MLB Rankings: Top Shortstops of 2019

Our 2019 MLB rankings continue as we look at the top ten shortstops in the game today.

Welcome back to the 2019 MLB rankings. This week we’re tackling shortstops. Much like second base, the shortstop position is one that has changed rapidly over the last five years or so. A handful of years ago there were guys like Alexei Ramirez, Pete Kozma and Erick Aybar that were holding starting jobs and in some cases would have cracked this list.

These were light-hitting guys who had some pop but not a ton and were relied on more for their defense. The position has changed dramatically since then. We have guys that not only are good (if not great) hitters but they are also solid defenders and many have true All-Star potential, with the guys at the top having even MVP potential.

As always these rankings are not just evaluations of a players 2018 season, but also take into account their previous success as well.

Also credit as usual to Baseball Reference, Fangraphs and Baseball Savant for all stats.

*Note: This writer is considering Manny Machado a third baseman in 2019

Honorable Mention: Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers

In his two full seasons in the majors, Seager has been an All-Star and earned MVP votes in both, finishing third in MVP voting in 2016. Seager looked like he was becoming a star right before our eyes, but 2018 that track was derailed. An elbow injury and subsequent Tommy John surgery limited Seager to just 26 games last season. Now fully healthy again, Seager should be back to his All-Star ways, something the Dodgers are surely craving after losing the World Series for the second year in a row.

10. Paul DeJong, St. Louis Cardinals

Paul Dejong has solidified the shortstop position for the Cardinals over the last two years. He burst onto the scene in 2017, hitting 25 home runs and posting an .857 OPS in 108 games. He finished that year second in Rookie of the Year voting.

In 2018 DeJong had a lot of expectations, and was supposed to be a threat in the middle of the Cardinals lineup. Yet he slashed just .241/.313/.433 and hit 19 home runs in 115 games.

What needs to be considered though is that Dejong suffered a serious hand injury in May that sidelined him for nearly two months and clearly affected his swing all season.

Yet despite his struggles, we saw Dejong get stronger and healthier at the end of the year when he slashed .269/.325/.452 over the final month. He also improved leaps and bounds defensively, which is part of the reason he put up a 3.3 WAR. The Cardinals have a shorstop with youth on his side and who has improved drastically in some aspect each season, he could break out this season.

9. Didi Gregorious, New York Yankees

Despite his injury, Gregorious makes the list because he is expected to return to the Yankees sometime this summer and take his usual position as their starting shortstop.

Gregorious’s injury was unfortunate both for him and the Yankees. Obviously, for the Yankees, it’s because they lose one of their key players.

For Gregorious it’s because he was having a career year, on pace to set new career highs in OBP, slugging, OPS, OPS+, and homers. It’s unsurprising that he was also hitting the ball harder than ever in his career, at 36%.

Despite logging two fewer games than he did the previous year, Gregorious was still able to put up a better WAR (4.6 compared to 4.0 in 2017) and if he can get back on the field in time it’s not out of the question that the 29-year-old could crack 5 WAR for the first time in his career.

6. Trea Turner, Washington Nationals

Trea Turner arrived in 2018.

The 25-year-old shortstop played all 162 last season, slashing .271/.344/.416 with 19 homers and 43 stolen bases (which led the NL).

We already know Turner has speed, it’s the second year in a row he’s stolen 40+ bags. It’s his development with the bat that has impressed.

Turner’s 19 homers were a career high, as were the 27 doubles, and 73 RBI.

Not even in the prime of his career yet, Trea Turner could still get even better, and his increasing walk rate gives hope that he can be on base even more and cause more havoc on the basepaths for the Nationals.

Grading as at least average defensively too, Turner only stands to get better and could move into the top half of this list next year.

5. Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox

Trea Turner was not the only shortstop to break out in 2018. Bogaerts had himself an excellent campaign last season, slashing .288/.360/.522 with an OPS approaching .900.

At 26-years-old Bogaerts set many new career highs and was an integral part of the Red Sox’ championship run. The one time All-Star set career highs in doubles (45, previously 35) home runs (23, previously 21) RBI (103, previously 89) and OPS (.883 previously .776).

