2020 Positional Power Rankings: Shortstop
This morning, we considered the catcher position. Now, we turn our attention to the shortstops.
Hello! This isn’t going to be a long intro, because you know what you’re getting into here. What has been called a golden age for the shortstop position continued apace in 2019, with shortstops batting a collective .326/.445/.772 — a 100 wRC+. This was despite several luminaries, such as Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa, having their playing time limited by injury. There were delightful surprises from longtime players (the ascension of Marcus Semien). There were promising rookie campaigns (the arrival of Bo Bichette). And there were, of course, just plain great seasons from players who are now the usual suspects: Xander Bogaerts, Trevor Story, Javier Báez, et al. Even when plumbing the depths of this list, there are interesting progressions to follow: One can consider the strange season Willy Adames had for the Rays, or the was-it-a-breakout from the Pirates’ Kevin Newman. It’s a fascinating time for the position! Let’s get into it.
RJ is the dilettante-in-residence at FanGraphs. Previous work can be found at Baseball Prospectus, VICE Sports, and The Hardball Times.
DeJong over Baez? Rachael, Rachael!
Thanks, Rachael. Did 2019 shortstops really slash .326/.445/.772? Seems insane.
Upon reflection, it seems like this is OBP/SLG/OPS, not AVG/OBP/SLUG. So not insane!
Still warrants clarification because I had the same thought
Shocked to see Tim Anderson basically as the 24th best starting SS in MLB according to WAR. Not arguing with the data and/or projections, but I do feel last year was the year where TA became who he is going to be at the plate. But he does need to show it again first.
Freddie Galvis has averaged 156 games over the last five years, despite a high WAR of 2.3. When you see some of the players ranked in the mid-20s on this list who are actually pretty good baseball players, you might think that bad starting shortstops are a thing of the past. But there is one shining (dimming) light: Freddie Galvis, now with injury concerns and on the wrong side of 30.
That Freddy Galvis has had the career he’s had defies all reason.
See also: Eckstein, David and Escobar, Alcides
There have been four players who have played in 162 games in a season more than once from 2014-2019. Two are Manny Machado and Freddie Freeman. The other two are Freddy Galvis and Alcides Escobar (three times!).
He really is kinda endearing in a way, MLB just wouldn’t feel right without a 5’9 SS who’s great with the glove and helpless at the plate.
Though to be fair Galvis is a thoroughly modern version of the archetype— he has two 20 HR seasons in the past four years.
Who else had no clue Seager hit 44 doubles last year?
How is Baez Fld WAR at -0.0 when he is rated as one of the best fielding player in baseball?
I don’t know where to put my yearly rant about the absurdity of all the defensive metrics but I will put it here. You are absolutely correct in calling out this ridiculous number. This after the article clearly states that he is “a brilliant, thrilling fielder”. While I am not going to debate the qualities of Nico Goodrum as a SS. I have barely seen him play and thought of him as a 2nd baseman, but when the various systems cover the gamut from not great to great then to borrow from what Oscar said to Felix as the SHTF, “It’s all garbage”.
I’m pretty sure it’s a typo or error. He was worth 15 runs last year and he’s projected for 2-3 (in just 60 games) in all the systems used here at Fangraphs, including the depth charts. It may move the Cubs up if it’s fixed.
In all likelihood, there’s some kind of error in the table. On his player page, the Depth Charts projection has his defense 2.8 in 56 GP.
@bosoxforlife To claim, then, the “absurdity of all the defensive metrics” is… interesting…
I cant take any analysis seriously that has Baez fielding at 0.0 .
Agree with sentiment that Baez is very underrated – he’s 27 this season and has outperformed many of the SS listed above him the last 2 years.
It is not anecdotal that Rosario played better defense in the second half last season. In fact if you look at StatCast, he went from just about the worst fielding shortstop In the first half to just about the best for the second.
Was the .326/.445/.772 slash with 100 wRC+ supposed to be sarcasm? If so, it flew right over my head. Very confused on that slash right now. Please help