Both Xander Bogaerts and Didi Gregorius are off to amazing starts for their respective teams. If you had to pick one right now, who is the better overall SS and why?
Don't forget Cano v. Pedroia...Nomah's bettah! Ah, I remember the days....
Out of curiosity, I tried to find a case where semi-relevant shortstops were signed by division rivals during the same free agency period. Didn't find anything. If Machado was a free agent in 2019, there would be a fun potential for 3 divisional teams to trade SSs.Melky vs. Coco!!
Xander is 20 months younger and has always been considered the more talented prospect/player, Didi I'm pretty sure is better defensively (although metrics have always seemed to underrate him somewhat) and has improved his hitting every year. Both are scheduled to be FAs following 2019, so if both hit the FA market, we'll see who gets a bigger deal.
Isn't Xander 30 months younger? 2.18.1990 for Didi and 10.1.1992 for Bogaerts. And aren't those 30 months pretty meaningful, especially when they hit FA? At 28, Didi is firmly in his prime and when he hits the FA market at 29 going on 30, suitors are going to be looking at potential downslope of his career. In contrast, Bogaerts, having just turned 25, is still pre-prime and, when he hits FA just after turning 27, suitors are look at a prime-age player.Melky vs. Coco!!
Xander is 20 months younger and has always been considered the more talented prospect/player, Didi I'm pretty sure is better defensively (although metrics have always seemed to underrate him somewhat) and has improved his hitting every year. Both are scheduled to be FAs following 2019, so if both hit the FA market, we'll see who gets a bigger deal.
32, actually (Feb. 1990 to Oct. 1992 = two years + 8 months). But otherwise, I think you're right. Didi is the better defender, but Xander is a somewhat better hitter and baserunner.Melky vs. Coco!!
Xander is 20 months younger and has always been considered the more talented prospect/player, Didi I'm pretty sure is better defensively (although metrics have always seemed to underrate him somewhat) and has improved his hitting every year. Both are scheduled to be FAs following 2019, so if both hit the FA market, we'll see who gets a bigger deal.
Is that just based on age? Didi has been better every year he's been in NY so far, and early returns so far in 2018 are that he will be continuing that trend.I think the best argument for Xander is that he may not have peaked yet, while Didi probably has.
It's a combination of age -- a 25-year-old seems like a much likelier candidate for substantial improvement than a 28-year-old, though of course all things are possible -- and the fact that Didi's minor league record doesn't suggest nearly as much untapped offensive upside as Xander's.Is that just based on age? Didi has been better every year he's been in NY so far, and early returns so far in 2018 are that he will be continuing that trend.
So on a neutral field, do you like X better?Didi's dead-pull profile allows him to make the most of the power he has. He's aggressive and puts the bat on the ball, and in the air more often than not. He's in a good park and division for his offensive skill set. Defensively a plus as well.
I like Xander better regardless. I see him as a more stable player due to his ability to impact the game offensively in multiple ways, including on the base-paths.So on a neutral field, do you like X better?
Xander is fluent in 4 languages, including Papiamento!Both have pretty rad names, but Xandah Bohgahts works much better with a Boston accent. Point X.
Is Papiamento the language of Big Papi?Xander is fluent in 4 languages, including Papiamento!so is Didi.
He’s walking more and hitting the ball harder this year. His splits are exaggerated this year but he hit more HRs on the road last year than at home.Didi is taking advantage of that short porch perfectly but this home performance is not sustainable at all. That’s no mark on him, but he’s not f’ing Barry Bonds.
I saw a stat somewhere that he has among the lowest average exit velocities in baseball. That hints at a pretty severe regression coming up.
The walks are such an increase over every other year of his career that I need to see more than one month to be convinced he’s now Joey Votto.He’s walking more and hitting the ball harder this year. His splits are exaggerated this year but he hit more HRs on the road last year than at home.
No, he’s not Barry Bonds but his sample size is now large enough over a couple seasons to stop thinking some major regression is coming. He’s got a great eye, great approach at the plate, and he will have lots of opportunities in this lineup.
The sample size is still small, but the drop in his swing rates is quite dramatic and probably explains the walk rate spike. In 2017 he had the third-highest overall swing rate among 144 qualifying MLBers, at 58.2%. This year he's barely above MLB average at 46.3%. That's a huge shift, if he keeps it up.The walks are such an increase over every other year of his career that I need to see more than one month to be convinced he’s now Joey Votto.
That was his first road HR this year. 381 ft. He doesnt hit them far but he hits them to the short part of parks. Amazing that guys continue to throw him inside-middle when he is hotGregorius hit number 10 tonight which was the game winner. My hat is off to him. Regression is coming, but he’s on fire right now.
I suspect pitchers aren’t trying to throw him there but are just making mistakes. This tends to happen when you have a lineup with no holes or weak links.That was his first road HR this year. 381 ft. He doesnt hit them far but he hits them to the short part of parks. Amazing that guys continue to throw him inside-middle when he is hot
Don't forget Andrelton Simmons. And Segura and Semien have had a nice April too. Eight of the top 30 players in the AL by fWAR are shortstops.As of this second:
Didi-1.179 OPS
Xander-1.178 OPS
Good luck to people selecting All-Star shortstops this year, not just these two and Correa and Lindor, but Machado now also.
Maybe the AL can start 7 shortstops in the field for the All Star game. Just spread them around the field.Don't forget Andrelton Simmons. And Segura and Semien have had a nice April too. Eight of the top 30 players in the AL by fWAR are shortstops.
I went back 30 years. I don't think there is much need to go back further. The average OPS+ range for SS was roughly between 85 and 95. I would guess the position has never cracked 100.Don't forget Andrelton Simmons. And Segura and Semien have had a nice April too. Eight of the top 30 players in the AL by fWAR are shortstops.
#voteDidiOr the other way around, to get him a well deserved rest