For my money, hes the second or third best bat at the position, but the defense is ultimately what keeps him from being any higher. Hes only missed more than 20 games once in his entire career. Hey, its Anthony Volpes 22nd birthday on Friday, which the New York City-born and Watchung-raised shortstop will be celebrating with the Yankees in The shortstop position is so incredibly stacked. When he does what he can do, it adds another dimension to the lineup. In 2021, Volpe became the first minor leaguer since Andruw Jones in 1995 to have at least 20 homers and 50 stolen bases in the same season. The position has never been this rich with talent. These guys can be great in spots, but their margin for error is rather slim with the lack of power. 1 shortstop below and should be a top-five pick in all drafts. March 24 update: The San Diego Padres and many fantasy baseball owners must have felt their hearts jump into their throats on Tuesday night when Fernando Tatis Jr. departed early from a game with trainers by his side. Eric Bitonti of Aquinas HS is a big shortstop with a plus arm and a 6-foot-4 frame that will probably earn him a lot of Corey Seager comparisons. He bars his lead arm about as badly as Ive seen on any prospect in years, and then his finish looks like someone tried to do launch-angle optimization with him and cut off his finish, so theres no impact even though he looks strong enough to do damage on contact. He hit career highs last year for batting average (.273), home runs (9), and RBI (54). You wouldnt think it off the top, but Bo Bichette was top-10 in baseball in stolen bases, swiping 25 bags in 26 attempts. Bryce Eldridge of James Madison High School (Vienna, Va.) has emerged as one of the top high school talents in the class, a 6-foot-7 first baseman with big power who With the release of MLB The Show 21 coming in April and the start of Spring Training right around the corner, were eager to get a jump on this years player ratings. 8. 2021 Stats: 148 G, .328/.375/.536, .911 OPS, 142 wRC+, 28 HR, 77 RBI, 32 SB, 6.3% BB, 17% K, 6.9 fWAR, 1 DRS, 0 OAA. 3 after signing a LeBron-like short-term big-money contract this offseason. With a lifetime batting average of .264, Rojas is solid even if he doesnt deliver tons of homers or RBI. Whats not to love about the eighth-best shortstop in baseball? The third group would include Wake third baseman Brock Wilken, Florida right-hander Hurston Waldrep, high school right-hander Noble Meyer (who has separated himself from the other prep arms), TCU third baseman Braden Taylor, Grand Canyon shortstop Jacob Wilson, and Vandy outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. Hes an electrifying hitter, with a slash line of .298/.343/.484, 29 home runs, and 102 RBI in 2021. It will be available for PlayStation and, for After moving to second base when Corey Seager returned from injury, Turner can move back to shortstop now that Seager is with Texas. For more information, please read our Legal Disclaimer. Tim Anderson, Chicago White Sox. Web#mlb #viral #defense #shortstop MLB Channel https://youtube.com/c/MLB He was outstanding in 2019, but that is the only season of Semiens eight-year career in which he recorded an above-average OPS+. At 35, Crawford is a new hitter. More scouting draft notes from my recent travels and from some conversations Ive had with scouts and execs recently: Farmelo presents an odd mix of pluses and minuses: hes a 70 runner who looks like hell be a plus or better defender in center, has a terrible swing with a severe arm bar, and seems to have excellent hand-eye coordination. Cardinals: Leonardo Bernal, C ( No. Andrus value is what he can do in the field. MLB teams love to go over slot for multi-sport athletes, but in the NLI era, Gray may actually be better off going to school and trying to answer questions about the hit tool. With a .306 batting average in 2021, Seager brings some much-needed power, even if he only hit 16 home runs and 57 RBI and has become a solid doubles hitter. Age: 27. The New York Mets made one of the splashiest moves of the entire offseason when they acquired Francisco Lindor in a trade with the Cleveland Indians, who received a couple of Mets shortstops Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario along with a package of prospects. Keith Law is a senior baseball writer for The Athletic. Velazquez has an extremely wide stance and setup in all counts, taking a small stride forward that results in an inconsistent weight transfer. He also pitched on Wednesday night, sitting 91-93 and touching 95, but its mostly arm strength, as he worked almost entirely off his fastball, showing a below-average slider. The next group includes the top three high school bats in Max Clark, Walker Jenkins, and Arjun Nimmala; Wake Forest right-hander Rhett Lowder; Virginia catcher Kyle Teel; and Mississippi shortstop Jacob Gonzalez. Of course, the Cardinals and DeJong have been here before, hopeful the shortstop has rediscovered the swing that allowed him to hit 25, 19 and 30 homers in his first three MLB seasons. But a repeat of his .285 average or recording double-digit steals appears unlikely. So I dont really know what it looks like, but I know what it feels like in my head. 