Top 10 Shortstops... RIGHT NOW!

One of the lucky things I do every year is appear on MLB Network’s “Top 10 Right Now” positions series and argue a bit with my pal Brian Kenny. Well, OK, it’s not always lucky. Sometimes, I get leftfield. Meaning no offense to all you leftfielders out there—hi, David DeJesus!—it’s no fun at all trying to rank the top 10 leftfielders in baseball. I used to have the same problem all those years when I was one of the judges for The Fielding Bible Awards; I’d get about four leftfielders in and be like, “Wait, I have to choose six more?”

No, seriously, you try to pick the 10th-best defensive leftfielder in baseball. Go ahead. Give it a shot!*

*Wow. You came back with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. right away! You’re better at this than I am.

It seemed like the Network stuck with me leftfielder five or six or nine years in a row, I can’t even remember, but this year they gave me shortstop, the Meryl Streep of baseball positions, the Aretha Franklin of baseball positions, the Doc Emrick of baseball positions, the Colson Whitehead of baseball positions, the Steph Curry of baseball positions, the Nate Bargatze of baseball positions, the… look, I could do this all day, just coming up with the coolest and greatest people in every field. The Nick Offerman of baseball positions. The Candice Millard of baseball positions. The…

OK, so, yeah, shortstop is awesome, and this is a particularly awesome time for shortstops. There are so many exciting, thrilling, promising young shortstops around the game. It feels like it’s pretty common to say that we’re in a golden age for X*—you know, golden age for quarterbacks or golden age for long-range shooters or golden age for television dramas or whatever. This really does feel like a golden age for shortstops.

*X representing an unknown quantity or variable… not the Twitter thing.

So, here’s how MLB Network and I broke down the top 10 shortstops… I should first mention that the Network MADE me rank Mookie Betts as a shortstop. I don’t think Mookie Betts will play a lot of shortstop this year. He might not play any shortstop. I don’t think it’s at all smart to play him at shortstop. But, as I say, they MADE me rank him as a shortstop, and, as such, I put Mookie uncomfortably far down the list.

Put it this way: I have Mookie Betts ranked higher on my all-baseball list than I do as a shortstop. I can’t complain; they didn’t give me leftfield this year. But making me rank Mookie as a shortstop was kind of cruel.

No. 10

• MLB Network: Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies

• Me: C.J. Abrams, Washington Nationals

I went back and forth and back and forth on this one—I think Abrams is going to be good, he certainly looked good for the first half of his age-23 season…

First 82 games: .282/.353/.506, 21 doubles, 5 triples 14 homers, 56 runs, 14 SBs

And he looked, um, not so good in the second half…

Last 56 games: .191/.254/.321, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 6 homers, 23 runs, 17 SBs

Hey, his stolen bases were up!

The season ended bizarrely, with Abrams getting sent to the minor leagues after he was out all night at a casino in Chicago. I readily admit: I don’t have any real feel for what’s going on in Washington, and I haven’t for years. This is an organization that I think botched a historic opportunity to give their fans a dynasty… not just in wins and losses and championships but in lifetime memories. Instead, they let Bryce Harper go, they cheaped out on Trea Turner, they cheaped out on Juan Soto, etc. They did win a World Series and immediately went into tank mode and brought in prospects like Abrams and promised better days.

I mean, let’s be a bit fairer than that, some of this was just terrible timing—a worldwide pandemic did hit a few months after that World Series title. Still, it’s been dismal in Washington all decade, and all you can really do is cling to the hope that James Wood and Jacob Young and Dylan Crews and MacKenzie Gore and, yes, C.J. Abrams turn out. I try to be optimistic.

As for Trea Turner, yeah, I think they have him ranked too low.

No. 9

• MLB Network: Willy Adames, San Francisco Giants

• Me: Willy Adames, San Francisco Giants

I don’t think I got this one right. Here’s what happened: I was down to four shortstop for my last two spots:

1. Willy Adames

2. C.J. Abrams

3. Dansby Swanson, Chicago Cubs

4. Ezequiel Tovar, Colorado Rockies

I mean, there were others I considered, but it was mainly those four. It bugged me to leave off Tovar, who had a special year at 22 (though I don’t think he should have won the Gold Glove) but I went with Abrams as my young flyer.

