Spring training camps are underway, which means it is time to look at the state of baseball. As part of our 2025 MLB season preview, ESPN’s Buster Olney is bringing back his positional ranking series, in which he surveyed those around the industry to help him rank the top 10 players at every position.

Today, we rank the best of the best at the premier infield position: shortstop.

The objective of this exercise is to identify the best players for the 2025 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: catchers, first basemen, second basemen, third basemen, corner outfielders (2/24), center fielders (2/25), designated hitters (2/26), starting pitchers (2/27) and relievers (2/28).

Juan Sotoset a record with a $765 million contract this winter, and with the growing uncertainty about baseball’s labor situation when the collective bargaining agreement expires in 22 months, it’s hard to predict who might generate the same kind of bidding fervor as Soto. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will very likely get a big contract, but probably closer to what Mike Trout got ($429.5 million) than Soto. Kyle Tucker will also do very well in free agency next fall, as a multi-tool player who can hit for power, run and play strong defense.

But the Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson might be the next player to move into Soto-like free agent status in his career, with so much lining up for him to get a mega-mega-megadeal, for a lot of reasons.

1. He is 23 years old and already a preeminent player, having generated 6.2 WAR and 9.1 WAR in his first two full seasons. He’ll reach free agency when he is 27 years old.

2. He is a phenomenal athlete — a good shortstop now, but, barring injury, he should be able to move readily as he ages, to third or second or first base.

3. He will presumably hit the open market not long after the next CBA is signed, which is when teams, flush with cash, are usually more aggressive. Even if there is a prolonged labor fight, Henderson will likely reach free agency at a relatively young age. (One caveat: If the next agreement includes any kind of salary cap-and-floor system that reduces the possibility for megadeals, Henderson could be the player most affected by that. To date, the union has worked with a principle of never accepting a salary cap.)

There is a significant difference between Henderson and Soto, though: The outfielder possessed a better command of the strike zone at a young age. Last year, Henderson drew 78 walks and compiled 159 strikeouts. Those numbers probably need to get closer for Henderson to draw those mega-mega-mega-offers like Soto did — and they might. Henderson is so young, and he’s still learning.

The Orioles could try to get ahead of Henderson’s free agency — as the Royals did with Bobby Witt Jr. — by signing him to a long-term deal before he hits the market. But keep in mind: Henderson is represented by Scott Boras, the agent who negotiated the Soto contract, and Boras almost always takes his clients into free agency, for maximum leverage and maximum dollars.

Henderson is, of course, among the Top 10 shortstops in baseball, based on feedback from evaluators:

Top 10 shortstops

1. Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals

Shohei Ohtanimade history as a full-time designated hitter last year, and Aaron Judge had one of the greatest regular-season performances we’ve ever seen. If not for those two transcendent performances, Witt would have gotten more acclaim (he did still finish second in the AL MVP race behind Judge).

He is a really good defender — only Dansby Swanson generated more outs above average last season — all while holding down the sport’s most challenging position. And look at what Witt did on offense in 2024: He led the majors in batting average (.332) and hits (211), while scoring 125 runs, driving in 109 and stealing 31 bases. His adjusted OPS+ of 171 was the third highest for any shortstop since 1920:

1. Arky Vaughn, 1935: 190
2. Corey Seager, 2023: 174
3. Witt, 2024: 171

That the Royals locked up Witt to an 11-year deal last February will pay off in a big way for this franchise.

2. Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers

This time around, Betts had the benefit of knowing throughout the offseason that he was going to be the team’s shortstop, unlike last year, when the Dodgers switched him from second base to short during spring training. And no matter where he plays, Betts always hits: He has a career adjusted OPS+ of 138, and he could reach 300 home runs and 200 stolen bases this season.

3. Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles

In his 2024 sophomore campaign, Henderson had 75 extra-base hits, including 37 homers, and an adjusted OPS+ of 159. ESPN researcher Paul Hembekides sent this along about the start to Henderson’s career, comparing it to that of Hall of Fame shortstop and Baltimore legend Cal Ripken Jr.:

4. Corey Seager, Texas Rangers

He’s had a lot of injuries in his career, and yet, Seager has four seasons of at least 5.0 WAR. His final home run last season was the 200th of his career.

5. Francisco Lindor, New York Mets

It makes sense that Lindor will remain in the leadoff spot of the Mets’ lineup, where he thrived last year. In 109 games batting first, he had a .303/.374/.552 slash line — and if Soto is slotted in right behind him, Lindor has the experience and acumen to take advantage of that. Lindor could reach 1,000 runs in his career this season, and with eight more hits, he’ll have 1,500. His march toward Cooperstown continues.

6. Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds

He’s going to need more plate discipline if he is going to realize his ambition of becoming the best player in baseball — he has an OBP of .324 in his first two seasons and racked up 218 strikeouts in 2024. But wow, there is so much to build on with De La Cruz, who seemingly has a shot to become the first player since Vince Coleman to steal 100 bases; last year, he stole 67 while compiling 71 extra-base hits.

7. Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies

Turner will probably surpass 1,500 career hits late in the 2025 season, and he has a shot to reach the 200-homer and 300-steal milestones as well. Do not let him see a starting pitcher for a third time in a game: In those situations, he batted .367 with a 1.045 OPS.

8. Willy Adames, San Francisco Giants

The Giants angled to take Adames off the board as quickly as they could last fall, in part because they worried that the losers of the Soto bidding — the Yankees, as it turned out, among other teams — might turn to Adames as a Plan B. San Francisco’s Oracle Park can be challenging for some hitters, but Adames has fared well in the Giants’ home park in a small sample: He’s hit .321 over 16 games.

9. Carlos Correa, Minnesota Twins

Correa has played more than 136 games in just two of his 10 seasons. However, when he does play, he’s a difference-maker. His adjusted OPS+ of 152 last year — despite playing in only 86 games due to injury — was the second best of his career.

10. Dansby Swanson, Chicago Cubs

He continues to be the metronome of shortstops, leading all players at his position last season in outs above average with 18. He was also sixth in WAR among all shortstops in 2024.

Honorable mentions

Ezequiel Tovar, Colorado Rockies: As Tovar continues to develop, he’ll probably crash his way into the Top 10 moving forward. He had 26 homers last season.

Masyn Winn, St. Louis Cardinals: He finished 10th in WAR among shortstops last year.

Zach Neto, Los Angeles Angels: Not much has gone right for the Angels in recent seasons, but Neto has a chance to break through and be special.

Jeremy Pena, Houston Astros: He hits with power and runs some. How much more he progresses offensively may depend on whether he can develop more patience.