B/R's MLB 25 for '25: Projecting Top 25 Shortstops in 2025

Welcome to B/R's MLB 25 in '25 rankings!

In the coming weeks, we'll take a crack at predicting who the 25 best players will be at each position in five years, during the 2025 season.

Loyal readers will remember we did something similar in 2015 with our "20 for '20" series.

That edition had a few hits (see: Lindor, Francisco) and a few swings and misses (see: Gordon, Nick), and there will be some whiffs this time around. That's just the nature of the beast.

However, I like to think I've grown a good deal as a talent evaluator in those five years, so hopefully this one is more hit than miss.

Players are ranked according to their upside, path to playing time, production and projectable tools. Ages refer to how old a player will be on July 1, 2025.

Along with analysis on the 25 shortstops selected, you'll find a list of notable veteran omissions based on age and expected regression. We also predicted the top 10 shortstop prospects for 2025, complete with a few high school and college players who are 2021 draft prospects.

This is going to be a lot of fun, and I look forward to discussing my picks in the app throughout the process.

Let's get started.

Catch up on our MLB 25 in '25 series: Catchers, First Basemen, Second Basemen, Third Basemen

The following players were excluded because of age and expected regression. Their 2025 age is included in parentheses:

• Nick Ahmed (35)
• Elvis Andrus (36)
• Brandon Crawford (38)
• Paul DeJong (31)
• Freddy Galvis (35)
• Erik Gonzalez (33)
• Didi Gregorius (35)
• Jose Iglesias (35)
• Jorge Polanco (31)
• Miguel Rojas (36)
• Jean Segura (35)
• Marcus Semien (34)
• Andrelton Simmons (35)

A big part of this process was projecting prospects into MLB roles. As such, whittling down the list enabled us to predict who will be the 10 best shortstop prospects in 2025:

• 1. CJ Abrams, San Diego Padres
• 2. Robert Puason, Oakland Athletics
• 3. Ed Howard, Chicago Cubs
• 4. Jordan Lawlar, Jesuit College Prep (2021 draft prospect)
• 5. Noelvi Marte, Seattle Mariners
• 6. Matt McLain, UCLA (2021 draft prospect)
• 7. Brayan Rocchio, Cleveland
• 8. Liover Peguero, Pittsburgh Pirates
• 9. Orelvis Martinez, Toronto Blue Jays
• 10. Alexander Vargas, New York Yankees

25. Andres Gimenez, New York Mets (2025 Age: 26)

Contact ability and strong defense at both middle infield positions should be enough to keep Gimenez in the big leagues, but his lack of power limits his ceiling. He hit .263/.333/.398 for a 102 OPS+ with eight extra-base hits in 132 plate appearances in his MLB debut last season, finishing seventh in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

24. Brice Turang, Milwaukee Brewers (2025 Age: 25)

A candidate to go No. 1 in the 2018 draft, Turang saw his stock slip during an inconsistent final prep season. The Brewers grabbed him with the No. 21 pick, and he was the top position-player prospect in a thin system before the team took Garrett Mitchell in June. With an advanced plate approach and 60-grade speed, he has top-of-the-order potential, but he may fit better at second base.

23. Nick Allen, Oakland Athletics (2025 Age: 26)

The Athletics went above-slot to sign Allen to a $2 million bonus as a third-round pick in 2017. Significant questions loomed about the offensive potential in his undersized 5'8" frame, but he was widely regarded as the best defensive shortstop in his class. A .292/.363/.434 line and 30 extra-base hits in 72 games at High-A in 2019 raised his profile, and he looks like a future everyday shortstop.

22. Jazz Chisholm, Miami Marlins (2025 Age: 27)

The Arizona Diamondbacks are the early winners of the Zac Gallen-for-Jazz Chisholm swap at the 2019 trade deadline, but there is still time for the toolsy shortstop to even the scales. He slugged 46 home runs in the 2018 and 2019 seasons while rising the minor league ranks, and though his pull-heavy approach needs refinement, he has the quick-twitch athleticism to be a star.

