A new generation of shortstops is arriving in major league baseball, but a few of the old-timers are still hanging on, too. Here are the best at the position through the first two months of 2012. 5. Derek Jeter, Yankees » It’s amazing what he can still do with the bat. Jeter entered play Thursday batting .348. Only St. Louis’ Rafael Furcal is close among shortstops (.339). Jeter is second in OPS (.873) and slugging (.484) but is now an absolute train wreck defensively, so that limits his value.
4. Jed Lowrie, Astros » Lowrie is back to being one of the best defensive shortstops in the sport after a couple of injury-riddled seasons in Boston. He’s hitting, too. He owns an .835 OPS, fourth best among shortstops, and has seven home runs.
3. Starlin Castro, Cubs » Ian Desmond has more homers (eight). Boston’s Mike Aviles is a tick better defensively. But Castro combines the best of both worlds. All three are straight hackers at the plate who strike out a ton anyway. Castro, at least, is batting .313 and has speed on the bases (12 steals).
2. J.J. Hardy, Orioles » No one makes the difficult play at shortstop look more routine than Hardy. He has difficulty staying healthy but is a huge plus to the lineup when he does. He has 20 extra-base hits already, including nine homers.
1. Elvis Andrus, Rangers » The game’s best all-around shortstop was batting .309 with 21 RBI entering play Thursday. He doesn’t have much power, but his .381 on-base percentage is exceptional. Andrus’ great range and strong, consistent arm make him valuable in the field, too.
– Brian McNally