So, really, my last slot came down to the veterans, Swanson and Adames. Looking back, I think I should have picked Swanson, who’s still a defensive dynamo, even if his bat has fallen off. But if I had picked Swanson, I’m sure I’d be sitting here right now regretting that I didn’t pick Adames, who every year just goes about his business, mashes a bunch of doubles and home runs, and plays a pretty good shortstop—he feels like a perfect Giant.

Eh, actually, I’m OK with it. Adames is my No. 9.

No. 8

• MLB Network: Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds

• Me: Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies

My shocker is coming up in a minute—for now, I’m glad I have Turner higher than the Network does. I continue to believe that Trea Turner has an MVP season coming, I’ve believed that ever since the Nationals—I just don’t get those Nationals—traded him away. It hasn’t quite happened in Philadelphia yet. Turner has had MVP stretches, no doubt. And, yeah, he’s had extended dry patches. Everybody knows the story now of how Philadelphia rallied around him in 2023 when things were looking really bad.

Anyway, I still kind of think Trea Turner might be the MVP this year. He’s no kid anymore—he’ll turn 32 at the end of June—and maybe those awe-inspiring physical talents are slowly fading. But I choose to believe.

*The bobblehead of Trea Turner mid-slide is right behind me, where I can look at it and remember.

You will not be surprised to learn that I have Elly De La Cruz much higher on my list.

No. 7

• MLB Network: Carlos Correa, Minnesota Twins

• Me: Masyn Winn, St. Louis Cardinals

Surprise! There’s no equivocating on this one—I’d rather have Masyn Winn than Carlos Correa right now (that’s the name of the show!)

You might remember this because I keep bringing it up: Way back in December of 2012, the California Angels signed Josh Hamilton. This was almost exactly a year after they had signed Albert Pujols. The talk then was that the Angels had not only just bought themselves the pennant, but they had put together one of the greatest righty-lefty combinations in baseball history.*

*Plus Mike Trout, who was still 21 years old!

I wrote something for the dearly departed Sports On Earth* about how, as crazy as it might sound, I’d much rather have Salvador Perez and Eric Hosmer—who were, at the time, fairly nondescript 23- and 22-year-old kids for the Royals—than Pujols and Hamilton over the next five seasons.

And over the next five seasons…

Hosmer and Perez: 29.9 WAR, two pennants, one World Series.

Pujols and Hamilton: 10.7 WAR, one playoff appearance, zero playoff wins.

*Sadly, everything I wrote on Sports On Earth has been scrubbed from the Internet… but maybe not for long! Just a little teaser for some of the fun stuff coming soon with the new JoeBlogs! Lots more to tell you next week!

I remember how ridiculous that prediction seemed then… but I look back on it now and think, “OF COURSE it worked out that way.” I mean, Pujols was 33 and coming off his worst season, Hamilton was 32 and coming off a meh season, Hosmer and Perez were clearly on the rise, age patterns almost always hold true in baseball.

So, yes, Carlos Correa was fantastic for a half-season, but it was only a half-season, and he’s not had a full season since 2021, and he’s 30 now.

Meanwhile, Masyn Winn at age 22 had a five-win season. That’s a rare thing—only nine shortstops this century have had a five-win season by age 22, including Correa, Francisco Lindor, Corey Seager, Troy Tulowitzki and Fernando Tatis Jr. I mean, there’s no guarantees—Hanley Ramirez didn’t become the super-duper star he should have become and Wander Franco’s story took a very dark turn. But Winn’s incredible defense, his bazooka of an arm*, and his surprisingly sprightly bat should have Cardinals fans excited. I’ll take him over Correa over the next few years.

*I asked Ozzie Smith what he thinks about Winn’s arm, and in classic 1970s baseball-speak he said, “It’s a good arm. Reminds me of Garry Templeton.” I mean no disrespect to the Wizard or Templeton, who did, indeed, have a great arm, but I think Winn’s arm is something else.

