2024 PC Top 5 Shortstops in the MLB

Corey Seager of the Texas Rangers *(Jamie Squire/Getty Images)*

Shortstop has been home to some of the best players in Major League History, including guys like Honus Wagner, Cal Ripken Jr, Robin Yount, and A-Rod. The best kid on your high school team probably played an up the middle position when he wasn’t pitching, and there’s a good chance he was a shortstop. It’s one of the most glamorous jobs in baseball, but it’s also incredibly hard to stay at shortstop at the Major League level. You need to be an incredible athlete, combined with leadership ability in the infield, and that doesn’t even factor in the offensive production. These days, the league is chalk full of veteran stars at short, with a notably historic pool of shortstops in the 2023 free agent market, including Dansby Swanson, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, and Trea Turner. All four guys signed for an average annual value over $25M, and I only put two of them on our top 5 free agent list. There are some up and coming stars at short, with #1 prospect in baseball Jackson Holliday of the Orioles, set to debut in 2024. Let’s dig in and take a look at the top guys at baseball’s premium infield position.

5) Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies

Turner’s stats are a hockey stick shape for 2023, with a massive shift from struggling veteran to MVP level production since the fans at Citizen Bank Park gave Trea an ovation despite his struggles and showed their support for him. Trea is one of the only guys in the league who’s a true 5 tool player that worked out, with elite 30.3 ft/sec speed that ranked in the 99th percentile of Major League Baseball and posting a perfect 30-30 stolen base record in 2023. Trea is capable at short, but below average overall. Since 2021, he has a -0.4 UZR/150, -12 DRS, and -3 OAA. While Turner won’t be considered a top defender at short, he’s good enough to justify keeping him there at this point. At the plate, his chase rate has increased significantly for two consecutive years now, and the 35.3% 2023 chase rate is a concern.

Evenstill, he’s a .296 career hitter and has hit a floor of 19-20 HR if he stays healthy all year. Though he was terrible in the first half last year, he hit .292 with 16 HR after the All Star break and found his form again. It is no small insight that Trea ranks 1st in the league among shortstop by fWAR since 2021. The .296 average is impressive, as well as the 89 stolen bags over the three year range. My concern with Trea going forward is his defense isn’t going in the right direction, and his value will drop off once his elite foot speed starts to wane. Considering he’s 31 in June, we probably won’t have too much longer to enjoy Trea’s 30 ft/sec speed.

MLB WAR Leaders at Shortstop 2021-2023 *(Fangraphs)*

4) Dansby Swanson, Chicago Cubs

Although Trea’s numbers look good over the last 3 years, Dansby actually has a higher fWAR from 2022 to 2023. Swanson is #1 in defensive value at short in the past few seasons, and also ranks #1 in OAA since 2021 or 2022, depending on your preference. Dansby is 2nd or even 3rd in a few categories, behind guys like Lindor and Rojas, who are generally considered superb defenders. In the past two seasons, I think you can certainly build a strong argument that Swanson is the best shortstop glove in the MLB right now. Offensively, he’s a .250-.260 hitter with 20 homer power, which is somewhere in the range of 10% above league average. He doesn’t have the offensive numbers of Xander Bogaerts or Trea Turner, but he’s a far superior defender to either guy. Dansby also has a reputation as a total gamer and one of the best competitors and teammates in the game, paired with a 2021 Championship during his time with the Braves. Steamer has him projected for only 2.9 fWAR for 2024, and producing much less value defensively. That’s a possible outcome, but Dansby is only 30 and has shown little to no signs of slowing down defensively yet. Assuming he hits in the .260 range and hits his 20-25 homers, I expect Swanson to finish closer in the 4.0 fWAR range, which puts him in All Star territory.

2021-2023 MLB SS Defense Leaders *(Fangraphs)*

3) Bobby Witt Jr., KC Royals

Bobby is a rising star at the shortstop position right now in the MLB. We have a few big debuts coming this season, including Jackson Holliday, but ultimately Jackson hasn’t proved anything at the highest level. This is contrary to Bobby Witt Jr., who posted the third highest fWAR in 2023 among shortstops, only behind Corey Seager and Francisco Lindor. Witt Jr. was pretty bad his rookie year defensively, but made huge strides last year, finishing 4th at SS with 14 OAA. Witt Jr. is still only 23, which plays a role in him finishing above both Dansby and Trea on this list. He projects as a 5.0 fWAR player, which places him in the 3rd or 4th range at the position. At the plate, Bobby struck out only 17.4% of the time in 2023, but still flashed 30 HR power and drove in 96 runs. His wOBA was .343, but his expected xwOBA was .373, indiciating he’s in for some huge positive regression. On top of his scouting report as a hitter and shortstop, Witt Jr. has 30.5 ft/sec speed, which ranks ahead of even Trea Turner as 100th percentile speed. When you put it all together, there’s a good chance Witt Jr. will be competing for an AL MVP multiple times over the next decade.

Bobby Witt Jr. 2023 Stats *(Baseball Savant)*

2) Francisco Lindor, New York Mets

Lindor is best of both worlds, in that he’s top 3 defensively at short, and top 3 in offensive production as well. The 4X All Star had a 30-30 season in 2023, with a 6.0 fWAR campaign that was one of the only things that did go right for the Mets last year. Though many Mets fans have been critical of the Mets extension for Lindor, he’s actually been the best shortstop in the league since the $341M deal kicked in back in 2022. Similar to Swanson, Lindor has some swing and miss and is about a .260 hitter over the past couple years, with a power-speed combination that adds upside to his production. Since the extension, Lindor is also #1 in both UZR and Ultimate Zone Rating per 150, demonstrating that he rivals guys like Adames and Swanson as premium defenders at the shortstop position.

Though Lindor is coming off back to back 6.0+ fWAR seasons, odds are he’ll finish closer in the 4 or 5 win territory in 2024. Lindor underwent surgery at the end of 2023 to remove bone spurs in his elbow, but is expected to be ready for spring training regardless. Francisco is undoubtedly on a Hall of Fame path, and I think Mets fans should be much more optimistic about the extension than they have been. It’s one of the only things that is going well for that organization right now. If Lindor posts another top 10 MVP season, we might have to slot him at #1 in 2025.

2022-2023 MLB Leaders at SS *(Fangraphs)*

1) Corey Seager, Texas Rangers

2X WS MVP, NLCS MVP, and many other awards fill Corey Seager’s shelf, and he hasn’t even turned 30 yet. He’s a Postseason hero twice over, 4X AS, 3X Silver Slugger, ROY, and finished 2nd in the MVP for the 2023 regular season. If Shohei Ohtani didn’t pitch and hit, Seager would have his 1st regular season MVP, and would have a critical notch in his belt for a Hall of Fame case assuming he puts up the unofficial 2000 hit minimum. Corey posted a 6.9 bWAR and hit 33 home runs despite only playing in 119 regular season games. The only true weakness here is some durability concern, but Seager is an MVP level bat, with above average value gloveside as well. He crushed the ball last year with a 53.2% hard hit rate and 15.2% barrel rate, while also ranking around average in both whiff and chase %. Steamer projects Seager for a 5.1 fWAR season in 2024, and I would fully back the theory that he’s the most likely shortstop to win an MVP this year. That’s reason enough for me to rank him as our blue chip, optimum shortstop for 2024.