21. Willy Adames, Tampa Bay Rays (2025 Age: 29)

Although Adames is still just 25 years old and has posted 7.4 WAR over the past three seasons, it's hard not to think he is just keeping a spot warm in the Tampa Bay middle infield. A plus defender who slugged 25 doubles and 20 home runs in 2019, he has the tools to be an everyday starter, but Wander Franco, Vidal Brujan and the team's other rising young stars will inevitably push him aside. Where will he be in 2025?

20. Jose Garcia, Cincinnati Reds (2025 Age: 27)

Signed to a $5 million bonus in 2017, Garcia put together a breakout season at High-A in 2019 when he hit .280/.343/.436 with 46 extra-base hits in 452 plate appearances. The Reds jumped him all the way to the majors for his MLB debut on Aug. 27, and he was overmatched as expected, but the future remains bright thanks to his gap power and plus glove.

19. Tyler Freeman, Cleveland (2025 Age: 26)

The heir apparent to Lindor, Freeman burst onto the top-prospect scene when he hit .306/.368/.410 with 40 extra-base hits and 19 steals in 123 games during his full-season debut in 2019. He's more hit tool than power, and that will likely always be the case, but he has a high floor and should be ready for the majors by late 2021.

18. Geraldo Perdomo, Arizona Diamondbacks (2025 Age: 25)

Part of the reason the D-backs were willing to trade Chisholm was Perdomo's emergence in the lower levels of their farm system. Signed for just $70,000 in 2016, he turned heads in his stateside debut in 2018, and he continued to impress in his full-season debut. He posted a .397 on-base percentage with more walks (70) than strikeouts (67) in Single-A and High-A in 2019, and he has just scratched the surface of his power potential.

17. Bryson Stott, Philadelphia Phillies (2025 Age: 27)

A three-year starter at UNLV, Stott hit .356/.486/.599 with 20 doubles, 10 home runs and 16 steals during his junior season before going No. 14 in the 2019 draft. He doesn't have the loudest tools, but he's solid across the board with a polished game and a high floor. He could be ready to take over as the everyday shortstop by the end of 2022.

16. Royce Lewis, Minnesota Twins (2025 Age: 26)

After a lackluster 2019 season in which he hit .236/.290/.371 in 127 games between High-A and Double-A, Lewis righted the ship with a .353/.411/.565 line and 12 extra-base hits in 22 games in the Arizona Fall League. There's still a chance he winds up in center field, depending on what happens with Byron Buxton, but the potential that made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft is still alive and well.

15. Trea Turner, Washington Nationals (2025 Age: 32)

Turner had the best season of his career in 2020, hitting .335/.394/.588 with 31 extra-base hits and an NL-leading 78 hits in 59 games, earning him a seventh-place finish in NL MVP balloting. The big question is how well he'll age, considering speed is such an important part of his game. To that point, he ranked among the MLB leaders with 11 infield hits in 2020.

14. Trevor Story, Colorado Rockies (2025 Age: 32)

One of the most productive players in baseball the past three seasons, Story is tied for seventh among all position players with 14.2 WAR during that span. It's unclear whether he'll be in Colorado beyond the upcoming season with free agency looming, and his carer home-road splits will raise serious question marks if he does sign elsewhere:

• Home: 304 G, .304/.370/.624, 84 HR
• Away: 299 G, .250/.315/.445, 50 HR

13. Ronny Mauricio, New York Mets (2025 Age: 24)

Inked to a $2.1 million bonus as one of the marquee prospects on the 2017 international market, Mauricio has quickly risen to the top of a thin Mets farm system. He hit .268/.307/.357 with 29 extra-base hits in 116 games as one of the youngest players in the Sally League in 2019, and he still has a ton of physical projection remaining in his 6'3", 166-pound frame. He'll take time to develop, but he has superstar potential.

