Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager was ranked the top player at his position heading into the 2017 season by MLB Network’s The Shredder. He finished ahead of Cleveland’s Francisco Lindor and Houston’s Carlos Correa, among others.
Seager also placed first on host Brian Kenny’s list, and that of analysts Vince Gennaro, Bill James, Mike Petriello and Bill Ripken. “I easily have Corey Seager No. 1. He had the best season by a shortstop in Dodger history, he probably had one of the best rookie seasons by a shortstop ever,” Petriello said.
“He is the answer to the question, ‘What would it look like if a guy who hits like Paul Goldschmidt or Mookie Betts could play shortstop?’ He is that good. He is the best shortstop in baseball.”
Earlier this offseason Seager was rated the second-best shortstop by ESPN’s Buster Olney, placing behind Lindor.
The 22-year-old Seager batted .308/.365/.512 with a 137 OPS+, .372 wOBA and 137 wRC+ in 157 games. He led qualified Dodgers in batting average, on-base percentage, total hits (193), doubles (40), triples (five) and was second in home runs (26).
Seager led qualified NL shortstops in doubles, home runs, batting average, slugging, wOBA, wRC+, was second in OBP and third in RBI. He broke the Los Angeles franchise record for most hits in a single season by a rookie, which was previously held by Steve Sax (180 hits in 1982).
Seager also set a Dodgers franchise record for most home runs by a shortstop in a season, broke Eric Karros’ rookie record for most doubles (30), and with 321 total bases broke Mike Piazza’s rookie record (307).
Since the 2015 season, Seager ranks sixth among all shortstops with a 7.9 WAR. Ahead of him are Lindor (10.3 WAR), Correa (10.1), San Francisco’s Brandon Crawford (10.1), Boston’s Xander Bogaerts (8.3) and Andrelton Simmons of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (8.2).
That Seager ranks that highly is further impressive when taking into account he didn’t debut in the Majors until September 2015. Seager surpassed lofty expectations last season and was voted the unanimous National League Rookie of the Year.
He finished third in NL MVP voting, which was won by Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant. One blemish on Seager’s rookie campaign was fatigue setting in down the stretch of the season. While speaking during Dodgers FanFest on Saturday, Seager said he expects to avoid such trouble this year, behind experience gained and a set routine.
| Rank | The Shredder | Brian Kenny | Bill Ripken |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corey Seager (Dodgers) | Corey Seager (Dodgers) | Corey Seager (Dodgers) |
| 2 | Francisco Lindor (Indians) | Carlos Correa (Astros) | Francisco Lindor (Indians) |
| 3 | Carlos Correa (Astros) | Francisco Lindor (Indians) | Carlos Correa (Astros) |
| 4 | Trea Turner (Nationals) | Brandon Crawford (Giants) | Brandon Crawford (Giants) |
| 5 | Brandon Crawford (Giants) | Trea Turner (Nationals) | Xander Bogaerts (Red Sox) |
| 6 | Trevor Story (Rockies) | Xander Bogaerts (Red Sox) | Troy Tulowitzki (Blue Jays) |
| 7 | Aledmys Diaz (Cardinals) | Addison Russell (Cubs) | Addison Russell (Cubs) |
| 8 | Xander Bogaerts (Red Sox) | Andrelton Simmons (Angels) | Trevor Story (Rockies) |
| 9 | Troy Tulowitzki (Blue Jays) | Trevor Story (Rockies) | Trea Turner (Nationals) |
| 10 | Addison Russell (Cubs) | Aledmys Diaz (Cardinals) | Jean Segura (Mariners) |
