We’re almost there, everybody: After a long, cold, frustratingly slow offseason, MLB’s regular season begins on Wednesday, March 20, with the Dodgers and Padres squaring off in Seoul (the 28 other teams will get things started on Thursday, March 28). With precious little time to go until Opening Day, now is the time to start cranking up your fantasy baseball drafts — and we’re here to be your one-stop shop for all things draft prep. We just recently unveiled our top 300 overall for redraft leagues in 2024, as well as top prospects to know and full previews of each position. Now it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty, the stuff that really helps you win your leagues: a list of sleepers to target at every position.
Next up: shortstop, once again the deepest position of all for fantasy purposes. If you don’t dip in relatively early, you’ll likely find yourself playing catch up, but that doesn’t mean that scouring for potential sleepers isn’t a worthwhile endeavor. Shortstop isn’t just top-heavy; it’s also got real depth to it, and lots of these names would make fine candidates for your MI slot.
Fantasy baseball sleepers: Shortstop
Ezequiel Tovar, Colorado Rockies
ADP: 205
Tovar didn’t exactly set the world on fire as a rookie, just 15 homers and 11 steals over a full season’s worth of work. But he was also just 21, left to sink or swim in his first taste of the Majors. He’s now got a year of experience under his belt, and we already know that we’re working from a decent-enough floor of power and speed. Tovar is an undisciplined hitter, but he made some gains there as the year progressed, and he actually posted a barrel rate around league average. Pair that with solid speed and an everyday job in Coors Field, and it feels like some power and speed and a decent enough batting average is the floor here — well worth a pick north of 200.
Trevor Story, Boston Red Sox
ADP: 212
Things certainly haven’t gone as Story hoped when he signed that big contract in Boston, but beneath all the injuries the former Rockies star has continued to produce at a 20-20 clip — when healthy. He’s once again locked into the everyday shortstop job for the Sox as long as his body holds up, and while he certainly won’t reach the heights of his Colorado days again, it’s rare that this sort of power/speed combo falls to this point in the draft. Story is still just 31, and he’s a willing runner — he swiped 10 steals in just 43 games last year, so it seems unlikely that the bottom will fall out of his speed numbers any time soon. If you can stomach a subpar batting average, there’s real potential here in a great hitter’s park for righties.
Zach Neto, Los Angeles Angeles
ADP: 311
Thrust into a Major League role just a few months after being drafted, Neto nevertheless held his own — and was just starting to come alive when injuries derailed things. Back healthy this spring, he’s going to get all the playing time he can handle as the Angels’ everyday shortstop, and he’s just 23 as he enters his second big-league season. There’s still room for improvement here, and Neto posted healthy barrel and steal attempt rates as a rookie. There’s real 20-20 upside here with a healthy runs total and a batting average that’s closer to .250 than last year’s .225.
Jackson Merrill, San Diego Padres
ADP: 424
Drafted and developed as a shortstop, San Diego’s current wonky roster construction has the team considering putting him on the Opening Day roster in the outfield. He’ll still have that sweet, sweet multiposition eligibility, though, and the ceiling here is substantial. Merrill has all the physical tools you could want, and he’s learning more and more how to use them to tap into more game power — he hit the ball in the air far more regularly down the stretch last season. If he keeps up this strong spring, he could win a starting job in a still pretty strong lineup, with real 20-20 potential over a full season.
