San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr.
When it comes to the infield, there isn't a position with more talent than shortstop.
Some of the best young talent in baseball is at shortstop, making it a very tough exercise to rank who is the best at the position. Myself, Matt Hanson, and Tyler Austin did our best to try and rank the best fantasy baseball options at shortstop, as we make our way around the diamond to fully prepare you for your fantasy baseball draft this year.
Cream of the crop
1) Fernando Tatis Jr. - San Diego Padres
The son of the former major leaguer hasn't even played 150 regular season games, yet the 22-year-old is already considered the best shortstop in the game. Last year Tatis finished fourth in NL MVP voting, as he was the driving force that helped the Padres earn their first playoff appearance since 2006. In just 59 games in 2020, Tatis hammered 17 home runs and drove in 45 runs.
Just how good is Tatis? The Padres already locked up the talented shortstop for the next 14 years, making him one of the highest paid players in baseball. It's obvious that Tatis moves the needle, not only with his teammates, but with fans as well. If you have one of the first few picks in your fantasy baseball draft, Tatis should definitely be on your radar. The shortstop would be a great building block in trying to assemble a championship fantasy team.
2) Francisco Lindor - New York Mets
If you are new to baseball, it might be a little surprising to see Francisco Lindor ranked this high among baseball shortstops. Last year was a down year for Lindor, as it became obvious that Lindor wasn't part of Cleveland's future plans, and the team was going to move him when they felt they were getting fair market value. The uncertainty with Lindor's future led to the shortstop hitting just .258 with eight homers in 60 games.
Expect Lindor to regain the form we saw from him in the four years prior, when he was one of the most exciting players in the game. Lindor hit 30 homers in at three straight years, and almost led Cleveland to a World Series title. With the Mets positioning themselves to be a factor in the NL East, Lindor should see a bump in his production, especially with Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto, and others surrounding him in the lineup.
3) Trevor Story - Colorado Rockies
With Nolan Arenado being traded to St. Louis, Trevor Story is now the big dog in Denver. How long Story will be with the Rockies remains to be seen, but until he is traded expect the shortstop to continue racking up the bases. Over the last three years, Story is averaging over two total bases per game.
It remains to be seen if Story is going to see his numbers dip a little since he has very little protection around him the lineup. At least Story will still get to utilize the thin air in Denver to help boost some of his production when he makes contact. A realistic goal for Story this year will be 70 extra base hits. Anything above that would be a bonus, and would have you in good position in your league if he is able to get more than that.
4) Trea Turner - Washington Nationals
Turner might not have the power numbers of the first few shortstops on this list, but he more than makes up for it when it comes to stolen bases and runs. Turner swiped at least 30 bases in each of the first years prior to last year's shortened season. Even though Turner doesn't have as much power as some of the other top shortstops, he still led baseball in hits last year, recording 78 hits in 59 games.
As long as Turner can stay healthy, he'll be in line for a big season. While Turner did play all 162 games in 2018, and nearly every game last year, he was out for extended periods of time in 2017 and 2019. If Turner can stay healthy, he'll help you get a leg up in other categories early on while others might be focusing on those with bigger power numbers.
New York Yankees shortstop Gleyber TorresJim McIssac - Getty Images
5) Gleyber Torres - New York Yankees
If someone told you after the 2018 and 2019 seasons that Gleyber Torres was only the fifth-ranked shortstop in baseball, you would think they were crazy. In his first two years in the big leagues, Torres smashed 62 homers and drove in 167 runs. Last year saw Torres lose his stroke, smashing just three taters and only driving in 16 runs.
If there was ever a season for Torres to schedule, last year might have been the perfect year to do so since it was a shortened season. It's hard to imagine a talent like Torres continuing to struggle. As long as Torres and the rest of the Yankees stay healthy, the shortstop is going to be a crucial part of a New York lineup that can put up runs in a hurry at hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium.
The rest of the top-10
6) Tim Anderson - Chicago White Sox
7) Bo Bichette - Toronto Blue Jays
8) Corey Seager - Los Angeles Dodgers
9) Xander Bogaerts - Boston Red Sox
10) Adalberto Mondesi - Kansas City Royals
The rest of the top-10 fantasy baseball shortstops are still ridiculously strong, and it's hard to go wrong with drafting any of them. Tim Anderson has one of the smoothest swings in the game. The White Sox shortstop has hit over ,320 in each of the last two seasons. Basically you can think of Anderson as Trea Turner with a better average but not quite as much speed.
Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo BichetteTodd Kirkland - Getty Images
Bo Bichette may be known because of his father, but the Blue Jay has held his own so far in the majors. Even though Bichette has played in just 75 games in his major league career, the shortstop is a key part of a Toronto lineup that is loaded with young talent. Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are going to be a dangerous duo for years to come.
Aside from the 2018 season, where injuries limited Seager to just 26 games, Seager has been living up to the hype since winning Rookie of the Year in the National League in 2016. Last year might have been Seager's best season, as he blasted 15 home runs in just 52 games. With the Dodgers winning the World Series last year, expect even more from Seager and the rest of the boys in blue.
The Red Sox might be rebuilding, but one of their cornerstones now, and for the foreseeable future, is Xander Bogaerts. The shortstop hit 33 homers and 52 doubles in 2019. Even though the Boston lineup isn't quite what it used to be, Bogaerts should again approach those numbers if he avoid injury, which he has done a great job of so far in his career.
Kansas City Royals shortstop Aldalberto MondesiDaniel Shirey - Getty Images
Rounding out the top-10 is Adalberto Mondesi, who has speed for days. Every time Mondesi gets on base, he is a threat to steal. While a lot of the top-10 shortstops are guys with big power nujmbers, Mondesi could give your team a big edge in steals, which are becoming harder to find since stealing bases are becoming more of a lost art.
Ranking the next 10 shortstops
11) Javier Baez - Chicago Cubs
12) Carlos Correa - Houston Astros
13) Dansby Swanson - Atlanta Braves
14) Didi Gregorius - Philadelphia Phillies
15) Andres Gimenez - Cleveland Indians
16) Nick Ahmed - Arizona Diamondbacks
17) Willi Castro - Detroit Tigers
18) Andrelton Simmons - Minnesota Twins
19) Miguel Rojas - Miami Marlins
20) Paul DeJong - St. Louis Cardinals
Until now, there was a void in the industry. An all-in-one prop bet research tool for Over/Under rankings did not exist. Fantasy SP has changed that.
Of course, you could find betting trends on the internet but there wasn’t a place where you could have all the information for every single player on the same page at your fingertips. Well, we wanted to change that. We’ve created the definitive NFL prop bet research tool for pros and newbies alike.
In a typical NFL week, there can be over 1,000 player prop lines available. Traditional player game logs are not optimal for researching player props. Our unique tool allows you to quickly analyze thousands of lines on your phone, tablet, or computer, and find the props with the greatest value. Don’t just bet on the players you like. Become more data-driven with your props research by using Fantasy SP’s Player Prop Over/Under Rankings!
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All | Pass Yds | Pass TDs| Pass Comp | Pass Att | Rush Att | Rush Yds | Rec | Rec Yds
Unique Features
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Research Prop Bet Betting Example
Okay, enough talk, and let’s get to a simple real-world example of how to use the tool to help you place a bet.
For example, Jared Goff has had some of the most ridiculous home/away splits in 2022.
Goff has a passer rating of 106.9 with 2,217 yards (277.1 yards per game), 20 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions in eight games at home this season. Pretty good, right? On the road, he has a passer rating of 82.5 with 1,387 yards (231.2 yards per game), 3 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions in six games.
As you can see, Goff is averaging 46 more yards per game at home in 2022 entering Week 16. Vegas may try to trick you when Goff is on the road after coming off a massive home game but by using our tool, you won’t be fooled.
Goff has a 5-3 O-U record on his passing yard props at Ford Field this season. While his average line at home on DraftKings is 247 yards, his average result is 277.1 passing yards. Prior to throwing for 250+ yards against the Jets at the Meadowlands in Week 15, he was 2-3 on his passing yards props on the road. His average line on DraftKings on the road was only 10 yards fewer heading into Week 15 yet he averaged a full 50 fewer yards per game (227). This shows a clear pattern that he is much more successful at hitting the over and much more efficient when playing in front of his home crowd. There are countless examples of patterns you can spot using this brand-new prop tool that are even more eye-popping than Goff’s numbers.
How to Find Favorable Prop Bets
The key to placing informed bets is to place bets on clear patterns. Ideally, you want to see a player consistently going over or under. Grab a concise list of potential bets to place and compare to the lines at your favorite operator.
Let’s say you want to place a passing yards prop bet on Tom Brady. You check all the lines at your favorite operator (we suggest
Caesars or FanDuel) and need to put his line into context. How often does he go over? What outcomes occur against an easy matchup? What is his average result? How does he do at home versus on the road?
