EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsSpring training camps are underway, which means it is time to look at the state of baseball. As part of our 2026 MLB season preview, ESPN's Buster Olney surveyed those around the industry to help him rank the top 10 players at every position as part of his annual positional ranking series.Today, we rank the best of the best at shortstop.The objective of this exercise is to identify the best players for the 2026 season, not who might be best in five years or over their career. We will roll out a position per day over the next two weeks. Here's the rest of the schedule: starting pitchers (Feb. 16), relief pitchers (Feb. 17), catchers (Feb. 18), first basemen (Feb. 19), second basemen (Feb. 20), third basement (Monday), corner outfielders (Wednesday), center fielders (Thursday), designated hitters (Friday).Cal Ripken Jr. seemed to break the mold for what shortstops could do offensively, hitting home runs and winning two MVP Awards while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense. Later, the trio of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra was referred to as the Holy Trinity of Shortstops because they were outliers in how good they were offensively.Those stars paved the way for this era, in which players at this position are more likely than not to excel as hitters. In the NFL, it's really hard to win without a good quarterback, and in MLB, few teams are satisfied with good-fielding, light-hitting shortstops anymore. Consider those who just missed out on the top 10 list below: Jacob Wilson, who flirted with a batting title; Dansby Swanson, a metronome of production; Willy Adames, who signed a $182 million contract with San Francisco just last winter; Andres Gimenez, who helped Toronto reach the World Series; and Masyn Winn, who might be the big leagues' second-best defensive shortstop.This position is loaded, in this golden age of shortstops, who are producing more offense than at any time in history. ESPN's Paul Hembekides dug up these numbers: In 2024, shortstops accounted for 20.4% of position-player fWAR -- the highest rate in history. Look at the increasing share of offense generated by shortstops over the last half-century:1975: 6.0%1985: 8.5%1995: 7.8%2005: 13.1%2015: 10.6%2025: 18.4%Teams are more focused than ever on drafting and developing and/or acquiring high-end shortstops. Look at some of the players currently in the prospect pipeline: Pittsburgh's Konnor Griffin, Detroit's Kevin McGonigle, Seattle's Colt Emerson, George Lombard Jr. of the Yankees and Leo De Vries of the Athletics. Last year, New York's Anthony Volpe hit 19 homers; this year, he's playing for his job. Nick Allen did a great imitation of Mark Belanger for Atlanta last year -- he played really good defense but didn't hit much -- and the Braves still traded for one shortstop candidate, Mauricio Dubon, and signed another, Ha-seong Kim. They simply could not live with Allen's 55 OPS+; they went to find another quarterback.Shortstops are better than ever. Here are the top 10 in 2026.Top 10 shortstops1. Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City RoyalsHe checks every box -- elite defense, the kind of hitter who can anchor a lineup, power and lots of speed. After a 9.4 WAR season in 2024, he generated 7.1 last season, which was third most in the American League and would've been enough to lead National League position players. Witt led the majors in hits (184) and doubles (47) in 2025. He also had the best defensive metrics of any shortstop and swiped 38 bases in 47 attempts.And Witt's drive to improve is relentless. J.J. Picollo, the head of baseball operations for the Royals, wrote in a text, "[Witt] is so easy to deal with because he takes such good care of himself that we have little-to-no concern. More of what we discuss with him is how we can keep him fresh and strong throughout the season."Some of the finer points of base stealing are things that are always being discussed, but he is clearly a very good baserunner."He is clearly very good at everything.2. Geraldo Perdomo, Arizona DiamondbacksShohei Ohtani has an enormous advantage in the annual NL MVP conversation because of his two-way skills, but if you were to draw up a list of if-not-Shohei candidates, Perdomo would be in the mix. He led all NL position players in WAR last season with 7.0, excelling offensively and defensively and posting an adjusted OPS of 139. The Diamondbacks have loved his progression as a leader, as well.Perdomo's main area of growth in 2025, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo wrote in a text, "was from the offensive side. Balanced out his [left-right] splits. Maintained great plate discipline while improving his slug.""The sky is the limit with him because of his aptitude and willingness to keep learning. He has a massive understanding of what the game inside the game looks like, and thinks like a manager."3. Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore OriolesHis start mirrored Baltimore's rough first month to the 2025 season, but in the end, Henderson followed up his monster 2024 performance with a 5.3 WAR season, hitting 17 homers and swiping 30 bases. He is likely to benefit from the upgrades made in the Baltimore lineup -- most notably, Pete Alonso. As is the case with shortstops, his performance last year could sometimes be a barometer for how the O's fared.In Baltimore's wins, Henderson's triple-slash line: .331/.417/.559In losses, his slash line: .226/.287/.3384. Francisco Lindor, New York MetsOne of the most important questions for the 2026 Mets is how quickly Lindor can bounce back from his hamate surgery and regain strength in his hand -- because they will need his run production. We should take at face value his optimism about being ready for Opening Day, since what his managers and coaches have learned about Lindor during the course of his career is that he posts as well as anyone in the