SS renaissance--Dynasty Ranking

[Sour Masher]

Not since Arod, Jeter, and Nomar can I remember such a tremendous influx of young talent at SS. In fact, the talent influx happening now is even deeper than that. Not all of them are going to stick at SS long term, but the top guys listed below all have a shot of sticking there for awhile, and I expect at least one of them--Lindor--to stick for all or most of his career. Taking everything into account--production, age, defense keeping them at SS longer, etc, how would you rank the top young guys in a dynasty? I've listed who I believe to be the top 5 young stars, but if I'm missing someone, please chime in.

Bogearts
Correa
Seager
Lindor
Russell

I'm not a believer that Story belongs in that group, but do others? What about any of the highly rated minor leaguers coming up soon--Crawford, Arcia, Turner, Swanson (if he sticks at SS)? I don't think any of them crack the top 5, but chime in if you disagree, or want to toss another name in the hat.

[madducks]

I would take Story over Russell and Lindor.

[Sour Masher]

I would take Story over Russell and Lindor.

I'm glad I started this thread then....I love to hear differing opinions. This one floors me. Would love to hear why. I'm a believer in Russell, although he hasn't shown enough in the majors to make him a slam dunk over Story, but Lindor--man is he amazing, and equally amazing is how overlooked he has been since day 1 from roto folks expecting him to be all glove.

[revo]

Yeah, there's no way I'm taking Story over Lindor. Story is whiffing at a 35% rate and leads the majors in Ks. He has the makings of a .240ish hitter, even in Coors.

[chancellor]

Despite his not great start to this year, I still take Correa first and Bogaerts second. I like Seager and then Lindor. If I'm in a dynasty league, I'd want any of a lot of top prospects before Russell. I think Russell will improve, but, gosh, he has a long way to go just to be as good as Brandon Crawford offensively. Or have enough value as Elvis Andrus.

[madducks]

I'm glad I started this thread then....I love to hear differing opinions. This one floors me. Would love to hear why. I'm a believer in Russell, although he hasn't shown enough in the majors to make him a slam dunk over Story, but Lindor--man is he amazing, and equally amazing is how overlooked he has been since day 1 from roto folks expecting him to be all glove.

Russell, much like his teammate Baez, just seems overwhelmed by major league pitching thus far. I look for him to be a post hype sleeper pick in a few years.

I think Lindor is a great all-around player who is great defensively and good but not great offensively. Think Jason Kipnis with a better batting average and better defense. He's definitely a better contact hitter than Story. But, i'll take the Coors Field power hitter with the lower BA each time. And i expect Story to steal more as he gets more familiar with MLB pitchers. He had 20+ steals each year in the minors.

[chancellor]

The reason I don't take Story is I think he will get moved somewhere - or into a utility role - in the next 2-3 years.

[madducks]

The reason I don't take Story is I think he will get moved somewhere - or into a utility role - in the next 2-3 years.

Good point.

[Sour Masher]

I think I like Russell maybe a bit more than you over the long haul but I agree with the essence of this. It seems like a top 4 right now - Correa, Bogaerts, Seager, Lindor - and then I think I'd put several of the prospects in 5th place. Swanson and Bregman would probably be my top two prospects, followed by Turner.

If I thought Bregman had a shot at ending up at SS, I'd definitely put him above Russell too--Bregman is a stud hitter--but him playing SS is a super long shot at this point. I like Swanson a lot too, but he has a lower ceiling and may be a 2bman--my hunch is the put Albies at ss.

I'm surprised by all the prospect love over Russell from lots of folks who have expressed extreme distrust of prospects in general (rightly so, the majority of them underperform expectations). Russell is still just 22 years old. If he were still in the minors doing what he did in the minors, he'd likely be a top 3 prospect right now, ahead of all the other guys mentioned.

[Sour Masher]

I think Lindor is a great all-around player who is great defensively and good but not great offensively. Think Jason Kipnis with a better batting average and better defense. He's definitely a better contact hitter than Story. But, i'll take the Coors Field power hitter with the lower BA each time. And i expect Story to steal more as he gets more familiar with MLB pitchers. He had 20+ steals each year in the minors.

I'd rather have Kipnis with a better BA than Steve Souza with more power .

Some numbers: in 159 professional games, Lindor has hit .307, with 18 homers, 22 SBs, 88 runs, and 81 RBIs--I'd call that great 5 category production from a SS. Watching him hit, and looking at his deeper numbers, I think he can sustain that level of production, which is pretty darn amazing. If he wasn't also emerging at the same time as offensive luminaries like Correa, Bogaerts, and Seager, I think he'd be getting a lot more attention.

[Sharky]

If I thought Bregman had a shot at ending up at SS, I'd definitely put him above Russell too--Bregman is a stud hitter--but him playing SS is a super long shot at this point. I like Swanson a lot too, but he has a lower ceiling and may be a 2bman--my hunch is the put Albies at ss.

I'm surprised by all the prospect love over Russell from lots of folks who have expressed extreme distrust of prospects in general (rightly so, the majority of them underperform expectations). Russell is still just 22 years old. If he were still in the minors doing what he did in the minors, he'd likely be a top 3 prospect right now, ahead of all the other guys mentioned.

I hope you're right about Albies at SS. Noticed he played the last several games at 2B recently in the minors.

[Sour Masher]

I hope you're right about Albies at SS. Noticed he played the last several games at 2B recently in the minors.

Huh, I hadn't noticed that. Both are very capable of being at SS. My hunch is merely based on the fact that all things being equal with two exceptional defenders, a team might look at value over replacement at each position, and decide they want the more offensively gifted player at the keystone. But then again, SS is getting so deep, maybe that doesn't matter at all.

[joncarlos]

They're all so good. I would go

Correa
Xander
----
Lindor
Seager
---
Russell