This week’s Prospect Positional will cover shortstops, a position in which there has been surprisingly little movement despite solid play, an unfortunate injury to a top prospect and a few high-ceiling prospects making waves in the lower minors.
Note: All statistics are current through Sunday, June 22.
Updated top-15
| Updated | May 5 | Pre-Season | Name | MLB Team | MiLB Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2 | Francisco Lindor | Indians | Akron (AA) |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | Carlos Correa | Astros | Lancaster (High-A) |
| 3 | 4 | 4 | Addison Russell | A’s | Midland (AA) |
| 4 | 3 | 5 | Raul Mondesi | Royals | Wilmington (High-A) |
| 5 | 5 | 6 | Javier Baez | Cubs | Iowa (AAA) |
| 6 | 6 | 7 | Corey Seager | Dodgers | Rancho Cucamonga (High-A) |
| 7 | 8 | 12 | J.P. Crawford | Phillies | Clearwater (High-A) |
| 8 | 7 | N/R | Trevor Story | Rockies | Modesto (High-A) |
| 9 | 10 | 9 | Amed Rosario | Mets | Brooklyn (SSA) |
| 10 | 12 | 10 | Jose Rondon | Angels | Inland Empire (High-A) |
| 11 | 11 | N/R | Deven Marrero | Red Sox | Portland (AA) |
| 12 | Bubble | N/R | Franklin Barreto | Blue Jays | Vancouver (SSA) |
| 13 | 9 | 8 | Hak-Ju Lee | Rays | Durham (AAA) |
| 14 | Bubble | N/R | Christian Arroyo | Giants | Salem-Keizer (SSA) |
| 15 | Bubble | N/R | Gavin Cecchini | Mets | St. Lucie (High-A) |
Small sample size
| Updated | May 5 | Pre-Season | Name | MLB Team | MiLB Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 4 | Addison Russell | A’s | Midland (AA) |
| 9 | 10 | 9 | Amed Rosario | Mets | Brooklyn (SSA) |
| 12 | Bubble | N/R | Franklin Barreto | Blue Jays | Vancouver (SSA) |
Addison Russell has struggled in his return from his hamstring injury. After missing more than two months, he will be given a pass for the next few weeks as he gets his timing back. It appears unlikely that Russell could make his major league debut in 2014, but given the substandard production from Eric Sogard and Jed Lowrie, Russell could be called up if he appears ready. If he is not called up, he will likely spend time in the Arizona Fall League to pick up some extra at-bats.
Amed Rosario spent a week with Savannah in the South Atlantic League before a pre-scheduled demotion to the Short Season-A Brooklyn. In Brooklyn, Rosario has hit .250/.333/.389 with a triple and a home run in nine games. He also has five walks and seven strikeouts in 39 plate appearances. Rosario is a premium athlete, and has the talent to be an above-average defensive shortstop who hits .300 in the major leagues.
Switch-hitting Franklin Barreto has exploded in 2014, hitting .415/.467/.537 with five doubles and five stolen bases during his first ten games in Short Season-A Vancouver. The 18-year old profiles as a top of the order threat in the mold of Shane Victorino. He may need to move into the outfield, but he has the talent to become a gold glove center fielder that hits .280 with 10 home runs and 20-plus stolen bases.
Superb performance
| Updated | May 5 | Pre-Season | Name | MLB Team | MiLB Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 2 | 3 | Carlos Correa | Astros | Lancaster (High-A) |
| 6 | 6 | 7 | Corey Seager | Dodgers | Rancho Cucamonga (High-A) |
| 7 | 8 | 12 | J.P. Crawford | Phillies | Clearwater (High-A) |
| 8 | 7 | N/R | Trevor Story | Rockies | Modesto (High-A) |
After hitting .318/.379/.482 through the end of May, Carlos Correa came into his own in June, hitting .352/.527/.611 with more walks (19) than strikeouts (11). However, he injured his ankle on Saturday, June 21 and could miss the rest of the season. If he misses the rest of the season, Correa will likely open 2015 with Double-A Corpus Christi.
Despite hitting .346/.400/.608 for the season, Corey Seager is still in playing for High-A Rancho Cucamonga. After hitting an eye-popping .400/.455/.700 in May, he has cooled off somewhat, hitting .324/.387/.618 in June. He should be in line for a promotion to Double-A Chattanooga, though his 12 errors at shortstop may hold him back as the Dodgers would prefer that he work on his defense without substantial pressure on his bat.
It took J.P. Crawford less than 12 months to go from his professional debut for the GCL Phillies to appear in a game for the High-A Clearwater Threshers, which is nothing less than incredible for a player drafted out of high school. Despite the high error total, Crawford has displayed steady hands and sufficient athleticism to make it likely that he will remain at shortstop for the long term. He hit .295/.398/.405 for Low-A Lakewood, and is hitting .188/.278/.250 in his first four games in the Florida State League. Jimmy Rollins’ 2015 option is likely to vest, and Crawford could take over for him in 2016.
After missing a little bit more than one month due to a hand injury, Trevor Story has returned with a flourish, picking up two singles, two doubles, one triple, a home run, two hit-by-pitches and one walk in 17 plate appearances for a .429/.529/.929 line with High-A Modesto. For the season, he is hitting .331/.420/.573 with 17 doubles, seven triples and four home runs over 47 games with Modesto. He is still blocked by Troy Tulowitzki, so he may turn into trade bait or organizational depth due to Tulowitzki’s proclivity for injury.