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Cox/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images, Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images, Justin Berl/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images, Mitchell Leff/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images, Mike Stobe/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images, Michael Reaves/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images, Joe Puetz/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images, Norm Hall/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images, Dylan Buell/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images, Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images, Tim Warner/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images, Christian Petersen/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images. https://t.co/rmX5ptFTaC MLB.com ranked Mayer as the No. Lopez is another one of those young prospects who show immense promise. He was also a menace on the basepaths! Nicky Lopez rose to the starting shortstop role in Kansas City when Adalberto Mondesi suffered an ACL injury thats likely to end his season. Eligibility restrictions apply. I think its the best weve ever seen at the position, routinely touching triple digits and its incredibly accurate on top of that. Hes also versatile in his ability to switch to other infield and outfield positions. Despite being one of the most entertaining players, I didnt think he was one of the best at the position. The 26-year-old posted a 102 OPS+ with 37 A surprise run to the 2021 ALCS followed, but another last-place finish preceded the December 2022 departure of another star, Xander Bogaerts. Bichette needs to tamp down on his errors in 2022 and, if he can improve his accuracy in the field, he can be sure of sustained success in the major leagues. Bogaerts overtakes Bichette as the top shortstop thanks to a two-week stretch in which he slashed .375-.464-.688 with 11 runs scored, four dingers, 10 RBI, and a stolen base. He has a solid delivery and is very athletic, so you could certainly project quite a bit on him for long-term development, but I cant imagine taking him as a pitcher when hes more advanced and offers more upside as a hitter. If you dont have a quality shortstop, odds are your team isnt very good. Most of the players on the list are great defenders, but who can hit? Will Crawford perform as well in 2022? Yankees manager Aaron Boone said an MRI of Bowers knee didnt show a need for an IL but Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford hit a game-tying single off Yimi his Until Tatis returns, the Padres are in the capable hands of young rookie C.J. Christine Cupo Reacts to the Gunners Recent Collapse. Now with the Detroit Tigers, he has the chance to shine as a team leader and valuable infielder. Hes a legitimately good defensive shortstop. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. You can go from there all the way down into the mid-teens of the position to find the likes of 2019 AL MVP candidate Marcus Semien and Paul DeJong, who is one season removed for a 30-homer year. Perhaps we need to add two names to that list. 2021 Stats: 138 G, .298/.373/.522, .895 OPS, 139 wRC+, 24 HR, 90 RBI, 11 SB, 10.2% BB, 19.1% K, 5.5 fWAR, 6 DRS, 15 OAA. Its an elitist approach no, not that one, not good enough, I dont like that either until he gets a pitch he approves of. Last year, Kyle Farmer made his first big impact in the majors as an everyday player after several years of journeyman work. Last season, DeJong was sent to Triple-A Memphis following another slow start, and he seemed to locate a trusted and repeatable stroke. Most importantly, he boasts a .994 fielding percentage for last year. It was between Javier Baez and Wander Franco for the tenth spot, but Francos potential as a glove-first player who could win a batting title tipped the scale. 0:27. (with WWEs Corey Graves). As such, hes an unknown quantity, even though he has a solid baseball pedigree as the son of 1990s MLB star Gernimo Pea. Eldridge does show enormous power, unloading on one pitch on Wednesday night for a huge home run that left the field like a process server was chasing it. A shortstop is one of the integral parts of the infield in Major League Baseball. Stats like a slash line of .279/.366/.485, 26 home runs, and 92 RBI prove that he still has much to offer to his new team, the Minnesota Twins. March 9 update: Xander Bogaerts has made strides with his balky right shoulder. His .288/.347/.463 hitting stats with seven homers and 39 RBI in just 70 games are impressive, and his .977 fielding percentage at shortstop is tough to beat. Key fact: 37.5 career bWAR with Blue Jays, first among shortstops. With the 4th pick in the 2021 #MLBDraft, we have selected shortstop Marcelo Mayer from Eastlake High School (CA). Top prospect Harrison adjusting at Triple-A. Expect him to have another stellar year in 2022, especially if he can improve on his recent performance. After predicting the games best starting pitchers, we now turn our attention towards shortstops.
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