2015 Shortstop Rankings

As has become an All-Star break tradition, here’s a peek ahead at some very, very preliminary 2015 player rankings. I’m only concerned with next year here, so these aren’t true keeper rankings; if I were factoring in 2016 and beyond, some younger players would be listed quite a bit higher. As always, I’m going position by position (trying to account for next year’s position eligibility) and including a top 300 overall.

This winter’s free agents are listed without teams. Players facing option years are listed as “opt” in the team column.

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Click to see other preliminary 2015 rankings:

Top 300 | SP | RP | OF | 1B | 2B | 3B | C | DH

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2015 Shortstop Rankings

2015	Shortstop	Team	2014
1	Troy Tulowitzki	Rockies	2
2	Hanley Ramirez		1
3	Jose Reyes	Blue Jays	4
4	Xander Bogaerts	Red Sox	14 3B
5	Starlin Castro	Cubs	9
6	Ian Desmond	Nationals	5
7	Brad Miller	Mariners	7
8	Elvis Andrus	Rangers	3
9	Jean Segura	Brewers	6
10	Andrelton Simmons	Braves	8
11	Alexei Ramirez	White Sox	10
12	Ben Zobrist	Rays	12
13	Erick Aybar	Angels	14
14	Jhonny Peralta	Cardinals	16
15	Asdrubal Cabrera		11
16	Alcides Escobar	Royals	19
17	Chris Owings	Diamondbacks	20
18	Jimmy Rollins	Phillies	18
19	Francisco Lindor	Indians	55
20	Jed Lowrie		15
21	Javier Baez	Cubs	27
22	J.J. Hardy		17
23	Eugenio Suarez	Tigers	86
24	Everth Cabrera	Padres	13
25	Stephen Drew		21
26	Brandon Crawford	Giants	33
27	Wilmer Flores	Mets	37 3B
28	Nick Franklin	Mariners	30 2B
29	Jonathan Villar	Astros	26
30	Danny Santana	Twins	77
31	Carlos Correa	Astros	NR
32	Josh Rutledge	Rockies	38 2B
33	Zack Cozart	Reds	23
34	Yunel Escobar	Rays	24
35	Jordy Mercer	Pirates	28
36	Adeiny Hechavarria	Marlins	29
37	Ruben Tejada	Mets	30
38	Didi Gregorius	Diamondbacks	39
39	Alen Hanson	Pirates	75
40	Jose Iglesias	Tigers	80
41	Mike Aviles	opt	32
42	Eduardo Nunez	Twins	34
43	Erisbel Arruebarrena	Dodgers	84
44	Chris Taylor	Mariners	76
45	Marwin Gonzalez	Astros	41
46	Addison Russell	Cubs	40
47	Deven Marrero	Red Sox	NR
48	Nick Ahmed	Diamondbacks	NR
49	Aledmys Diaz	Cardinals	43
50	Eduardo Escobar	Twins	52

Shortstops

• While Hanley is the biggest name, Hardy might have the most suitors of any free agent shortstop this winter. After all, Ramirez should be a third baseman going forward and Asdrubal Cabrera probably belongs at second base. I think Lowrie has a couple of seasons left at shortstop in him, and now that the A’s are without Addison Russell in reserve, they’ll probably do what they can to bring him back. Drew figures to get another one-year deal to serve as a starting shortstop. Fortunately, he won’t have a qualifying offer hanging over his head this time.

• Lindor is ranked highest of the prospects, because while he doesn’t have nearly the offensive upside of Baez and Correa, he is the best bet to open the season in the majors.

• At No. 46, Russell is much lower than he would have been had he remained with the A’s. In Chicago, he has both Castro and Baez ahead of him at shortstop, and while the Cubs could do something about the logjam this winter, either by trading Castro or, more likely, shifting Baez to another position, there still won’t be any clear path for Russell to make an impact in 2015.