game, playing through discomfort or nagging injuries. He has missed just 15 games in the past four seasons, during which his offense was remarkably consistent:2022: 125 OPS+2023: 121 OPS+2024: 137 OPS+2025: 129 OPS+5. Corey Seager, Texas RangersSeager is very different from Lindor in that he tends to miss a lot of games -- he was out for 60 last year, and he's reached 135 games on the season only once in the past eight years. But when he plays, he is a difference-maker: He generated 6.2 WAR in 102 games last season and has averaged a 139 OPS+ over the past eight. The Rangers might bear more injury worry than just about any other franchise, with Seager, Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom some of their core players -- so they don't have a lot of margin for error. They desperately need Seager to stay in the lineup.6. Trea Turner, Philadelphia PhilliesLast year, Phillies manager Rob Thomson asked Turner to focus more on getting on base and less on power -- and that worked very well. His 5.2 WAR was the second-best figure of his career, and he reached base with hits and walks 222 times, winning the NL batting title along the way. Philadelphia has gotten value for dollars with Turner; in his three years with the team, he has scored 284 runs and owns a .287/.337/.461 slash line.7. Jeremy Pea, Houston AstrosWith Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa slowing down, and with Yordan Alvarez seemingly fighting injuries all the time, Pea has become the bedrock of this team out of necessity -- and he continues to grow in that role. He had the best season of his career in 2025, hitting .304/.363/.477 while continuing to play well defensively. The Astros are quickly nearing a crossroads with the 28-year-old, who will be eligible for free agency following the 2027 season. Houston owner Jim Crane has made it clear he's not interested in contracts beyond six years in length, and with Pea growing into a star, it might take more than that to retain him.8. Mookie Betts, Los Angeles DodgersHe willed himself to becoming an above-average defensive shortstop last year, leading all shortstops in defensive runs saved (17), and added another chapter in his Hall of Fame career. Betts should be a unanimous selection when his name appears on the ballot, but he has miles to go before that happens. The 33-year-old has already accumulated 75.2 WAR, which ranks 50th all-time, and this year, he's likely to climb over guys on the WAR leaderboard who've already made speeches in Cooperstown -- Paul Molitor, Ozzie Smith, Robin Yount, Brooks Robinson and Joe DiMaggio are all within range. (Plus hit king Pete Rose, who finished with 79.6 WAR.)9. Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati RedsLast year, he stole 37 bases, clubbed 22 homers and scored 102 runs... and yet there continues to be a feeling that he has more to offer, that the best is yet to come from the dynamic 24-year-old. But that mostly needs to come from his defense -- he really struggled down the stretch in 2025 and led the majors in errors for the second consecutive year. A ranking this high is still based on potential, because there are other more reliable shortstops -- like Swanson, or Winn -- but De La Cruz is still young, with an important year of development ahead.10. Willy Adames, San Francisco GiantsHis batting average hovered in the low .200s for a lot of last season, and the Giants' investment in him did not pay off in the standings. But Adames finished with 30 homers and an OPS+ of 111, and his second half offered promise of better play ahead -- he hit 18 of his homers after the All-Star break and had an .828 OPS.Honorable mentionsDansby Swanson, Chicago Cubs: He wasn't the hitter that Wilson was last year, he doesn't steal bases like De La Cruz, and he doesn't have the power of Zach Neto. But Swanson stays on the field -- he has missed a total of 33 games in the past five years -- and hits enough to be dangerous, with 24 homers, 20 stolen bases and 84 runs scored for 4.5 WAR last year.Jacob Wilson, Athletics: His hitting style is unusual, with the pre-swing movement he has, but the results are there -- in his age-23 season in 2025, he batted .311/.355/.444, collecting 151 hits in 126 games and prompting the A's to invest a seven-year contract in him.Zach Neto, Los Angeles Angels: With the franchise struggling, the Angels have pushed their top prospects to the big leagues, and with Neto, it's worked out -- he's generated 10.2 WAR over the past two seasons. He had 26 homers and 26 steals in just 128 games last year.Trevor Story, Boston Red Sox: He had his best offensive season in Boston, playing in 157 games and hitting 26 homers. But some rival evaluators felt his throwing was a bit off at the end of the 2025 season.Andres Gimenez, Toronto Blue Jays: He was hurt for a lot of last year, but when Bo Bichette got hurt last September and Gimenez had to move from second base to shortstop, Toronto's infield defense got a whole lot better.Masyn Winn, St. Louis Cardinals: This is a big year for Winn, as he defines his place in the game; for now, he's defense first, ranking second among all shortstops last season in FanGraphs' overall defense metric. His OPS+ was 104 in 2024 and dropped to 90 last year, but he's still just 23 years old.Colson Montgomery, Chicago White Sox: He got everyone's attention last year with 21 homers in his first 71 games in the big leagues, for an OPS+ of 130. Montgomery strikes out a ton, with 83 last year, and his history suggests that's probably going to be part of his game, along with the high-impact damage he does at the plate.CJ Abrams, Washington Nationals: Some context for Washington's willingness to discuss him in possible deals over the winter -- metrics indicate he was a below-average defender and is average in getting on base (.315 last season), with some power and excellent skills in running the bases. The timing of his ascension might not match that of the Washington rebuild.
