Next wave of shortstops to arrive in '16

TAMPA, Fla. -- Last season in the baseball world often was called the Year of the Prospect, but it may have started something far more lasting. It might have begun the Age of the Shortstop.

The 2015 American League Rookie of the Year race came down to a pair of promising young shortstops in the Astros' Carlos Correa and the Indians' Francisco Lindor. Correa, who played most of the season as a 20-year-old, edged Lindor because of his impressive power with 22 homers and .512 slugging percentage at a position not typically known for that tool. Playing at age 21, Lindor had the advantage defensively and edged Correa in the FanGraphs' Wins Above Replacement stat, 4.6-3.3. 

In the National League, Addison Russell, who also was 21 for the duration of the campaign, emerged as a key in the Cubs' youth movement, supplanting previous shortstop of the future Starlin Castro by early August, and helped fuel in Chicago's postseason run before going down with a hamstring injury. Thanks to his mix of offensive and defensive skills, he finished ninth among all big league shortstops with a 2.9 WAR. Add in Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox and his 4.3 WAR, and four of the decade's best shortstops were 22 or younger.

It's possible that the shortstop position has found its best young core since Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra in the mid-1990's. 

"I think there are a lot of young shortstops helping their teams win," Correa said at Spring Training last week. "We had a shortstop drought, and now it's not the case anymore. We're going to go out there, we're going to play. We're hungry and we're going to help our teams win ballgames."

And here's the thing: that group might just be the tip of the iceberg. 

At their respective peaks, Correa, Lindor, Russell and Bogaerts each ranked among the game's top five prospects, according to MLB.com's rankings. In fact, Correa, Lindor and Russell were Nos. 3, 4 and 5 heading into their Major League debut seasons.

A look at the rankings entering the 2016 season shows the next wave is on its way.

At the top, No. 1 overall prospect Corey Seager already made his Major League debut and thrived at the highest level, hitting .337/.425/.561 with four homers in 27 games. The Dodgers have made the position his for Opening Day, and if he meets his plus offensive potential, Seager should be a mainstay in Los Angeles. No. 11 prospect Trea Turner has shown his big league readiness this spring, especially in the speed department, with Nationals manager Dusty Baker calling him Trea Burner as he tries to crack the Opening Day lineup.

At Nos. 5 and 6, the Phillies' J.P. Crawford and Brewers' Orlando Arcia are candidates for promotion in short order. Both clubs are firmly in rebuilding mode and look to have left the shortstop position open for whenever the 21-year-olds prove they're ready after debuts at the Triple-A level. Both earn their best grades on the defensive end but have shown more than enough offensively to be considered potential All-Stars.

Then there's last year's Draft to consider. It was the first time in the 50-year history of the event that shortstops were selected with the first three picks. College stars Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman went to the D-backs and Astros, respectively, while high school standout Brendan Rodgers going to the Rockies at No. 3.

But why now? What is it about this moment in baseball history that explains why shortstop could be so stacked with talent for years to come? One of those youngsters has a theory.

"What I've seen a lot lately are really good athletes are starting to play baseball," said Swanson, who was traded to the Braves last December. "People always downplayed the athleticism of baseball. But now we're seeing guys who are very athletic, who are shortstops and can play and stick there. So that's part of it."

Here's another factor. These shortstops, from Correa and Lindor on down, were born in the mid-1990s, just in time to grow up for the rise of Jeter, Rodriguez and, to some extent, Garciaparra. At a time when Jeter was winning World Series rings and Rodriguez was mashing home runs by the dozens, the star shortstops of today and tomorrow were picking up the game and formulating their first opinions of it.

"The desire to strive for more and to be the best shortstop, I think that's what pushes all of us. I want to be the best shortstop out there. They want to be the best shortstop out there."

-- Carlos Correa

"All you have to do is walk around Yankee Stadium and see how many kids are wearing Derek Jeter jerseys to know, 'Yeah, that was the cool position.' And it still is,'" sasid Yankees vice president of player development Gary Denbo, whose organization has a good young shortstop of its own in No. 30 overall prospect Jorge Mateo.

That explanation might be a bit too simplistic for some who'd rather just take a front-row seat and enjoy the ride.

"It's cyclical," Phillies director of player development Joe Jordan said."You can't control what comes into our game, year in and year out. Some guys are born to play shortstop. Right now, we've got a good young group in the game. We've got one of them [in Crawford] and we're going to try to finish him off and get him ready go to the big leagues."

The players are itching not only to join Correa, Lindor and Russell in the Majors but show that they can stand out on the biggest stage.

"I think it's just awesome for baseball because kids get to see young talent coming in," said Swanson, a candidate to move quickly during his first season in the Braves system. "And they're good people. They're part of winning organizations. Watching how they go about their business, they're good role models for everyone. I guess to be considered in that mix is pretty neat, but it goes to show you in the competitive nature of baseball, everyone's out for something and they want to be the best they can be."

Speaking from his first big league Spring Training, Crawford -- arguably the best shortstop prospect who has yet to reach The Show -- admitted he admired the overall game of the 2015 rookie class.

"They're great shortstops," the Phillies youngster said. "They know how to swing the bat, too. Hopefully, when I end where I end up, I hope to do the same thing."

Asked if there was any part of his game that he saw in that group, Crawford kept his answer to the point.

"They're good," he said with a laugh.

Bring it on, said Correa.

"I think it's everyone competing and trying to be the best in the position out there," he said. "The desire to strive for more and to be the best shortstop, I think that's what pushes all of us. I want to be the best shortstop out there. They want to be the best shortstop out there. We're all relying on our work ethic and God-given talent.

"We don't want to be shortstops that can just play defense, we want to be good hitters as well. I think the focus for us now is staying consistent and doing this for years to come."