Fake Teams Consensus Fantasy Prospect Rankings: Top 10 Shortstops

With each week being dedicated to our consensus rankings at a particular position, the prospect staff at Fake Teams will also be providing position-specific coverage during these weeks. This will include a pair of prospect profiles, as well as a comparison post between two similar prospects at the position. And of course, we will be releasing our top 20 prospects at the position. This differs slightly from what we did last year, as these rankings are for the long term, rather than providing a separate list for the upcoming season only.

Bret Sayre, Craig Goldstein, and I have discussed the ranking of each player on these lists, and have come to a determination on each them of where they belong on the list. There are a number of groupings where, if you believe a prospect should move up or down a slot, we would probably not disagree. Prospect rankings remain a picture of what we see based on the information available at that moment in time, and are likely to change as the offseason progresses. Also note that these rankings are for fantasy purposes, so while we take a players' position into account, we only account for their defense in terms really of their ability to stay at the position long term.

Shortstop prospects are really the cream of the crop, and this group of prospects really shows that off. You could have potentially have all of the prospects on this top 10 list within the top 100 overall prospect list, and all of these prospects should be targeted in dynasty leagues to be sure.

The top 10 prospects will be released on Tuesday of each week, and prospects 11-20 will be released on Thursday. With that, our top 10 shortstop prospects:

1. Jurickson Profar (TEX)

What else can really be said about Profar at this point? He has the possibility of being the starting second baseman for the Rangers next year, and could provide across the board production for fantasy owners. The top prospect in the minors for many, and the potential to stay at shortstop in the long term could make him the top fantasy prospect as well.

Estimated ETA: 2013

2. Xander Bogaerts (BOS) (Profile in MLKT Series)

Estimated ETA: Late 2013/2014

3. Carlos Correa (HOU) (Profile in MLKT Series)

Estimated ETA: 2016-2017

4. Javier Baez (CHC) (Profile in MLKT Series)

Estimated ETA: Late 2015

5. Alen Hanson (PIT)

Hanson really emerged this season with a great performance at Low-A. It remains to be seen whether Hanson can stay at shortstop in the long term, but the scouting reports from this season seem to point to substantial improvement on defense from Hanson. In addition, Hanson is likely to be given every opportunity to stay at shortstop, as the Pirates do not have a good long term answer there.

Estimated ETA: Late 2015

6. Addison Russell (OAK)

A personal favorite of mine, Russell finished the season at Low-A despite being drafted this year. He'll likely return to Low-A, and it would not surprise me if he were able to move up to High-A Stockton during the season as well. He profiles as a plus offensive contributor for fantasy as well.

Estimated ETA: Late 2015/2016

7. Francisco Lindor (CLE) (Profile in MLKT Series)

Estimated ETA: 2015

8. Trevor Story (COL) (Profile in MLKT Series)

Estimated ETA: 2015

9. Dorssys Paulino (CLE) (Profile in MLKT Series)

Estimated ETA: 2016

10. Corey Seager (LAD) (Profile in MLKT Series)

Estimated ETA: Late 2016/2017