American League shortstops include two of the true young superstars in the sport (Carlos Correa and Francisco Lindor), another young superstar making the full-time position switch from third base (Manny Machado), arguably the best defensive player in baseball (Andrelton Simmons), and the Silver Slugger winner at the position in both 2015 and 2016 (Xander Bogaerts).

So there’s plenty of young star power at the position. Here are the rankings for the projected starting American League shortstops. As a subjective list, many of the players towards the top, middle, and end can almost be considered interchangeable as to where they should be ranked.

To see the rankings for the projected starting American League catchers, click here. For National League, click here.

To see the rankings for the projected starting American League first basemen, click here. For National League, click here.

To see the rankings for the projected starting American League second basemen, click here. For National League, click here.

1. Carlos Correa - Houston Astros

  • 2017 stats: 481 PA, .315 BA, .941 OPS, 24 HR, 25 2B, 1 3B, 84 RBIs, 82 R, 2 SB

Just 23 years old, Correa has the opportunity to be one of the faces of the game for the next decade or so. The 2015 American League Rookie of the Year set career-highs in home runs and runs despite playing in just 109 games and also had career-bests in batting average, on-base percentage (.391), and slugging percentage (.550).

2. Francisco Lindor - Cleveland Indians

  • 2017 stats: 723 PA, .273 BA, .842 OPS, 33 HR, 44 2B, 4 3B, 89 RBIs, 99 R, 15 SB

Lindor finished fifth in American League MVP voting while winning his first Silver Slugger in 2017. While his batting average took a small dip from the .306 in his first two years, he hit 33 long balls after just 27 in 2015-16.

A Gold Glove winner in 2016, he possesses an excellent glove although his defensive metrics showed slight declines in 2017.

3. Manny Machado - Baltimore Orioles

  • 2017 stats: 690 PA, .259 BA, .782 OPS, 33 HR, 33 2B, 1 3B, 95 RBIs, 81 R, 9 SB

Machado will make the move to shortstop, a position he manned well while making 43 starts there last season.

While the three-time All-Star hit for a career-low batting average last year, that was mostly due to a slow start as he hit .290 after the All-Star break.

4. Andrelton Simmons - Los Angeles Angels

  • 2017 stats: 647 PA, .278 BA, .752 OPS, 14 HR, 38 2B, 2 3B, 69 RBIs, 77 R, 19 SB

Arguably the best defensive player at any position, Simmons won his third Gold Glove in 2017 and also finished eighth in American League MVP voting. He experienced his most success at the dish last year as well finishing with career-highs in OPS, doubles, RBIs, runs, stolen bases, and walks (47).

5. Xander Bogaerts - Boston Red Sox

  • 2017 stats: 635 PA, .273 BA, .746 OPS, 10 HR, 32 2B, 6 3B, 62 RBIs, 94 R, 15 SB

A Silver Slugger winner in both 2015 and 2016, Bogaerts had some struggles at the plate last year.

It still was above-average for his position though, and he wasn't that far off from his .307 batting average and .789 OPS from 2015-16. He also made 17 errors after averaging 11.5 the two previous years.

6. Elvis Andrus - Texas Rangers

  • 2017 stats: 689 PA, .297 BA, .808 OPS, 20 HR, 44 2B, 4 3B, 88 RBIs, 100 R, 25 SB

Andrus, who had a grand total of 35 homers in 5,203 career plate appearances entering last season, finally began to be a power threat. Not only were his 20 home runs last year 2.5 times more than he ever hit in a season, his 44 doubles easily surpassed his previous career-high of 34.

7. Didi Gregorius - New York Yankees

  • 2017 stats: 570 PA, .287 BA, .796 OPS, 25 HR, 27 2B, 0 3B, 87 RBIs, 73 R, 3 SB

While he still doesn't walk very much, Gregorius has shown vast improvement at the plate in his past two years with the Yankees.

He has averaged 23 home runs and 30 doubles in the last two years when his previous career-highs were nine homers and 24 doubles. He made just nine errors last year and his .982 fielding percentage was third among American League shortstops.

8. Jean Segura - Seattle Mariners

  • 2017 stats: 566 PA, .300 BA, .776 OPS, 11 HR, 30 2B, 2 3B, 45 RBIs, 80 R, 22 SB

Segura's first year with the Mariners saw him hit at least .300 for the second straight year although most of his offensive numbers were down from his breakout year with the Diamondbacks in 2016. He was far from a slouch though and remained a base stealing threats as he has averaged 29 steals over the last five seasons.

9. Jorge Polanco - Minnesota Twins

  • 2017 stats: 544 PA, .256 BA, .723 OPS, 13 HR, 30 2B, 3 3B, 74 RBIs, 60 R, 13 SB

Polanco received regular playing time for the first time in his major league career in 2017 and was a much better hitter as the season went along. After hitting just .224 with a .596 OPS and three homers before the All-Star break, he improved to a .293 batting average, .870 OP, and 10 home runs after the break.

10. Marcus Semien - Oakland Athletics

  • 2017 stats: 386 PA, .249 BA, .722 OPS, 10 HR, 19 2B, 1 3B, 40 RBIs, 53 R, 12 SB

While his power numbers were down from the 27 home runs he hit in 2016, Semien did post a career-best .325 on-base percentage last season. After making 56 errors total in 2015-16, he limited his miscues to just nine last year (albeit in just 85 starts there due to injury).

11. Troy Tulowitzki - Toronto Blue Jays

  • 2017 stats: 260 PA, .249 BA, .678 OPS, 7 HR, 10 2B, 0 3B, 26 RBIs, 16 R, 0 SB

Tulowitzki’s tenure with the Rockies can be characterized as being an offensive superstar who was injury-prone. Since joining the Blue Jays in July of 2015, he has still been injury-prone but far from an offensive superstar. He has hit .250 in 238 games with Toronto, was held to just 66 games last year, and will likely be out until the end of April this season due to a bone spur in his heel.

12. Jose Iglesias - Detroit Tigers

  • 2017 stats: 489 PA, .255 BA, .657 OPS, 6 HR, 33 2B, 1 3B, 54 RBIs, 56 R, 7 SB

After an All-Star season where he batted .300 in 2015, Iglesias has hit .255 each of the last two years.

While not much of an offensive threat, he did post career-highs last season in home runs, doubles, and RBIs.

13. Tim Anderson - Chicago White Sox

  • 2017 stats: 606 PA, .257 BA, .679 OPS, 17 HR, 26 2B, 4 3B, 56 RBIs, 72 R, 15 SB

After a rookie season that saw him finish seventh in American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2016, Anderson had a disappointing 2017. He walked just 13 times all year as compared to his 162 strikeouts. He also made 28 errors which was eight more than anyone at any position in baseball.

14. Adeiny Hechavarria - Tampa Bay Rays

  • 2017 stats: 348 PA, .261 BA, .695 OPS, 8 HR, 14 2B, 5 3B, 30 RBIs, 37 R, 4 SB

At times one of the better defenders at shortstop, Hechavarria has yet to develop into a plus offensive player.

Only drawing 13 walks in 2017, he owned just a .289 on-base percentage which is slightly below his career mark of .291. His .695 OPS was a career-high.

15. Alcides Escobar - Kansas City Royals

  • 2017 stats: 629 PA, .250 BA, .629 OPS, 6 HR, 36 2B, 5 3B, 54 RBIs, 71 R, 4 SB

Escobar can be relied on having his name in the lineup card everyday as he has played in all 162 games three of the last four years. He owns just a .627 OPS though since 2013. A Gold Glove winner in 2015, he still possesses a reliable glove although not at that Gold Glove-level anymore.
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