12. Javier Baez, Chicago Cubs (2025 Age: 32)

Undeniably one of the most dynamic players in baseball, Baez struggled through a trying 2020 season with a .203 average, 59 OPS+ and an ugly 75-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He racked up 11.8 WAR with 154 extra-base hits in 2018 and 2019, and he's a clear bounce-back candidate entering a contract year. He relies so much on quick-twitch athleticism that he may not age well, but he'll still be in his prime in 2025.

11. Dansby Swanson, Atlanta Braves (2025 Age: 31)

Swanson has taken time to live up to being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft, but he quietly assembled a breakout season on a stacked Atlanta roster in 2020. He hit .274/.345/.464 for a 110 OPS+ with 15 doubles and 10 home runs in 60 games. That offensive surge, coupled with his stellar defense (10 DRS), added to 2.9 WAR, which was tied for fourth among all NL players. The best is yet to come.

2025 Age: 32

Tim Anderson is never going to walk a ton, and he's not a particularly good defensive shortstop, but that hasn't stopped him from emerging as a bona fide star for a Chicago White Sox team on the rise.

He has hit .331/.357/.514 for a 132 OPS+ over the past two seasons, winning the AL batting title in 2019 and finishing seventh in AL MVP voting while taking home his first Silver Slugger Award this past season.

The White Sox signed him to a six-year, $25 million extension before the 2017 campaign, and after he posted an ugly 84 OPS+ over the first two seasons of that deal, it now looks like one of the best bargains in baseball.

He has club options in 2023 and 2024 but will likely hit the open market for the first time afterward.

2025 Age: 32

It's almost impossible to believe Xander Bogaerts only turned 28 in October.

He made his MLB debut at age 20 in 2013, and after some early growing pains, he has settled in as one of the best offensive shortstops in baseball and faces of the franchise in Boston.

He's hit .300/.372/.535 since the start of the 2018 season, and his 137 OPS+ leads all shortstops with at least 1,000 plate appearances during that span.

With Rafael Devers, Bobby Dalbec and Triston Casas all vying for playing time at the corner infield spots in the years to come, Bogaerts looks like a lock to stay at shortstop, even if a move to third base might be in his best interest.

2025 Age: 30

Health is the big question mark for Carlos Correa.

He has only played more than 110 games since winning AL Rookie of the Year honors in 2015, and he's played in just under 65 percent of the Houston Astros' games since the start of the 2017 season.

When he has taken the field, he's undoubtedly been one of the game's best two-way shortstops.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft has a career 126 OPS+, and he boasts arguably the strongest throwing arm in baseball to go along with the range to make every play.

Will the Astros be able to lock him up with a long-term deal before he hits free agency next winter?

2025 Age: 23

Marco Luciano may not get the same level of hype as guys like Wander Franco or Bobby Witt Jr., but he has all the tools to be every bit as good.

Signed for $2.6 million in 2018 as one of the premier players on the international market, he made his pro debut stateside in 2019 and promptly lit the Arizona Rookie League on fire.

He hit .322/.438/.616 with 10 home runs and 38 RBI in 38 games, posting a 15.2 percent walk rate while showcasing some of the best raw power in all of minor league baseball.

MLB.com wrote: "His career is just starting, and he's a long way from reaching his ceiling, but he offers the upside of hitting .300 with 40 homers on an annual basis."

The fact that he will only be 23 in 2025 and could still be getting settled in at the MLB level is the only reason he doesn't rank higher.

2025 Age: 25

In almost any other year, Bobby Witt Jr. would have been a shoo-in to go No. 1 in the draft, but instead he went No. 2 behind a potential generational talent in Adley Rutschman in 2019.

The Kansas City Royals happily scooped him up, and he profiles as the future face of the franchise for a team in transition.