Using our exclusive Over-Under Rankings, you can utilize our premium filters to find out Brady’s historical prop record at home versus the road is even more volatile than Goff’s splits. (This is good and what we want to see.)
At home, Brady is averaging a whopping 307.3 passing yards and has hit the over in six of seven games heading into Week 15.
On the road, while his average line is only two yards fewer (271.2 to 269.2), he has a 1-5 O-U record and is only averaging 239 passing yards per game.
Fantasy SP has just highlighted a very promising prop bet whenever Brady is at home. Take the over. And when he is on the road, it’s a prime spot to smash the under.
Some players also tend to do much better when their team is the favorite such as running backs late in the fourth quarter when their team needs to kill time. Heading into Week 15, Dalvin Cook had a 7-2 O-U rushing yard record when his team was the favorite (79.9 yards per game). Conversely, when the Vikings were underdogs, he was 1-3 (57.8 yards per game). This is why filtering by favorite or underdog can be a critical data point to help you gain an edge at sportsbooks.
You can also filter by the last few games in case a player has begun to heat up or cool off. These filters will help you nail your bets in very specific scenarios. It’s the perfect tool for situational prop betting.
What the Experts Are Saying
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The dropdowns and filters on this tool are what really make this a game-changing feature. If you only want to see the most popular players on the page, simply slide the popularity to 75% or 100%. If you want to see players’ over-under records and their average results for only home games, simply click Home on the dropdown. If you want to see over-under records for players against teams in the bottom 5 at defending that position, simply click Bottom 5 under Position Rank. Not only can you get all of this insight, but the sliders and dropdowns all work interactively with a user-friendly interface so you can find out how a player is doing in a very specific situation. For example, let’s say Dak Prescott and the Cowboys are hosting the top-five San Francisco 49ers defense and are four-point underdogs. To get a much clearer picture of how Prescott has performed in similar situations, you can check off Home, Underdog, Indoor, and Top 5 under Opponent Rank to get his exact over-under prop historical record in this particular situation. If he is 0-3 on his passing yard prop in this scenario, you may want to smash the under.
Wrap-Up
NFL prop betting can be overwhelming but this tool makes it easy to research the best bets for novices and seasoned vets alike. Bettors should not be placing their prop bets before doing the necessary research. Now you can do all that research on one page with Fantasy SP’s Player Prop Over/Under Rankings Research Tool! It doesn’t get much better than that.
Stay tuned for our future article on even more in-depth tips and tricks.
France vs Argentina World Cup Final Betting Preview: Can Lionel Messi Capture That Elusive World Cup Title?
Picking up where they left off in 2018, the French National Team led by 23-year-old Kylian Mbappe have found their way back into the finals as they look to be the first back-to-back World Cup Champions since Brazil’s dominant runs in 1958 and 1962. Standing between that incredible feat for the defending champions is Argentina, who currently have their superstar, Lionel Messi, in top form. Messi is finding ways to create passes no one can see and he’s done it multiple times, assisting three goals (tied for the most) throughout the tournament. The legend is also scoring goals of his own and is tied with Kylian Mbappe (5 goals) for Golden Boot honors in this year’s World Cup. Regardless, soccer fans around the world are in for a treat on Sunday at 10:00 AM EST as two of the best players in the world face each other for their country’s World Cup glory.
After winning Group D, France defeated Poland in the Round of 16, England in the quarterfinals, and a strong Morocco team in the semis to advance to the Final. On the other side of the bracket, Argentina won Group C and dispatched Australia in the Round of 16. Messi and the Argentinians were then tested in the quarterfinals, needing a penalty shootout to defeat the Netherlands after blowing a late two-goal lead. Finally, Argentina played perhaps their best match of the tournament against Croatia in the semi-finals, winning 3-0. Now the stage is set for a blockbuster finale between two powerhouses featuring some of the top players in the world.
Note (from FanDuel Sportsbook): No team will play at home during Qatar's World Cup. For betting purposes, FanDuel explains that: “Home Team refers to the team listed first, Away Team refers to the second team listed.”
Argentina (-104) vs. France (-112)
Argentina Keys To Victory
Lionel Messi has played incredibly for Argentina throughout this World Cup. He is leaving opposing defenders in the dust, taking on multiple players at once, dragging them away from his teammates, which is opening up the field for his fellow goal scorers. Every time Messi has the ball at his feet, there seems to be more than one threat. Messi is playing just as well as he always has in 2022. He’s served his team as a playmaker and as a goal-scorer in Qatar. He’s also had some help from Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez who’s scored a handful of goals in this World Cup (including two in Argentina’s decisive victory over Croatia). If Alvarez and Messi are able to link up while on the attack, the depleted French defense and midfield could be in for some trouble.
