Welcome to a brand new series at RotoWire which features our favorite sleepers by position. Over the next two weeks, we'll share three sleepers and one deep sleeper at every position on the diamond. For the purposes of this series, here's how we're defining "sleeper" and "deep sleeper":
Sleeper: a player being drafted between picks 150 and 350 who could significantly outperform his draft price
Deep Sleeper: a player being drafted after pick 350 who could significantly outperform his draft price
We've covered catchers, first basemen, second basemen, and third basemen in this series. The next logical move around the proverbial horn is looking at sleeper shortstops for your 2026 fantasy baseball drafts.
Note: The average draft position in this article is taken from all Draft Champions leagues which have drafted over the past month.
Best 2026 Shortstop Sleepers
Jacob Wilson (ADP 188, SS 16)
Wilson finished second in 2025 AL Rookie of the Year voting. He posted a .350 batting average in late June with nine homers, 40 RBI and 42 runs through the end of the month, but his production fell off after he suffered a broken forearm. Even with that issue, Wilson only struck out 39 times across 523 plate appearances to show his superb ability to protect the plate that can be relied upon under any circumstances.
Wilson has been working with the A's strength staff to increase his muscle mass for both power and increased durability. This added strength could be a
Welcome to a brand new series at RotoWire which features our favorite sleepers by position. Over the next two weeks, we'll share three sleepers and one deep sleeper at every position on the diamond. For the purposes of this series, here's how we're defining "sleeper" and "deep sleeper":
Sleeper: a player being drafted between picks 150 and 350 who could significantly outperform his draft price
Deep Sleeper: a player being drafted after pick 350 who could significantly outperform his draft price
We've covered catchers, first basemen, second basemen, and third basemen in this series. The next logical move around the proverbial horn is looking at sleeper shortstops for your 2026 fantasy baseball drafts.
Note: The average draft position in this article is taken from all Draft Champions leagues which have drafted over the past month.
Best 2026 Shortstop Sleepers
Jacob Wilson (ADP 188, SS 16)
Wilson finished second in 2025 AL Rookie of the Year voting. He posted a .350 batting average in late June with nine homers, 40 RBI and 42 runs through the end of the month, but his production fell off after he suffered a broken forearm. Even with that issue, Wilson only struck out 39 times across 523 plate appearances to show his superb ability to protect the plate that can be relied upon under any circumstances.
Wilson has been working with the A's strength staff to increase his muscle mass for both power and increased durability. This added strength could be a big boon in games at Sutter Health Park, which listed a 102-park factor last season to put it in the top-5 for favorable hitter environments. Wilson greatly benefited from this by tallying a .328/.385/.489 slash line at home. He could notably improve upon those power numbers if the additional bulk helps out.
Wilson isn't a great fit for all fantasy teams due to his relative lack of power (even with the park boost), though tying for second in the Majors with a .311 (behind only Aaron Judge) indicates he should be a tremendous addition to any squad requiring a batting average boost. It's a combination that should set a fairly high production floor at this ADP level.
Colson Montgomery (ADP 220, SS 17)
Montgomery had some impressive advanced power metrics last season ranking fourth in barrels per plate appearance (9.6%) among shortstops with 150-plus plate appearances. He tied for fifth for hit strength percentage (37.6) and third in expected slugging percentage (.489) within the 150-plus PA group. Montgomery also recorded a superb 89.4 average exit velocity.
That power led to Montgomery notching 21 homers through 71 games after getting called up in the middle of 2025. He went deep 10 times during August, a mark that tied him for the White Sox rookie record in a single calendar month. That power isn't limited to any particular pitch type as Montgomery produced multiple homers versus fastballs, breaking balls and off-speed pitches.
The double-digit home run level was offset by a .198 batting average in August. The latter was somewhat anomalous for Montgomery's 2025 campaign, though he may struggle to post an average higher than .240 even under the best of circumstances.
That power may carry even more value for fantasy drafts this year if Miguel Vargas, Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero and Munetaka Murakami come close to playing to their respective talent levels. That quartet could move Chicago's offense from the bottom to the middle of the MLB ranks if all goes well and makes Montgomery an upside play worth taking at this ADP.
Konnor Griffin (ADP 228, SS 20)
Griffin is a play for immediate-upside candidate if there ever was one. A physical phenom at 6-foot-4, 225 with elite speed, he racked up a combined .333/.415/.527 line with 21 homers and 65 stolen bases between Single-A and Double-A last year. Griffin also led all qualified Minor League hitters with a 165 wRC+. He hasn't appeared at Triple A, but is already considered to be one of the Pirates' best prospects and may be able to skip that level.
That is why Griffin has been extended an invite to Pittsburgh's big-league camp during Spring Training despite only being 19. There's a decent chance he can claim the Pirates' Opening Day shortstop gig. If Griffin does so, he'll be the first position player to make his career debut on Opening Day since Juan Soto did so in 2018. It'll also put him in line to be a favorite to win NL Rookie of the Year.
Griffin is already tearing it up in spring training. He's been displaying highlight power hits that are going far enough that they may be damaging cars in the parking lot. Paul Skenes has praised Griffin's professionalism, so adjusting to the mental mindset of the Majors shouldn't be an issue.
The big plus from a fantasy perspective is quite obvious as Griffin can add value via power, average and steals. The potential downside here is if he doesn't win the starting job on Day One. And even if he becomes an in-season call-up, this type of athletic skill is worth investing in at this level of fantasy drafts. Griffin's ADP could skyrocket as the spring progresses, so be prepared to potentially take him even earlier.
Deep Sleeper
Kevin McGonigle (ADP 296, SS 23)
McGonigle's overall ADP technically falls out of the range of the deep sleeper category, yet I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt since many of his ADP numbers land in the 400-plus range.
Talent isn't an issue as McGonigle is currently the No. 2 ranked prospect. He's an exceptional left-handed hitter who posted a .305/.408/.583 slash line and 14.9 percent walk rate in the minors last season. Combine that with an 11.6 percent strikeout rate and superb 91.7 percent success rate on stolen bases, and it makes McGonigle a perfect fit for an A.J. Hinch roster.
That gets even better when noting Hinch prefers players with positional flexibility as McGonigle can operate at shortstop, second or third. Shortstop will be McGonigle's fastest path to a starting job as the Tigers could use a lockdown regular there, though Hinch may end up using him in the same type of utility role he uses with most of Detroit's infielders.
The Tigers are a World Series contender, so it may be tough for McGonigle to land that starting job - but Detroit's late hitting slump was a big factor in them losing the AL Central title to Cleveland. That has been on Hinch's mind all offseason, and it could motivate him to get McGonigle's high percentage bat into the starting lineup sooner rather than later. And that makes him worth taking a chance on late in fantasy drafts.
Who is your top sleeper at shortstop for 2026? Let us know in the comments below.
