Corey Seager May Be The Scariest Player in Baseball
- Updated: July 27, 2016
Can I interest you in a 6-4, 215 pound shortstop who is 22 years old and may already be the best player at his position in Major League Baseball? That is what the Los Angeles Dodgers have in Corey Seager.
Seager was called up to the Dodgers last year, and it didn’t take him long to show off everything that had made scouts and fans so excited for his promotion. Seager moved his way through four levels of the minor leagues from ages 18 to 21. He struggled at just one stop in his professional career, that being in 2013. Outside of that, Seager consistently showed off everything that made him a top prospect.
Prior to last season, MLB.com graded Seager the second-best prospect in baseball. Prior to this season, most scouting services agreed he was the best in the game. He was rated as a 70 overall on the 20-80 scouting scale. A 70 grade is usually reserved for future All-Stars and possible MVP candidates. Seager possesses tremendous skill at the plate. His bat speed and coordination combine to produce a hitter without a clear flaw, capable of hitting to all fields for contact and power. His first taste of Major-League pitching lasted just 113 plate appearances at the end of 2015 in a September call-up. He was more than seven years younger than the average player, yet crushed all comers with a .986 OPS. It was the type of debut that leads to two possible outcomes: a struggle as pitchers adjust to him, or an explosion of talent that cannot be held down. Seager fits into the latter category.
Scouting reports were so nervous to declare that Seager had arrived, they were covering their bases so to speak. Most projection systems had deflated expectations for the returning rookie in 2016. Some commentators encouraged us to “remember that Seager is human” and could fall victim to a come-down.
Entering 2016 as a full-time player, Seager is proving he belongs day after day. He has left nearly all the other top prospects from 2015 in the dust and now has his sights set higher: being the best shortstop in the game and the best player in the National League.
It may seem premature, but it’s not. Seager is already an elite hitter in this league. As of July 23, he ranks in the top 10 in the NL in OPS+ and is third overall in offensive WAR at this juncture. He has a career OPS+ (which is adjusted for a player’s ballpark) of 148. Though he has just barely passed 500 career plate appearances, that mark would be amongst the Top 50 all-time in the history of baseball. Obviously it’s premature to base too much off that figure, but it’s still a great blueprint for this future stud.
The young lefty even holds his own against opposing lefties. The things Seager does not do as well are the other aspects of the game: running and fielding. He has never really been a base-stealing threat and likely wont be for the Dodgers. Speed isn’t his game. He also isn’t much better than an average defender at shortstop. And because of his size and build, a shift to third base sometime in the future seems probable as he fills out, following in the footsteps of Cal Ripken Jr. and Alex Rodriguez.
Both those aspects lessen Seager’s overall value. There are other players who offer more in an all-around game. However, Seager can hang with anyone in terms of value at the plate, and very few people in his tier are 22 years of age. This is just the beginning of what he can do in MLB.
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