Holding serve
| Updated | May 5 | Pre-Season | Name | MLB Team | MiLB Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2 | Francisco Lindor | Indians | Akron (AA) |
| 10 | 12 | 10 | Jose Rondon | Angels | Inland Empire (High-A) |
| 11 | 11 | N/R | Deven Marrero | Red Sox | Portland (AA) |
| 13 | 9 | 8 | Hak-Ju Lee | Rays | Durham (AAA) |
| 15 | Bubble | N/R | Gavin Cecchini | Mets | St. Lucie (High-A) |
Francisco Lindor has been solid in 2014, hitting .277/.358/.391 despite being nearly a full year younger than the next youngest player who qualifies for the batting title. He profiles as a gold glove-caliber shortstop who hits .300 with 30-plus stolen bases, and could be in the major leagues as soon as this September.
Jose Rondon is currently on a quick rehab stint with the Rookie-level AZL Angels after missing three weeks with an injury. Prior to his injury, the defense-first Rondon was having a solid season hitting .326/.350/.414. He was having a particularly successful May, hitting .378/.397/.512 with eight doubles. Rondon lacks over-the-wall power, and could be overmatched by the velocity produced by pitchers in Double-A and above, but he has the talent to hit .300 while playing above-average defense. His upside is limited, and he is more likely to be a very good shortstop in real life than in fantasy baseball.
Generally speaking, first round draft picks who are hitting .292/.372/.421 in Double-A during their second full season in professional baseball generate a lot of buzz. However, the limited offensive upside possessed by Deven Marrero has limited the amount of potential buzz. Marrero is a defense-first shortstop who, much like Rondon, is more likely to be a better shortstop in real life than in fantasy baseball.
In the span of 14 months, Hak-Ju Lee has gone from looking like a great defensive shortstop who could hit .280 with 20-plus stolen bases to a great defensive shortstop who is completely overmatched by Triple-A pitching. While the 23-year old Lee has a lot of time to return to his offensive form, he could end up being little more than a late-inning defensive replacement and pinch runner, which would rob him of any fantasy value.
After a slow start to the season, Gavin Cecchini hit .288/.355/.466 in his last 37 games with Low-A Savannah, earning a promotion to High-A St. Lucie. He has gone 5-for-15 with three doubles during his first four games in St. Lucie. Despite his solid production, substantial questions remain regarding Cecchini’s ultimate offensive potential, primarily focusing on his power potential. The questions about his power are logical due to his lack of home runs so far, as he only has four in 705 plate appearances.
Struggling
| Updated | May 5 | Pre-Season | Name | MLB Team | MiLB Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 5 | Raul Mondesi | Royals | Wilmington (High-A) |
| 5 | 5 | 6 | Javier Baez | Cubs | Iowa (AAA) |
| 14 | Bubble | N/R | Christian Arroyo | Giants | Salem-Keizer (SSA) |
Raul Mondesi is hitting .241/.290/.330 and won’t turn 19 until the end of June, which makes his inclusion in the “Struggling” section particularly harsh. However, his .180/.212/.250 line over his last 24 games has made it very difficult to put him elsewhere. Mondesi has seen his strikeout rate increase (22.0% to 25.7%), while experiencing slight decreases in his walk rate (6.3%) and isolated power (.100 to .089). While his offensive potential is not elite, much of his value is derived from the high likelihood that he will remain at shortstop and his ability to make solid contact.
Javier Baez continues to struggle in Triple-A, hitting just .222/.275/.423 with 90 strikeouts in 243 plate appearances (34.4%). His walk rate has decreased (6.9% to 6.1%), his strikeout rate has spiked (255.5% to 34.4%) and his isolated power has decreased (.296 to .201). However, Baez has hit much better since the middle of May, hitting .286/.313/.556 with ten doubles, one triple and eight home runs. Additionally, he has only struck out in 31.3% of his plate appearances, which is poor but an improvement over his rate before that date (38.1%). While this season has not been what the Cubs front office envisioned, failure can be good for a prospect as it can be a good way to force a prospect to work hard on parts of the game that may be lacking.
Christian Arroyo was hitting .203/.226/.271 through 31 games for Low-A Augusta when he was placed on the disabled list with a nagging thumb issue. When he returned to play on June 20, he was assigned to Short Season-A Salem-Keizer, where he has gone hitless through three games. He has played shortstop with Salem-Keizer, and could be a .300 hitter who plays average defense at shortstop.
On the Bubble (listed alphabetically)
| Updated | May 5 | Pre-Season | Name | MLB Team | MiLB Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bubble | N/R | N/R | Nick Ahmed | Diamondbacks | Reno (Triple-A) |
| Bubble | Bubble | N/R | Dawel Lugo | Blue Jays | Lansing (Low-A) |
| Bubble | Bubble | N/R | Gleyber Torres | Cubs | AZL Cubs (Rookie) |
After a brutal 2013 in which he hit .236/.288/.324 while playing for Double-A Mobile, Nick Ahmed has put together the quietest .305/.380/.394 in recent memory. A major reason for this is that the PCL is notoriously hitter-friendly, and Reno’s home park is one of the most extreme. Ahmed may never be more than a .270 hitter with minimal power in the major leagues, but he has the talent to be a gold glove defender, and could be an attractive target to a team that is looking for a short-term solution at shortstop.
Dawel Lugo has caught fire since the last time shortstops were ranked. He was hitting .213/.245/.270 through May 4, but has hit a sparkling .335/.360/.399 in the 38 games since then, raising his season line to .291/.318/.352. He has the talent to hit .300 with 20-plus home runs, but like most 19-year olds who have been aggressively pushed to full-season leagues, he has struggled to display his power.
In his first game with the Rookie-level AZL Cubs, Gleyber Torres went 0-for-5 with a strikeout. In his second game, he went 3-for-6 with a triple, a home run, a walk and two stolen bases. Torres lacks the upside of Barreto or Lugo, but he has a very good chance to stay at shortstop and hit .280.
