Fantasy Baseball Shortstop Draft Steal Candidates for 2025: CJ Abrams, Oneil Cruz, Zach Neto and More

It’s time for my second fantasy baseball draft steal candidate story!

We looked at third basemen in the first story and will now cover shortstops. Here is my draft bust candidate story for the shortstop position.

I’ve also ranked my top-10 fantasy shortstops for 2025 (redraft and dynasty).

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1. CJ Abrams

Abrams is my No. 9 fantasy shortstop for 2025. He’s been pretty consistent over the past two seasons, but I think Abrams’ best season yet is upcoming in 2025.

He had a .245 average in 2023 before a .246 mark in 2024. He upped his on-base percentage from, .300 to .314 which was a good sign.

Abrams hit 18 homers and drove in 64 runs in 2023. He stole 47 bases and scored 83 runs across 151 games. He only played 138 games in 2024 (with a late-season demotion for a disciplinary reason contributing), Abrams had 20 homers, 65 RBIs, 31 stolen bases and 79 runs scored.

Being in the Washington organization is not a great thing for Abrams’ fantasy value, but there is some young talent assembling in the major leagues, and it should help Abrams out going forward. Abrams is expected to leadoff for Washington, and that sets him up to score a lot of runs if he can keep getting on base.

Abrams has enough pop and speed to deliver good all-around fantasy numbers, and if Washington can up its offense a bit this season, Abrams will have a great chance to not only finish as a top-10 fantasy shortstop, but be a big-time draft steal.

I believe he’s capable of being an everyday fantasy shortstop, but most fantasy owners are going to back him up, or have Abrams be a secondary option.

2. Jeremy Pena

Pena is my No. 10 fantasy shortstop for 2025. He plays nearly everyday and can fill the stat sheet pretty well.

In 157 games last season, Pena had a .266 average and .308 OBP. His average was a new career high, and is something he’s raised in each of the past two seasons (he’s a third-year pro). His OBP dropped from 2023 (.324) but is on line with his career .307 mark.

Pena also hit 15 homers and drove in 70 runs last year. It was a five-homer increase from 2023, but still seven off his mark from his rookie season in 2022 (when he only played 136 games). Pena set a new career high in RBIs, while also having a career-best 20 stolen bases. He scored 78 runs last season, and has been between 72-81 across his three seasons.

That consistent production is why I like Pena, and seems to still be improving, so even bigger numbers could be coming. He’s expected to hit in the bottom half of the lineup, and while the Astros’ lineup took a step back this offseason, there’s still enough talent in it to help anyone be a good fantasy asset.

I view Pena as a big-time draft steal, and that should be obvious with him not near the top 10 on most preseason lists but in my top 10. There’s other players who will contend with Pena for that final top-10 spot, but with Pena, we’ve seen it before, so it’s more of a sure thing than trying to hope for a breakout - the players I’m about to cover are on that list.

3. Oneil Cruz

Cruz finally got in close to a full season in 2024, and he had good results along the way.

In 146 games, Cruz hit. 259 and got on base at a .324 clip. He hit 21 home runs and drove in 76 runs, while stealing 22 bases and scoring 72 runs. He hadn’t played over 90 games in a season before that, and made his debut back in 2021.

He’s really a good all-around fantasy talent, but only having seen it one season (and not even a complete one), that’s why Cruz isn't inside my top 10 for 2025. He could easily get there just by replicating his numbers over a full season.

He’ll be rostered in all leagues going into the season, but only be a secondary option in a fair amount of standard leagues. I love taking a gamble on Cruz later in a fantasy draft. There’s not much risk involved, and if he continues to improve, and gets in a full season, he could be one of the bigger draft steals of 2025.

A big season this year could also make him a lock for top-10 fantasy lists for years to come.

4. Ezequiel Tovar

Tovar is a popular early-season draft steal candidate, and I’m on board with people with that thinking. I really wanted to include him in my top-10 list, but there’s just so many established good/great fantasy shortstops that I wasn’t quite ready to put Tovar that high.

He’s played at least 153 games over the past two seasons, so that’s a big plus already. In 157 games in 2024, Tovar had a .269 average and .295 OBP. In 2023, he had a .253 average and .287 OBP. The average going up is great, but the sub-.300 OBPs are a bit concerning.

Tovar can offset the low OBP with power numbers, and he’s emerging as a power threat after last season. He hit 26 homers in 2024, which was 11 more than the previous season. Tovar drove in 78 runs, up from 73 in 2023. His stolen bases fell from 11 to six, but his runs scored improved from 79 to 83. 

Tovar is only 23, and has a really bright future. Hitting in Colorado is a plus, and if he’s able to take the next step as a hitter, he could vault way up the top-10 fantasy SS list.

Tovar should be rostered in all leagues going into the regular season. He’ll be a secondary option in a lot of standard leagues, but could become an everyday option in short order.

If you take a gamble on an injury-prone player early in a draft, getting Tovar as a backup option would be a very wise course of action.

5. Zach Neto

We’ll round things out with Neto, even though there's a few other guys I could mention here.

He’s about to embark on his third MLB season, and second full one. In his first full year in 2024, Neto played 155 games and had a .249 average and .314 OBP. His 23 home runs and 77 RBIs also stick out, as do his 30 stolen bases and 70 runs scored.

Neto really was pretty underrated, in my opinion, last season. His average wasn’t the best, but with a solid OBP and good power and speed, his all-around numbers were very solid.

He’s expected to hit in the bottom half of the lineup, but injuries around him, or a good season at the plate, could move Neto into a more fantasy-beneficial position. If he starts the season in the 6-hole, he’ll have the chance to drive in plenty of runs, while also not having to sacrifice his speed/stolen base numbers.

I think Neto is going to surprise a lot of people this season, and he could easily finish inside the top-10 fantasy SS, especially if some other guys deal with injuries. A big season could set Neto up as a top-10 fantasy SS for years to come.