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MLB filled with talented shortstops now and in future

By Brody Hilgenkamp |
Mar 7, 2016; Bradenton, FL, USA;Philadelphia Phillies shortstop J.P. Crawford (77) throws during the eighth ninth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at McKechnie Field. The Phillies won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2016; Bradenton, FL, USA;Philadelphia Phillies shortstop J.P. Crawford (77) throws during the eighth ninth inning of a spring training baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at McKechnie Field. The Phillies won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Shortstops such as the Philadelphia Phillies’ J.P. Crawford and the Washington Nationals’ Trea Turner are putting up big numbers this season, suggesting the position has a bright future ahead in the MLB.

Friday, J.P. Crawford was promoted and played his first game in Triple-A. The Phillies prospect went 0-for-3 with a walk, so it wasn’t a thunderous debut, but it certainly caught the attention of the baseball world. The promotion took Crawford one step closer to appearing in the MLB and becoming the new starting shortstop in the City of Brotherly Love.

While Crawford’s promotion was the biggest headline, he isn’t the only shortstop in the minors making waves. Not even close.

My minor league notes column Thursday mentioned how shortstops are dominating leaderboards in the Florida State League. In it, I also talked about Alex Bregman‘s escapades in a deep Houston Astros farm system. I could’ve kept going with all of the great seasons by baseball’s best prospects.

For example, Dansby Swanson, last year’s No. 1 overall draft pick and the Atlanta Braves’ top prospect, is slashing .314/.417/.510 between Class-A Advanced and Double-A. The Nationals’ Turner was seventh in the International League in weighted on-base average entering play Friday. Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Orlando Arcia is hitting .315/.346/.432 and has just 21 strikeouts in 156 plate appearances.

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One more: Colorado Rockies prospect Brendan Rodgers leads the South Atlantic League with a 1.010 on-base plus slugging percentage.

This isn’t a “Is this a golden age of shortstops?” post. That has been well documented by today’s baseball scribes – such as here, here and here. In fact, a Google search of “golden age of shortstops” yields 105,000 results.

A better takeaway here would be that the position looks like it’s going to be played by talented players for a long time. Even a significant amount of attrition, position switches, injuries and one-hit wonders won’t take away what the group has already accomplished and will accomplish.

Two of the most well-written pieces are this one by the New York Post’s Joel Sherman and Ben Reiter’s article in the May 2 issue of Sports Illustrated. Both present the same premise that young shortstops such as Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor, Addison Russell, Corey Seager, Xander Bogaerts and Trevor Story comprise the best group of shortstops since the late 1990s and early 2000s when Derek Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra and Alex Rodriguez dominated the game.

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With the high performances of the minor leaguers mentioned above, the Great Young Shortstop frat house could become claustrophobic over the next few years. Time will tell where this group ranks on the all-time list. The talent is certainly there for this group to be among the best ever.

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