Shortstop is the glamour position in baseball. It should surprise no one that some of the best rookies in baseball were shortstops this past season. Moving forward, some of these players will obviously be better than others. One player registers as possibly the number one player at his position moving forward. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in the American League even though he probably didn’t deserve that honor this season. The BBWAA is always overwhelmed by offense and since this is a fantasy baseball site so are we. If this is the first of these you’ve read, we are not only looking at the player, but also possible barriers that would keep them from becoming fantasy fixtures as shortstops.

Carlos Correa— Houston Astros

Key Stats: .279, 22 HR, 52 Runs, 68 RBI, 14 SB

Overview

Carlos Correa won the AL Rookie of the Year Award on the strength of those offensive numbers. If you believe the various websites that focus on fielding, he is somewhere between average and above average defensively. Those that watched him regularly would swear otherwise. He won the award based on the fact that most observers would claim that he was the difference between the Astros being a mediocre team and being the playoff team they were. Critics would assert that it wasn’t that big a difference. It was enough to get them to the ALDS and they did come the closest to eliminating the Royals.

Barriers to Launch

There are no barriers to launch offensively. The only barrier long-term might be a position switch to third base down the road. That won’t happen in 2016, so he could be the number one shortstop off the board. Add two months worth of at bats to his resume and you are looking at a 30/20 player last season. That might be a bit ambitious for 2016, but even if you go 20/20, there is enough there to consider him the top shortstop on the board.

Francisco Lindor— Cleveland Indians

Key Stats: .313, 12 HR, 50 Runs, 51 RBI, 12 SB

Overview

I’m a huge Astros fan, and I considered Lindor to be the correct choice for Rookie of the Year. The award is not supposed to be based on who will be the more valuable player long-term. Correa will be the better pro in all likelihood, but Lindor combined the defensive and offensive value necessary to win the award. The problem is that he isn’t a tremendous prospect in fantasy baseball terms. What you see above is likely the ceiling of what he can produce realistically. Granted, he will have 300 more plate appearances if he’s healthy, but he likely won’t achieve at the same rate.

Barriers to Launch

Lindor will be the guy going forward. The question is how effective he will be offensively. He might be most similar to Brandon Crawford as a fantasy prospect. Crawford blossomed this past season with 21 home runs, but previously seemed to be a .260/10 HR type of player. Make no mistake, combine that with his defense and he will still be a very valuable shortstop in real baseball, but those kinds of numbers won’t blow anyone’s skirt up.

Corey Seager— Los Angeles Dodgers

Key Stats: .337, 4 HR, 17 Runs, 17 RBI, 2 SB

Overview

The Dodgers finally realized how bloated they were. They had a ton of money sunken into a ton of veterans and they weren’t getting a lot of them. Jimmy Rollins was one of the more egregious offenders. Finally, the Dodgers relented and called up Seager in August. If you multiply these numbers five times you might get an estimate of the kind of pace he was on as a big leaguer. He will join Joc Pederson as part of the next generation of great Dodger players. As an offensive player, he will have a similar upside to Correa. We might be looking at the next golden age of shortstops.

Barriers to Launch

Jimmy Rollins‘ contract ran out after 2015, so the Dodgers will gladly let him walk and turn the reigns over to Seager. Keep in mind that the numbers from above represent just over a month of action. Teams will get a book on him and he will have a readjustment period. So, you can kiss that .330ish average goodbye for the time being, but he is still a very good fantasy prospect with the power and speed.

Ketel Marte— Seattle Mariners

Key Stats: .283, 2 HR, 25 Runs, 17 RBI, 8 SB

Overview

The Jack Z era in Seattle is over. Interestingly enough, former embattled Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto takes over. He immediately fired Lloyd McClendon and brought in Scott Servais. That was probably a good move. The Mariners aren’t without talent and Marte is one of those talents. In his last three minor league seasons, he hit no worse than .295. He also stole an average of 20 bases a season at the minor league level. He isn’t going to make anyone forget Honus Wagner, but he is tremendously better than anything they’ve had at that position for awhile.

Barriers to Launch

Brad Miller was the primary shortstop for most of the season. He hit .258 with 11 home runs in a little less than 500 plate appearances. The team will likely keep him around because he’s a useful player, but as long as he is around, he will steal at bats away from Marte. However, Marte profiles as the better all-around player moving forward, so for their sake you hope they will continue to give him an opportunity to play.