Three Most Underrated Players At Each Position — Shortstop
When you think of a 5-tool player, more often than not the guy isn’t elite in the speed tool of the five tools. That isn’t the case with Trea Turner. The fastest every day player currently in the sport, Trea can give you 30 steal seasons perennialy in a time where the steal itself is dying. Add that to 20 homeruns and a career line of .302/.357/.489 while also playing stellar defense at a premium position and you have the best all around shortstop in the game. One, might I add, that will command a top tier player contract in free agency this off season. But we’re not here to sing Turner’s praises today. Today we praise the guys that are not getting the recognition that they deserve. That list starts with…
3. Wander Franco
Let me first clarify this entry by saying that until people are actively debating Turner and Wander Franco as the top shortstop in the game, Wander will be underrated. Former number one prospect, Wander Franco made his long awaited debut for the Rays in June of 2020 and never looked back. Finishing his rookie season with a line of .288/.347/.463 with a 128 OPS+ and 30 extra base hits in 308 plate appearances and 70 games, he somehow finished third in AL RotY voting with his teammate, Randy Arozarena winning the award despite only having 1.5 more bWAR in twice the amount of games. This year, Franco is off to an even better start. Now at the old age of 21, he’s hitting .313/.333/.578 with a 175 OPS+ and 13 extra base hits through 87 plate appearances and 20 games. Franco is a stud and he will be giving Trea Turner a strong battle for the title of best shortstop as early as this year.
2. Corey Seager
New Texas Ranger Corey Seager is another guy that was once a top prospect to make today’s list. Debuting in 2015 for the Dodgers as a September call up, he played his first full season in 2016 and subsequently won the NL RotY while also finishing third in NL MVP voting. Since 2016, injuries have plagued Seager as he’s played 140+ games just one time and 100+ games only twice. This did not stop the Rangers from signing him to a 10 year, $325 million contract however, as they hope to quickly get back into contention with Seager providing the middle of the lineup presence they need. Carrying a .296/.365/.501 line with 108 homeruns and a 131 OPS+ through 2,803 career plate appearances and 657 games, Seager can has massive gap-to-gap power and can also get on base as a mid-tier walker. He will also put the ball in play more often than not as he has not struck out 100+ times in a single season since his 2017 campaign. Seager has gone overlooked as he’s not exactly the world beater everyone expects every top prospect to be, but he’s still a top 5 shortstop in baseball and deserves to be treated as such.
1. Tim Anderson
Finishing off today’s list is a man that doesn’t hit for power, doesn’t draw many walks, and has spent the entirety of his career with the Chicago White Sox who are just now emerging from their rebuild. 29 year old Tim Anderson enters today with a career line of .287/.315/.450 and an OPS+ of 106 through 3,007 plate appearances and 711 games. His line however is misleading. From his rookie year of 2016 through the 2018 season he hit .258/.286/.411 with an 88 OPS+ over 1,643 plate appearances and 398 games. Since then, he’s hit to the tune of .323/.349/.497 with a 128 OPS+ over 1,364 plate appearances and 313 games. Somehow finding a way to raise his batting average nearly 70 points has made Tim Anderson an invaluable lead off man for the ChiSox. Often overlooked due to his high BABIP that surprisingly enough is not a sign of him just getting lucky, Anderson has the uncanny ability to “hit it where they ain’t,” and has made a fine career in doing so.
Shortstop is one of the most important positions on the diamond. Guys there are expected to be excellent hitters and also field their position with the best of them. These three guys are all studs and should be treated as such until they prove otherwise. Let me know on Twitter @TroyBrock1993 who you think is underrated as a shortstop or any of the other positions we’ve covered so far in this series. Those positions include starting pitcher, catcher, first base, second base, and third base. Keep an eye out for our next entry in the series when we will cover left fielders!
