Buster OlneyFeb 24, 2026, 07:00 AM ETCloseSenior writer ESPN Magazine/ESPN.com Analyst/reporter ESPN television Author of “The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty”Follow on XMultiple Authors
Spring 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.
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).
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:
He 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.”
Shohei 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.”
Last 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.
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.
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.
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.
With Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa slowing down, and with Yordan Alvarez seemingly fighting injuries all the time, Peña 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 Peña growing into a star, it might take more than that to retain him.
He willed himself to becoming an above-average defensive shortstop last year, leading all shortstops in defensive runs saved (17), and added another chapter to his Hall of Fame career. Betts, 33, should be a unanimous selection when his name appears on the ballot, but he has miles to go before that happens. Betts 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.)
Buster OlneyFeb 24, 2026, 07:00 AM ETCloseSenior writer ESPN Magazine/ESPN.com Analyst/reporter ESPN television Author of “The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty”Follow on XMultiple Authors
CloseSenior writer ESPN Magazine/ESPN.com Analyst/reporter ESPN television Author of “The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty”Follow on X
Shortstops are better than ever. Here are the top 10 in 2026.
2022: 125 OPS+ 2023: 121 OPS+ 2024: 137 OPS+ 2025: 129 OPS+
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.
1975: 6.0% 1985: 8.5% 1995: 7.8% 2005: 13.1% 2015: 10.6% 2025: 18.4%
In Baltimore’s wins, Henderson’s triple-slash line: .331/.417/.559
Bobby Witt Jr. crushes a homer (0:38)Bobby Witt Jr. puts the Royals on the board with a solo home run. (0:38)