Christine Cupo Reacts to the Gunners Recent Collapse. 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. Heres a ranking of all 30 starting shortstops in the major leagues, taking statistics and intangibles into account. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images). Thats the value that he provides for the team. The shortstop, who was demoted to Triple-A last year following two-plus seasons of hitting struggles, homered in his first game back with the Cardinals on July 30. WebMarc Hulet's top 10 shortstop (SS) dynasty prospects rankings for 2021 fantasy baseball leagues. He would have won the MLB batting title if that was an award. Youll see stats such asWAR,OAA,fWAR,DRS, etc. McLain and De La Cruz are in Triple-A, and theyre competing with each other to stay at shortstop. Mateo seems to be starting 2022 at a slower pace at the plate, but hes been solid in the field, which is what the Orioles need from him the most. Norco second baseman/outfielder Grant Gray was the big breakout player of the Boras Classic, showing 80 speed and a fast bat, although he looked out of place at second and isnt as advanced a hitter as some of his peers in the event. Shawn Childs. Gabe Lacques. And oh, by the way, he also stole 32 bags. March 31 update: Aldaberto Mondesi will Fernando Tatis Jr. has been out of the Padres lineup for the past few days. Bogaerts has spent his entire career in the Red Sox organization, so he brings familiarity and leadership to the table in addition to his abilities as an infielder and batter. His hitting was respectable, with 16 homers, 63 RBI, and a .263 batting average, but the Reds will likely count on him to improve on those numbers. With the team demanding he make substantive changes at the plate, DeJong spent most of the winter at the Cardinals complex in Jupiter, Fla. What arose from that work was a more upright stance that features only a minimal stride to better help him be on time and balanced at the plate. Injuries and illness rattled him in '20, and his batting average plummeted to .197 in 2021 and .157 in 22. 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. Crawford has re-engineered his bat, and the glove is elite. Vladdy naturally stole the show for the traveling circus At 32, he brings leadership to the Rockies organization along with the skills hes honed over his journeyman career. His .317 average in 84 games in his rookie season in 2019 wouldve placed him atop the league among shortstops. Andrelton Simmons played for the Minnesota Twins last year, where he hit the lowest numbers of his career, batting: 223 with three home runs and 31 RBI. Hes not an average player, but when compared to his position, hes perfectly average. In his first season with Cleveland, Amed Rosario boasted an impressive .282/.321/.409 with 11 home runs and 57 RBI. At 32, Gregarious may be near the end of his career, but the veteran shortstop provides leadership and teamwork that continues to give him an edge. Lets talk defense because he struggled last year with the throwing errors. He remains the No. 1. Dansby Swanson is one of the most popular players for the defending world champion Atlanta Braves. In 2021, Trea Turner turned a corner, going from great player to total beast. I didnt see Velazquez catch, as he played first base, so I missed a major part of his game, and the power other scouts have seen just didnt show up this particular night. He brings solid leadership and has earned the respect of his teammates. 5 in my shortstop rankings. Correa is dynamic in the field, with a .981 fielding percentage. 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. It was a slow start to Tim Andersons career. 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 You wouldnt think it off the top, but Bo Bichette was top-10 in baseball in stolen bases, swiping 25 bags in 26 attempts. 10. Crawford can be error-prone, but his 2021 fielding percentage was still an impressive .981. Visa issues due to COVID-19 and elbow issues affected Didi Gregorious 2021 season, but he fits in well as part of a strong Phillies infield in 2022. 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. 2021 Stats: 159 G, .298/.343/.484/. We know what Paul can do when hes right. His 162-game average would have been 48 home runs and 31 stolen bases. Some teams count on their shortstop to deliver at the plate while others expect both offensive and defensive performance. Hes a shortstop and third baseman now, much more likely to end up at the hot corner, although I think he goes out as a shortstop and ends up pushed off the position by a stronger defender. His charm and his community involvement cement his goodwill. He will be out three months with a fractured wrist, which could make us drop him in these rankings, but hes done enough in our mind to still deserve the No. Hes in the top ten for fielding percentage over the past five seasons, and he commits minimal errors. Hes solid defensively, and when healthy, is one of the better offensive shortstops in the game. Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/KS/LA (select parishes)/MA/MD/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OH/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. 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. 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 can be as electrifying as anyone when on, but is more frustrating than anyone when off. Not sure how long hell be out hopefully its just those 10 days but those types of injuries tend to linger. Hes an electrifying hitter, with a slash line of .298/.343/.484, 29 home runs, and 102 RBI in 2021. We put a lot of focus on the bat and how we think theyll perform in 2022. Blue Jays: Tony Fernandez. Is the 27-year-old worth 325 million dollars? 1 overall pick in the 2021 Draft, Davis had broken out of the gate a bit slowly, though he was getting on base and showing some extra-base pop from the get-go. The 2021 season was the first time in his professional baseball career that he struck out more than he walked. No one should expect to make money from the picks and predictions discussed on this website. It looks like he can really hit, which will trump all other concerns if thats the case. Perhaps we need to add two names to that list. 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 MLB-best ERA rising to 0. DeJong hit singles in two of his first three at-bats, and his 408-foot shot left the bat at 102.9 mph, according to Statcast. Vladdy naturally stole the show for the traveling circus that was the Dunedin/Buffalo/Toronto Blue Jays, but Bo led the American League in hits while hitting .298 with a .828 OPS, 30 doubles, 29 homers, and 102 RBIs. Keith Law is a senior baseball writer for The Athletic. The shortstop, who was demoted to Triple-A last year following two-plus seasons of hitting struggles, homered in his first game back with the Cardinals on July 30. Gray committed to UCLA for football and baseball in April of 2022 and is a standout wide receiver prospect with exactly the kind of build youd expect in such an athlete. Fernando Tatis Jr. is currently out, recovering from a wrist injury in the off-season, but hes still on this list because when he returns, hell immediately be the star of the team. On offense, he recorded the lowest strikeout rate and chase rate of his career, while leading the position in walk rate. Pauly looked good today, and that was a big homer for insurance there, manager Oliver Marmol raved. Let the predictions begin! Well see if he returns later in the week. Hes just not top-3 caliber. The biggest question that remains for Franco is whether his presence is enough to catapult the Rays to the next level in the majors. Carlos Correa. Wander just turned 21 years old on March 1st. Whats not to love about the eighth-best shortstop in baseball? 8 to No. (This is a good thing.) This years cover athlete for MLB The Show 21 is no other than Fernando Tatis Jr., one of the games brightest young stars who also just signed a massive 14-year deal Being able to take it moment by moment and learn from [past experiences], I want to propel myself with that same attitude moving forward.. (Hindsight is an especially valuable tool in draft analysis.) He played 157 games in 2016, and 145 in 2017. The shortstop position is stacked heading into 2021. Lopez is another one of those young prospects who show immense promise. He doesnt strike out, takes his walks, and since 2019, hes hitting over .300 with a 135 wRC+. Thats good to get you a third-place finish in AL Rookie of the Year voting. He may find himself playing in a platoon system if his numbers dont improve. Hes the best shortstop, a top player in the game, and a future Hall of Famer if he can stay away from motorcycles. On the flip side, he does strike out often. Bo Bichette, Toronto Blue Jays. Hes won four Gold Gloves, finished seventh at the position in DRS last year, and finished eighth overall in outs above average. At short, Turner had a perfect fielding percentage in 2021 and, if he can continue in those ways, hell remain valuable to the team. Farmelo fouled off at least ten pitches, most of this off Eldridge, in Wednesdays game, having Pedroia-like at-bats where hed fall behind early and then just keep fouling off pitches close to the zone until he got something he liked. Last year, Kyle Farmer made his first big impact in the majors as an everyday player after several years of journeyman work. 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. 