Bogaerts also had good peripheral numbers, pumping his walk rate to 9.5% and keeping his strikeout rate in the teens.

Going forward Bogaerts will be entering his prime and his arrow should continue trending upward.

4. Andrelton Simmons, Los Angeles Angels

This could be a hotly contested selection, depending on how much you value defense. Some numbers for your consideration:

Since his first full season in 2013, Simmons leads the league in UZR with 93.3. In second place is Francisco Lindor with a 41.8 UZR.

Also since his first full season in 2013, Simmons leads the league in DRS with 165. Next closest would be Brandon Crawford, with 64.

The thing is Simmons isn’t just a defensive player. He is more than capable with the bat, and put up a respectable slash line of .292/.337/.417 with 26 doubles. By WAR Simmons was the second most valuable shortstop, behind only Francisco Lindor.

Simmons will play almost the entirety of 2019 at 29-years-old, still very much in his prime and his WAR will continue to go up.

3. Trevor Story, Colorado Rockies

When Trevor Story arrived in 2016 and hit 27 home runs in just 97 games, he was heralded as the next great shortstop in all of baseball. Skip the 2017 season in which Story led the league in strikeouts and those initial expectations are starting to come true.

Story had a true breakout in 2018, slashing .291/.347/.567 and hitting 37 home runs, finishing 8th in the National League MVP voting.

Story’s 2018 performance, in tandem with Nolan Arenado‘s, was a big part of why the Rockies were able to make their second consecutive playoff appearance, the first time that has happened in the team’s history.

A big part of Story’s success in 2018 was due to his major improvement with his plate discipline. After striking out at a rate of 34.4% in 2017, Story cut that down to 25% in 2018, still not great but way more manageable.

Another part of the jump is Story started making more contact. He showed much better pitch recognition. In 2017 he swung at 32% of pitches outside of the strike zone, making contact just 51% of the time. That same year Story swung at 66% of pitches inside the zone, making contact with 80% of those pitches.

Fast forward to 2018 and Story’s numbers improve drastically. He swung at 31% of pitches outside the zone, but this time made contact with 56% of them. Inside the zone, Story swung at 71% of pitches, this time making contact 87% of the time.

Story has all of the raw tools, and has shown improvement in the more finite areas of his game. At just 26-years-old the Rockies may have a top three shortstop for the next five to six years.

2. Javier Baez, Chicago Cubs

After two solid seasons in the major leagues, Cubs fans finally got the breakout from Javier Baez that they had been waiting for.

After never cracking .275 in batting average, and never slugging over .500 and just 37 home runs in those two full seasons. In 2018 Baez hit .291, slugged .554 and hit 34 home runs. His previous career high WAR was 2.3 in 2017. In 2018 Baez finished with 5.3 WAR and runner up in the MVP voting.

Something that makes Baez’ breakout even more impressive is the circumstances under which it happened.

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2016 MVP Kris Bryant missed 60 games and was never right when he was playing. Wilson Contreras missed 24 games. Anthony Rizzo had his lowest OPS in four years.

Baez broke out and nearly won the MVP award with not as much help or protection in the lineup that he would normally have.

With those guys expected to be back and healthy again, Baez could get even better in 2019.

1. Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians

While many of the players on this list had breakout years that led to their ranking, Francisco Lindor continues to be the cream of the crop and continues to be quietly excellent every year, which is why he’s at the top.

In 2018 Lindor, for the third straight year: was an All-Star, a top-ten MVP finalist, hit above .275, drove in at least 75 runs and stole at least 15 bases.

It was also the second straight year he won a Silver Slugger and hit more than 30 home runs.

Lindor’s excellence has been part of the reason the Indians have been contenders since 2016, and at just 25-years-old he isn’t likely to slow down any time soon.

As far as the advanced metrics go Lindor increased his walk rate (9.4%) and hit the ball harder than ever (41% hard hit rate) in 2018, while being well above average defensively (14 DRS and UZR).

While he will miss the very beginning of the season due to a calf injury, Lindor is clearly still improving and hasn’t even hit his prime yet. We may have yet to see the best from Lindor, and that’s a very good thing for Cleveland fans.