Who are the best major league shortstops in the world right now?
MLB has many great players, including the shortstops. There are many new and veteran players alike who are known for their powerful performance on the field.
Every baseball fan may have their pick when it comes to the best player. And you have your opinion about the best shortstops in MLB.
However, today we have compiled a list of the significant league shortstops who are the best. We are looking at their MLB statistics for the current and previous seasons to help us rank these players.
So without any further dilemma, let us dive right into the list.
13 Best Major League Shortstops In The World Right Now
We have taken Bleacherreport as our primary reference for the article. Before diving into the details, let us look at the overall list’s ranking.
| Shortstop Name | Team |
| 13. Wander Franco | Tampa Bay Rays |
| 12. Trevor Story | Colorado Rockies |
| 11. Corey Seager | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 10. Nicky Lopez | Kansas City Royals |
| 9. Javier Baez | Detroit Tigers |
| 8. Willy Adames | Milwaukee Brewers |
| 7. Tim Anderson | Chicago White Sox |
| 6. Xander Bogaerts | Boston Red Sox |
| 5. Bo Bichette | Toronto Blue Jays |
| 4. Brandon Crawford | San Francisco Giants |
| 3. Fernando Tatis Jr. | San Diego Padres |
| 2. Trea Turner | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 1. Carlos Correa | Houston Astros |
13. Wander Franco
On number 13 of the best major league shortstops, we have a Dominican professional player for the Tampa Bay Rays, Wander Franco. The 23 year-old shortstop made his MLB debut in 2021.
During the 2017 international class, Franco was one of the top-ranked global prospects. The Rays signed him on July 2, 2017, and he made his professional debut in the minor league the following year.
In his debut game, Franco recorded his first career hit, home run, and RBI on a three-run shot-off against Red Sox’s Eduardo Rodrigues in the fifth inning.
On November 23, 2021, he signed a $182 million contract extension for eleven-year. It made Franco the youngest player in baseball history to sign a contract worth at least $100 million.
Similarly, the deal was also the largest for any player who played in the major league for less than one year. Franco recorded a .280 average, 11 home runs, and 56 runs batted in through May 26, 2022.
12. Trevor Story
31 year-old Trevor Story is a professional player for the Boston Red Sox. He made his MLB debut with the Colorado Rockies on April 4, 2016.The Story was committed to Louisiana State University on a college baseball scholarship. The Rockies selected him as a shortstop in the first round as the 45th overall selection of the 2011 MLB draft.
After the draft, he signed with the team instead of attending the University. In his rookie year, Story set an MLB record for a rookie by hitting home runs in each of his first four games.
After the record, he was named the NL Rookie of the Month for April 2016. Since his debut, he has become an All-Star, Silver Slugger Award twice, and NL stolen base leader.
Story entered free agency after playing six seasons with the Rockies. On March 23, 2022, he signed a six-year contract worth $140 million with the Boston Red Sox. Through June 2022, he has a .268 batting average, 169 home runs, and 500 runs batted in.
11. Corey Seager
Nicknamed “Seags,” we have the professional baseball shortstop Corey Seager of the Texas Rangers on number 11 of the best major league shortstops. The 29 year-old made his MLB debut in 2015 for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Seager was committed to attending the University of South Carolina on a college baseball scholarship. The Dodgers selected him in the first round as the 18th overall selection of the 2012 MLB draft.
He opted to sign with the Dodgers rather than attending the University. While Seager was in the minor league, te MLB.com ranked him the 7th-best prospect in baseball going into 2015. Similarly, Baseball America ranked him number 5.
After his MLB debut, Seager has won NL Rookie of the Year, All-Star twice, World Series champion, World Series MVP, NLCS MVP, and Silver Slugger Award. He played seven seasons with the Dodgers before he entered free agency.
On December 1, 2021, he signed a 10-year contract worth $325 million with the Texas Rangers. Seager averaged .290, 119 home runs, and 397 runs batted in through June 2022.
10. Nicky Lopez
29 year-old Nicky Lopez is a professional baseball shortstop for the Kansas City Royals. He made his MLB debut with the City on May 14, 2019.