No. 6

• MLB Network: Dansby Swanson, Chicago Cubs

• Me: Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers

Ugh. How can I justify my belief that Mookie Betts is very definitely a top-five player in baseball but not a top-five shortstop? I can’t. And Brian Kenny hammered me about it.

“You’re not a Mookie fan!” he railed at me.

Sigh. It was a trap. Mookie Betts is not a shortstop. He’s Superman, so he can play shortstop or anything else. But, dammit, he’s not a shortstop, and I don’t think the Dodgers will play him at shortstop much, and I think that if they DO play him at shortstop, they’re nuts, and if they had given me the assignment of Top 10 Second Basemen or Top 10 Rightfielders, I would have put Mookie on top.

No. 5

• MLB Network: Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers

• Me: Corey Seager, Texas Rangers

Hah! It’s not like MLB Network put Betts on top themselves…

I have Corey Seager lower than the Network—it’s just a question of heath. When he’s on the field, Seager is one of the two or three best shortstops in the game. But he’s had only one 140-game season since 2018. He’s turning 31 in April, so I’m not sure we can expect better health in the years ahead. But I love the guy.

No. 4

• MLB Network: Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals

• Me: Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds

When I talk to Brian on MLB Network, I’m at a disadvantage—my picks are revealed, but the top Network picks are not. So we talk about my whole list, but we don’t talk about theirs. For them to list Bobby Witt Jr. FOURTH on the list of best shortstops today is absolutely bananas. Somebody needs a stern talking to over there.

Elly De La Cruz posted a five-win season as a 22-year-old, even though he would go weeks and even months when did not seem entirely clear on the idea that the bat is supposed to hit the ball. That’s how good he is when he’s right. You take his immense raw power, his blazing speed, his cannon arm, the absurd quickness of his bat, his contagious energy and add it up—that guy could be the very best player in baseball. Then you add the swing-and-miss, the errant throws, the watching strike three, the prolonged slumps—that guy ain’t the very best player in baseball.

Angel on one shoulder. Devil on the other.

I’m betting he figures it out because he’s only 22 and because I very desperately want him to figure it out. Cincinnati needs a superhero. Baseball needs Elly.

No. 3

• MLB Network: Francisco Lindor, New York Mets

• Me: Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles

I won’t speak for MLB Network, but, for me—I could take my top three and put them in any order, and I’d be perfectly happy. I put Gunnar Henderson third on my list because I don’t think he’s quite the defender that my top two are. I base this a lot on Statcast’s Outs Above Average, which sees Gunnar’s defense as being about league-average. That has been my own impression watching him. As an offensive force, whoa, the guy’s incredible—.281/.364/.529 with 75 extra-base hits and 118 runs scored and all the rest.

But when you’re talking the top three on this list… I need great defense, too. And I should say that other defensive metrics—like John Dewan’s Defensive Runs Saved—have Henderson as a somewhat above-average fielder. So I’m not sure I’m right on this. But I feel OK about having him No. 3.

No. 2

• MLB Network: Corey Seager, Texas Rangers

• Me: Francisco Lindor, New York Mets

I respect the Network continuing to believe that Seager will get healthy. But, I wouldn’t want to be the one trying to justify their placement of him here. You’re really telling me you would take Corey Seager RIGHT NOW over Bobby Witt Jr.? I wouldn’t want to have to argue that case.

Lindor is one of my all-time favorite players, and he’s going to the Hall of Fame someday, and even though he’s now 31, he just seems to be getting better.

No. 1

• MLB Network: Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles

• Me: Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals

Obviously, I’m a bit biased here, but… I win. My list is better. I know my list is better, because last year, Bobby Witt Jr. won the batting title, became the third 10-20-30-40 player in baseball history (10 triples, 20 stolen bases, 30 homers, 40 doubles)*, played fantastic defense, and he doesn’t turn 25 until June.

*Chuck Klein in 1932 and Nomar Garciaparra in 1997 are the other two.

Bobby Witt Jr. is absolutely the best shortstop in baseball RIGHT NOW. Thanks for playing, MLB Network.