Fantasy baseball shortstops #6: Dansby Swanson
Mallory Pugh’s husband had a career year in 2022. He slashed .277/.329/.447/.776, good for a 115 OPS+. He hit 25 homers, 32 doubles, drove in 96 runs, and scored 99. He also set a career high with 18 stolen bases. Swanson departed Atlanta for the Chicago Cubs this winter, going from one of the best teams in baseball to a team in a rebuild showing some signs of promise. It’s fair to expect a dip in production because he won’t have the same amount of talent in the lineup around him that he had in Atlanta. With that said, he can still be really good.
Fantasy baseball shortstops #5: Corey Seager
Corey Seager’s first season in Texas went pretty well. The lefty slashed .245/.317/.455/.772, good for 119 OPS+. He hit 33 homers, 24 doubles, drove in 83 runs, and scored 91. The top half of the Rangers’ lineup is very strong, featuring guys like Marcus Semien, Nathaniel Lowe, and Adolis Garcia around Seager, so he’ll have plenty of chances to score and drive in runs. His slashline was lower than usual last year, so look for a bounceback in those rate stats. That would improve his already-strong fantasy baseball outlook.