10) The Cardinals skipped Bernal over the Florida Complex League last year with an assignment to Single-A Palm Beach. Welcome to our official positional rankings for the 2022 MLB season! The way each shortstop fits in with the team as a whole brings a unique dynamic. 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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. WebWhen you think of the top shortstops in baseball, you automatically think of Fernando Tatis Jr. first, then probably Bo Bichette, Trea Turner, Carlos Correa, Trevor Story, and Corey Seager when he is healthy. Hes a legitimately good defensive shortstop. In 2021, he had a respectable .226/.265/.309 slash line with five home runs and 39 RBI, but his OPS was the lowest in the major leagues at .574. So I dont really know what it looks like, but I know what it feels like in my head. Maybe its just the excitement of being back, DeJong said of his notable homer history in his first games back at the MLB level. Its that time of year, as the injuries among pitchers are starting to pile up and lay waste to draft rankings. His errors were up in 2021, but if he can keep those under control, the skys the limit for Correa and maybe even for the Twins. If Newman doesnt deliver, the Pirates could go with Cole Tucker or Diego Castillo, who are both younger than Newman. The Diamondbacks, who have struggled the past few seasons, need Ahmed more for what he can do in the infield than in the batters box. He looks at the fantasy values of these MLB prospects and rookies. But with an OPS hovering around .840 over his last three years, no questions remain. If you average out his career numbers over 162, hed be hitting .298 with a .871 OPS, 26 homers, driving in 93 runs, peppering 42 doubles, and striking out around 18% of the time. Tim Anderson, Chicago White Sox. Through the seasons first month he ranks among MLBs top all-around players, entering Xander Bogaerts checks in at number five, and since he entered the league as a 20-year-old in 2015, hes punished pretty much every baseball thats entered his strike zone. Its an elitist approach no, not that one, not good enough, I dont like that either until he gets a pitch he approves of. Age During 2022 Season: 29. Last years draft already set the mark for the latest weve had the first left-handed pitcher taken, 22nd overall (Cooper Hjerpe, St. Louis), which was the first time in 26 years that we didnt have a lefty taken in the top ten picks. First one out. On defense, a .976 fielding percentage in the infield with only one error makes him a worthy addition to the team. His swing is crude and can get very long, while he also doesnt have anywhere near the baseball experience of other high school players in this draft because hes spent summers and falls playing football. But what he brings to the field and the dugout are his strongest assets. 0:27. He also hit 26 bombs to mark a career-high. We have accounted for defensive and offensive production since 2019, with an emphasis on 2021. In MLB The Show 20, Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Baez (also the cover athlete for the game) was given the highest rating among his peers (93 overall). Three of the top 10 hitters ranked by SIscore came from shortstop last season. He puts up decent numbers as a hitter: a .258/.294/.345 slash line, and he had a perfect fielding percentage in 2021. 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 also sits 91-93 mph as a right-handed pitcher. Movies, TV, music, fashionweve got a little something for everyone. We will use some advanced baseball jargon in this article. Natsuki Chronicles review: Bullet hell mayhem, Capcom Arcade Stadium review: Worth every token, The 50 best Nintendo Switch games right now. 0:06. He's the author of "Smart Baseball" (2017) and "The Inside Game: Bad Calls, Strange Moves, and What Baseball Behavior Teaches Us About Ourselves" (2020), both from William Morrow. Hes the best bat at the position, and one of the best bats in baseball period. Web10. Young, but rest assured that all eyes will be on Tatis when he comes back. He has covered the sport since 2006 and prior to that was a special assistant to the general manager for the Toronto Blue Jays. The problem here is durability. He could arguably be one of the faces of the franchise in 2022. The Indians Andres Gimenez and the Tigers Willi Castro were bumped up a few spots from last weeks update. This may be more than merely the sort of draft trivia I enjoy; teams flock to the safety of college pitchers in general and lefties in particular in the first round, so if this whole category is wiped out, it would create more uncertainty and teams shopping for deals with players who arent strictly first-rounders on talent.