The trials and tribulations of Marcus Semien playing shortstop this year for the Oakland Athletics are well documented. He’s a talent better suited for work at second base in the Major Leagues. The A’s have three shortstops in the system considered to be top 10 prospects within the organization. Fans can close the books on 2015, but what should Billy Beane‘s approach to the position be in 2016?
The No. 1 prospect right now is minor leaguer Franklin Barreto, a shortstop acquired in the Josh Donaldson swap with the Toronto Blue Jays. He is only 19 and playing Single-A ball right now. His arm is considered a bigger asset than his glove, but there is still much time for his fundamentals to further develop.
Richie Martin is the Athletics’ fourth ranked prospect. He is more or less in the same boat as Barreto, because he is only 20-years-old and is yet to advance past Single-A ball. Mind you, he was drafted 20th overall out of the University of Florida, so he should advance through the minors more rapidly than Barreto might. In Low-A for the Vermont Lake Monsters, Martin is currently hitting .258/.386/.383 through 120 at-bats. He projects to be a stronger overall fielder than Barreto, but is the weaker bat of the two.
Oakland Athletics
In Double-A, Oakland has an interesting option who could cut into Semien’s playing time in the near future. He is 23-year-old Chad Pinder. Like Martin, Pinder is a former NCAA athlete. He was a second round pick (71st overall) out of Virginia Tech in 2013. Playing his entire season so far for the Midland Rockhounds, Pinder has had everything clicking with the bat this year. His current slash line of .316/.362/.489 offers optimism to go with his 14 home runs and 77 RBI.
With the glove, Pinder may not offer much more than Semien defensively, however. His 30 errors at shortstop in 483 chances leads MLB at any position. Pinder, meanwhile, has committed 20 errors in 402 chances with Midland. Based on Baseball-Reference’s range factor per game (RF/G) calcaulation, Semien’s 4.01 mark is still better than Pinder’s 3.86 in Double-A.
The Athletics are not in contention for anything in 2015. They’re merely building towards next year. Oakland’s front office might choose to sign or trade for their 2016 starting shortstop. In the long-term, the club can be optimistic about Barreto or Martin working out for them. In the short-term, Pinder will likely get an invite to Spring Training next season if he keeps doing what he is doing right now in the minors.
A strong showing in March of next year might be enough to catapult Chad Pinder into the Oakland Athletics’ starting lineup. Things really can’t get much worse defensively at the shortstop position for the A’s. Semien’s 30 errors there tie the fourth highest mark by any player at his position since 2000. He needs only seven more in 2015 to surpass Jose Valentin‘s 36 in 2000. Semien’s UZR of -9.9 ranks 25th amongst MLB shortstops this season.