Lopez played was a baseball player in his high school and college years. After his junior season, Kansas City drafted him in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB draft. He made his professional debut in the minor league with the Burlington Royals.
On August 19, 2021, Lopez hit his first home run of the season in a 3-6 loss against the Houston Astros. He defensively led all qualifying AL shortstops with a .987 fielding percentage.
Through June 20, 2022, Lopez recorded a .255 batting average, five home runs, and 92 runs batted in.
9. Javier Baez
On number 9 of the major league shortstops in the world right now, we have Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop Javier Baez. The 31 year-old made his professional debut for the Chicago Cubs in 2014.
Baez was committed to playing college baseball at Jacksonville University. However, Chicago Cubs drafted him in the first round as the ninth overall selection of the 2011 MLB draft.
Nicknamed “El Mago” (Spanish for “The Magician”), Baez spent eight years with the Cubs. On July 30, 2021, the Cubs traded him to the New York Mets. In December of the same year, he signed a six-year contract with the Detroit Tigers worth $140 million.
Since his debut, Baez has won All-Star twice, World Series Champion, NLCS MVP, Gold Glove Award, Silver Slugger Award, and NL RBI leader. Similarly, he was also featured as the cover athlete for MLB The Show 20.
Baez’s MLB statistics through June 2022 were a .261 average, 156 home runs, and 490 batted in. The designated hitters may not play a position in the field but can bat when they replace the pitcher in the batting order. Click here to read more!
8. Willy Adames
Willy Adames is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop for the Milwaukee Brewers. The 28 year-old made his MLB debut with Tampa Bay Rays in 2018.
In 2012, Detriot Tigers signed Adames as an international free agent. He made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Tigers a year later. But before he made his MLB debut, the Tigers traded him to the Rays.
In 2015, 2016, and 2017, MLB.com ranked Adames as the number one prospect in the Tampa Bay Rays farm system. After his MLB debut, he established himself as one of the great shortstops.
On May 21, 2021, the Rays traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers. On March 22, 2022, Adames signed a $4.6 million contract with the Brewers, avoiding salary arbitration.
Adames recorded a .256 batting average, 78 home runs, and 221 runs batted in through June 27, 2022.
7. Tim Anderson
Our 7th best major league shortstop in the world is 30 year-old Tim Anderson. He is a professional baseball shortstop for Chicago White Sox, who made his MLB debut in 2016.
Anderson played college baseball at East Central Community College. He had a breakout season during his senior year and led all junior college baseball players.
Furthermore, he was named first-team National Junior College Athletic Association Division II All-American. In the 2013 MLB draft, White Sox drafted him in the first round as the 17th overall.
Since his debut in the MLB, Anderson has won an All-Star, Silver Slugger Award, and AL batting champion. Before the 2017 season, he further signed a six-year contract worth $25 million with the team.
Through June 26, 2022, Anderson has the MLB statistics of a .289 batting average, 96 home runs, 307 runs batted in, and 101 stolen bases.
6. Xander Bogaerts
Our sixth-best major baseball shortstop is Xander Bogaerts. Nicknamed “the X-Man” and “Bogey,” he is a professional shortstop for the Boston Red Sox and made his MLB debut with the team in 2013.
Now 31 year-old, Bogaerts was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox in 2009. He made 30-game appearances between the regular season and postseason.
Similarly, he also helped the team to the World Series championship.
Starting in 2014, Bogaert began playing as the Red Sox’s shortstop. In 2019, he signed a six-year extension contract worth $132 million with the team.
Since his debut in the MLB, Bogaert has won an All-Star three times, World Series champion two times, All-MLB First Team, and Silver Slugger Award four times. He played most games as a shortstop and set the record in 2022.
Bogaert’s MLB statistic through June 16, 2022, has a .292 batting average, 1,316 hits, 147 home runs, and 641 batted in.
5. Bo Bichette
Bo Bichette is a professional baseball shortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays. The 26 year-old made his professional MLB debut with the Jays in 2019.
Bichette was committed to attending Arizona State University to play college baseball. But later, Toronto Blue Jays selected him in the second round as the 66th overall selection of the 2016 MLB draft.
