth swing with quick hands that can cover all areas of the strike zone, shoot gaps, and impact the ball enough to have respectable home run totals.

Last season, across High-A and Double-A, McGonigle slashed .305/.408/.583 with 19 home runs and 10 stolen bases. Oh yeah, that came with a 15% walk rate and 11.6% strikeout rate. He is a truly advanced hitter who should be in Detroit’s lineup sooner rather than later.

The reservation with McGonigle is trying to predict when he will be called up. I think he’s talented enough to start Opening Day, but the 21-year-old has a total of 46 games above High-A, making his chances to start the season in Detroit somewhat slim.

However, if he hits the ground running, a call-up could happen quickly. Javier Baez and Zack McKinstry should not hold the Tigers back from inserting McGonigle at short early in the season.

Considering we are talking about a player in the pick-300 range, I think McGonigle is the perfect roll-of-the-dice rookie. His feel to hit is elite enough that, at a minimum, he’ll present a high floor.

JJ Wetherholt Welcomes a New Era in St. Louis — No. 309 NFBC ADP

The Cardinals are going through a rebuild of sorts for the first time in what feels like forever. The core we have seen St. Louis roll out the past five seasons is starting to break apart, opening doors for younger players. That group is headlined by JJ Wetherholt.

Where exactly Wetherholt plays is still to be determined, but he could gain eligibility at second, short, and/or third, making him a useful chess piece.

In some ways, Wetherholt is similar to McGonigle. He’s walking as much — or more — than he’s striking out, there’s enough power to dream on, he will steal you some bases, and he should hit for a high average.

Across Double-A and Triple_A last season, Wetherholt slashed .306/.421/.510 with 17 home runs and 23 stolen bases, good for a 154 wRC+. I have Wetherholt neck and neck with McGonigle, but Wetherholt should get run earlier in the season, assuming McGonigle isn’t on the Opening Day roster.

Detroit having a better lineup allows for more run production opportunities, but if Wetherholt is higher in the lineup, a case could be made for him to be drafted ahead of McGonigle in fantasy drafts.

As far as rookies go, you’ll get a high-floor player who makes enough contact to keep from drowning against major-league pitching. If you are going to take a rookie deeper in your drafts, shortstop is a good position to focus on, and Wetherholt is a good target to shoot for.