France Keys To Victory
One of the biggest headlines heading into this World Cup Final is the return of French striker Karim Benzema. The Real Madrid star and winner of this year’s Ballon D’Or hurt his hamstring in one of France’s first practices soon after arriving in Qatar. He flew back to Madrid where he immediately completed his recovery work which was set at three weeks from the time of injury. Right now, Benzema is flying back to Doha and could be starting for France in the final. At the moment, France’s HC Didier Deschamps has declined to comment on whether or not he will be including KB9 in the starting lineup. France’s ball movement has been excellent throughout the tournament, but their key to victory against Argentina will be efficient defense. Over the last few games, France’s defense seems to have slowed down. Not only will they need to stop Messi, but they will need to turn defensive stops into counterattacks. Mbappe and Olivier Giroud (four goals thus far in the tournament) will need to be electric on offense and test the Argentinian keeper. Antoine Griezmann may be an x-factor for France as he has three assists in this World Cup and was inches away from scoring against Morocco.
Conclusion
It’s only fitting that Lionel Messi will finally hoist the World Cup trophy in his last World Cup match. Expect him to score a goal and lead his team to victory in a tightly contested battle.
The Pick: Argentina (-104)
World Cup Final Best Prop Bets
Kylian Mbappe: To Score Or Give Assist (+100)
Mbappé has been relatively quiet over France’s last few games. Still, he is the main wing on France’s team who is capable of breaking down defenses through his skillful technique and ridiculous speed. He currently is tied with Messi for the most goals in the 2022 World Cup. If he isn’t able to score in this game, then expect him to at least make an assist. For France to win this one, the 23-year-old will need to have a big game.
Lionel Messi: Anytime Goalscorer (+190)
Messi has stepped up his performance big time this World Cup. If you have watched Argentina play in this tournament, you know how crucial of a role Messi has played in the team’s success. He is tied for the most goals in the tournament with Mbappe and has a great chance of putting the ball in the net at some point during Sunday’s big match. This is a particularly great prop to target since Messi takes all of Argentina’s penalty shots and has converted four-of-five throughout the tournament.
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Calling every sports fan across the globe! The best month for all things sports is here: December. NFL and CFB are getting into the thick of things — I mean, we are finally not seeing Alabama and Clemson in the CFP, not to mention both the NBA and NHL are underway and college basketball just tipped off!
Despite all of these different sporting events going on, the World’s biggest Sporting event is down to the Semifinals, the World Cup.
Although Soccer is the World's most popular sport, it still struggles to gain support in the US. However, every 4 years Soccer takes the country by storm and this year, and these last few games are going to be amazing.
Let us introduce you to your new go-to app, FanDuel Sportsbook. It’s the place to be for not only the usual sports, but for this year's World Cup!
FanDuel Sportsbook is providing a multitude of features with a few market differentiators.
- Futures:
- World Cup Winner
- Who will win the Golden Boot (the award for the top goal scorer of the World Cup)
- Highest scoring Group
- And more
- Popular Markets - outside of the normal Moneyline, Spread & Over/Under lines, FanDuel will also be offering:
- Anytime Goal Scorer
- First Goal Scorer
- Shots on Goal
- Correct Score
- Number of Corner Kicks
- Half-Time Result
Market Differentiators:
- Tournament Goal Scorer Parlay Builder - build your own tournament-long Goal Scorer parlays with your favorite players from every team.
- Daily Specials:
- Highest scoring team of the day
- Total daily goals
- Player specials
- And More!
- Live Parlays
Out of all the betting apps we’ve used, signing up for FanDuel Sportsbook is also the easiest. Simply download the app and create an account by providing an email, credit card, and SS# — that’s to protect your winnings and ensure you're not a sporting professional.
FanDuel is undoubtedly the best site/app to parlay across multiple sports. It’s designed for bettors at any stage. The clear interface is ideal for beginners and you can make a bet in just a few clicks! It’s complete with a number of betting guides that explain the rules and resources to safely bet.
One of the best parts is that once the game ends, you can cash out your winnings right away. No minimum, no wait.
There’s also the incredible New User Offer: sign up with FanDuel Sportsbook and get up to $1000 in Free Bets if you lose your first bet!
Their app has everything you need — from tutorials to real-time game scores. Get amped for the World Cup with FanDuel Sportsbook. Enhance your Sportsember by downloading the FanDuel Sportsbook app today!