Entering last season the Los Angeles Dodgers were in the tricky position of needing to fill the void left at shortstop after Hanley Ramirez signed with the Boston Red Sox without blocking the rise of Corey Seager.
Los Angeles wound up trading for Jimmy Rollins, who met one criteria as he was in the final year of his contract, but the veteran also struggled at the plate.
Seager was promoted from Triple-A last September and he took advantage of Rollins being sidelined with a sprained right index finger.
Behind a hot start to his Major-League career, the 21-year-old prospect took hold of the starting job at shortstop over the final month of the regular season.
Seager then became the youngest position player to start a postseason game in franchise history when he was penciled in the lineup for Game 1 against the New York Mets in the 2015 National League Division Series.
With Rollins now a free agent and seemingly a lock not to be re-signed, the expectation holds Seager will be the Dodgers starting shortstop come Opening Day.
While he wasn’t ranked a top-10 player at his position by MLB Network’s The Shredder, he was ranked the No. 7 shortstop entering the 2016 season by Brian Kenny and No. 8 by Bill Ripken.
Mike Petriello also has Seager as the seventh-best shortstop at present time, but believes a move to third base is to come:
“I don’t think he’s going to be the long-term shortstop. But, if we’re looking at him for this year or next year, he’s probably good enough to stick there. I have him at No. 7, although I believe in the bat and eventually he’s going to be a third baseman.”
Both Kenny and Ripken added they wouldn’t be surprised if Seager was ranked the No. 1 shortstop heading into the 2017 season.
In 27 games with the Dodgers, Seager hit a blistering .337/.425/.561 with four home runs, eight doubles, 17 RBIs, a .421 wOBA and 175 wRC+. He began last season with Double-A Tulsa, then joined Triple-A Oklahoma City on May 1.
Complete rankings of the top 10 shortstops right now:
| Rank | The Shredder | Bill Ripken | Brian Kenny |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francisco Lindor (CLE) | Brandon Crawford (SF) | Carlos Correa (HOU) |
| 2 | Troy Tulowitzki (TOR) | Carlos Correa (HOU) | Brandon Crawford (SF) |
| 3 | Carlos Correa (HOU) | Troy Tulowitzki (TOR) | Troy Tulowitzki (TOR) |
| 4 | Brandon Crawford (SF) | Francisco Lindor (CLE) | Xander Bogaerts (BOS) |
| 5 | Jhonny Peralta (STL) | Addison Russell (CHC) | Andrelton Simmons (LAA) |
| 6 | Xander Bogaerts (BOS) | Xander Bogaerts (BOS) | Jhonny Peralta (STL) |
| 7 | Addison Russell (CHC) | Ian Desmond (Free Agent) | Corey Seager (LAD) |
| 8 | Marcus Semien (OAK) | Corey Seager (LAD) | Francisco Lindor (CLE) |
| 9 | Andrelton Simmons (LAA) | Jhonny Peralta (STL) | Erick Aybar (ATL) |
| 10 | Didi Gregorious (NYY) | Andrelton Simmons (LAA) | Didi Gregorious (NYY) |