Bichette recorded his first major league hit against Kansas City Royals’ Brad Keller in his debut game. On August 6 of the same year, he became the first-ever MLB player to hit ten extra-base hits in his first nine major league games with a double.
Likewise, Bichette has also set a new MLB record after achieving a double streak of nine games. In 2021, he was named an All-Star for the first time.
A power hitter, Bichette has an average of .290, 57 home runs, and 187 runs batted in through June 28, 2022.
4. Brandon Crawford
Brandon Crawford is the professional baseball shortstop for the San Francisco Giants. The 37 year-old made his MLB debut with the team in 2011.
Crawford was a three-sport athlete during his high school. He played college baseball when he attended the University of California. He helped lead his team to the NCAA Regionals in three consecutive seasons.
San Francisco Giants drafted Crawford in the fourth round, with the 117th overall selection of the 2008 MLB draft. He started his entire season as a professional with the Class-A Advanced team, San Jose Giants.
After making his MLB debut, Crawford became the sixth player in the league’s history to hit a grand slam in his first MLB game and the first shortstop to hit a grand slam in an MLB postseason game.
Similarly, he has also won All-Star three times, World Series champion two times, Gold Glove Award four times, Silver Slugger Award, and Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award two times.
Crawford has a .253 batting, 1,291 hits, 135 home runs, and 684 run through June 21, 2022.
3. Fernando Tatis Jr.
We are down to the top three best major league shortstop in the world right now. On number 3, we have Fernando Tatis Jr., who made his MLB debut with the San Diego Padres in 2019.
Tatis Jr. is a 25 year-old Dominican baseball shortstop and outfielder for Padres. He is the son of the former MLB player Fernando Tatis Sr.
The Chicago White Sox signed him as an international free agent from the Dominican Prospect League in 2015.
At the beginning of 2019, MLB Pipeline, ESPN, Baseball America, and Baseball Prospectus ranked Tatis as one of the top three prospects in baseball. He played in the minor league for several years before making his debut with the Padres.
Since his debut, he has won several awards like All-Star, All-MLB First Team two times, Silver Slugger Award two times, and NL home run leader. He has a .292 batting average, 82 home runs, and 199 runs batted in through the 2021 season.
2. Trea Turner
Our second-best major league shortstop is also one of the fastest runners in MLB, Trea Turner. He is 30 year-old shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers and made his MLB debut in 2015 for Washington Nationals.
Turner played high school and college baseball. Aaron Fitt of Baseball America predicted him to be the first-round choice in the 2014 MLB draft. Then the San Diego Padres drafted him in the first round as the 13th overall selection.
In 2014, Padres traded Turner to the Nationals, and he made his MLB debut. On June 30, 2021, he hit the cycle for the third time and tied for the MLB record for most cycles in a career.
The Nationals traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 30, 2021. Turner’s career highlight wins include All-Star, World Series champion, All-MLB Second Team, NL batting champion, and two NL stolen base hits.
By June 28, 2022, Turner recorded an average of .303, 114 home runs, 388 batted in, and 218 stolen bases.
1. Carlos Correa
The number 1 best major league shortstop in the world is Carlos Correa. He is a 29 year-old Puerto Rican baseball shortstop for the Minnesota Twins.
Correa was the youngest high-profile player to enter the 2012 MLB draft. The Houston Astros selected him as the first overall pick, and he became the highest-selected player to be drafted directly from a Puerto Rican high school.
After being signed by the Astros in 2012, Correa made his MLB debut in 2015. He won the AL Rookie of the Year Award in his rookie season.
Similarly, he has also won All-Star twice, World Series champion, Gold Glove Award, Platinum Glove Award, Fielding Bible Award, and an All-World Baseball Classic Team.
After playing with the Astros for seven seasons, Correa entered free agency. On March 22, 2022, he signed with Minnesota Twins on a three-year contract worth $105.3 million.
Correa has a .278 batting average, 142 home runs, and 516 runs batted in through June 28, 2022.
Conclusion
This concludes our list of the best major league shortstops in the world. Halfway through the 2022 season, it is yet to be seen which player will finish the season on the top ranking.
Regardless of the list, which shortstop do you think is the best in the world right now? Do you agree with our list? Do let us know!
