MLB: Top 5 Shortstops in Baseball

Major League Baseball is experiencing its best crop of shortstops in a generation. Eye-popping power, highlight reel glovework and clutch hitting are on display on a nightly basis. Call to the Pen takes a look at the five best at the position in MLB today.

One of the most intriguing early stories in baseball this season has been the scorching-hot start of Trevor Story, the 23-year-old rookie shortstop of the Colorado Rockies. Story became the first player in Major League history to hit seven home runs in his team’s first six games, and set a National League rookie record with ten long balls in April en route to winning Rookie of the Month.

Rivaling Story has been the start of St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Aledmys Diaz, a virtual unknown prior to the season, who has stepped in for the injured Jhonny Peralta. All Diaz has done is slash .381/.422/.679 and amass the fifth-highest WAR in MLB.

Twenty years ago, the triumvirate of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra were revolutionizing the traditionally weak-hitting, slick-fielding position, and that influence can be seen throughout the game today. While it’s still too early to put Story, Diaz, fellow rookie Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, or even the Chicago Cubs’ Addison Russell into the category of elite shortstops, they’ve shown that this is certainly going to be a fun competition for years to come.

Let’s take a look at who the top shortstops in the big leagues are right now. It’s a tough list to construct, and many notable names will have to be left off. Let us know in the comments or on Twitter what your top five would look like.

Next: Who cracked the top 5?