With true five-tool potential and the intangibles to handle everything that goes into being an MLB star, not to mention big league bloodlines with a father who played 16 MLB seasons, Witt could become one of the game's premier players before the decade is over.

He hit just .262/.317/.354 with eight extra-base hits in 180 plate appearances in his pro debut, but there's no reason to think he won't take off in his first full season in the organization.

2025 Age: 31

Corey Seager could be playing third base with Gavin Lux alongside him at shortstop by the time the 2025 season arrives, but for now we're working under the assumption that those two will instead be the double-play tandem of the future.

Of course, there's no guarantee that Seager will even still be wearing a Dodgers uniform, with free agency awaiting following the 2021 season.

He assembled the best year of his career in 2020, hitting .307/.358/.585 with 15 home runs and 41 RBI in 52 games to finish ninth in NL MVP voting. Then he won NLCS and World Series MVP honors with a 1.171 OPS, eight home runs and 20 RBI in 18 playoff games.

Unless he's playing a different position, expect him to still be one of the game's elite shortstop in 2025.

2025 Age: 27

Bo Bichette is just 75 games into his MLB career, but he has shown enough to instill belief he'll be one of the game's elite offensive performers for the foreseeable future.

He has a .307/.347/.549 career line with a staggering 44 extra-base hits in 340 plate appearances, and he was raking to begin the 2020 season before missing nearly a month with a knee sprain.

Through his first 14 games, he hit .361/.391/.672 with four doubles, five home runs and 13 RBI before landing on the injured list.

Questions loomed about his long-term defensive home while he was climbing the minor league ranks, but he has looked the part at shortstop.

2025 Age: 24

There's a real chance that Wander Franco will be No. 1 on this list by a wide margin by the time the 2025 season arrives, but it's hard to rank him any higher when he has yet to make his MLB debut.

That said, he's one of the best shortstop prospects in MLB history.

He hit .327/.398/.487 with 43 extra-base hits and more walks (56) than strikeouts (35) while splitting the 2019 season between Single-A and High-A, and he did it all at age 18.

MLB.com wrote: "If you were to build a hitter from scratch using all of the physical attributes and skills that have come to define great hitters, he'd probably end up looking something like Franco."

He may fit better at third base long-term, but the Tampa Bay Rays will let him play where he's most comfortable, and shortstop is his natural position.

Don't be surprised if he's in the majors before his 21st birthday.

2025 Age: 31

Francisco Lindor is set to leave Cleveland, whether he's dealt this offseason or simply hits free agency next winter.

Before a down year in 2020, he had ripped off four straight seasons with at least 5.0 WAR, winning a pair of Gold Gloves and a pair of Silver Sluggers, and finishing in the top 10 in AL MVP voting three times during that stretch.

Here's a list of all the shortstops who have assembled a 40-double, 30-homer season in the same year they won a Gold Glove Award:

• Cal Ripken Jr. (1991)
• Francisco Lindor (2019)

That's the whole list.

He has a chance to go down as one of the all-time greats at the position if he can stay healthy, and he'll still be a superstar in his age-31 season in 2025.

2025 Age: 26

There is simply not a more impressive mix of present skill and future upside in the sport of baseball than Fernando Tatis Jr.

He made his MLB debut just a few months after his 20th birthday and would have made a serious push for 2019 NL Rookie of the Year honors had he not missed the final two months of the season with a back injury, hitting .317/.379/.590 with 22 home runs and 16 steals in 84 games.

He was the NL MVP front-runner for most of the 2020 season before closing out the year in a 9-for-55 slump, but he still logged a 155 OPS+ with 17 home runs and 45 RBI on the season to finish fourth in NL MVP balloting.

Beneath his surface-level numbers, he raised his walk rate (plus-2.4 percentage points) and lowered his strikeout rate (minus-5.9), showing his continued growth as a hitter.

How much better can he get? That's a scary thing to ponder for the other 29 teams across baseball.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted. Tool ratings via MLB.com.