Texas Rangers: Shortstop set to be as steady as always in 2020

Looking towards 2020, many positions face significant question marks for the Texas Rangers… shortstop is not one of them.

We continue our trek through the Texas Rangers positional previews for the 2020 season, this time looking at the position with the most consistency at the club over the past decade, shortstop. Elvis Andrus has quietly become a face of the the franchise and before all is said and done, will be a Texas Rangers all-time great and legend. Despite a down year in 2019, Andrus looks to be the model of leadership and consistency entering the 2020 season.

2019 Recap

As a position, shortstop saw much less turnover during the 2019 season than the other infield spots. Only three players got time at short last year with Elvis Andrus dominating the innings and Logan Forsythe and Danny Santana filling in as needed. After a disappointing 2018 campaign, Andrus posted a 2019 season that was once again down compared to his relatively high standards.

The unit as a whole performed below par offensively, a theme that is recognizable throughout the entirety of the Texas Rangers lineup. A combined .271 average seems respectable but a .705 OPS shows a struggle to generate much meaningful impact at the plate.

• Elvis Andrus – 146 G – .272/.311/.392/.703
• Logan Forsythe – 15 G – .256/.373/.442/.814
• Danny Santana – 7 G – .259/.286/.296/.582

Things were a bit brighter defensively with Elvis Andrus continuing his consistent positive defensive play. Andrus finished with a 2.2 UZR/150 in 1279.1 innings, down just slightly from the 3.4 he posted in 2018. Logan Forsythe was stout as well in just over 100 innings with a 9.4 UZR/150 which helps make up for the lack of offensive production seen at the position.

Top Shortstop Prospects

In the minor league system, shortstop is a position that is teeming with young talent. Many of the top shortstop prospects are years away from being big league ready, but the talent pool is growing year-by-year with defensive wizards who project long-term at short.

Maximo Acosta: #16 in MLB Pipeline 2019 Top 30 Rangers’ Prospects

Acosta wasn’t the highest ranked shortstop in the Rangers organization at the end of the 2019 MLB Pipeline rankings but he should be come 2020 rankings. He’s shot up prospect charts nothing league wide and specific to the Rangers and is garnering more talk than Bayron Lora who signed in the same international period as Acosta and for far more money. He has plus tools defensively and at just 16, is already noted for his professional approach. It won’t take long for him to be considered one of the best prospects in the organization if he’s not considered one already.

Anderson Tejeda: #11 in MLB Pipeline 2019 Top 30 Rangers’ Prospects

Tejeda entered last year as a top five prospect in Texas’ organization per MLB Pipeline but dropped considerably as his bat continued to struggle at the High-A level. He has an elite arm and a good glove but will have to hit better to regain his status as a top prospect. MLB Pipeline gave him a Major League ETA of 2020 but considering he hasn’t hit Double-A yet, we’re looking at 2021 at the earliest. He’s got the talent but will have to improve at the plate or risk getting passed up by other prospects like Maximo Acosta.

Osleivis Basabe: #19 in MLB Pipeline 2019 Top 30 Rangers’ Prospects

Basabe, like Tejeda features an elite tool although for Basabe, it’s his speed. Basabe already projects as an elite basestealer with some of the best natural speed in the organization. The question now is whether he sticks at short or moves to center field where he can maximize that elite speed. He had a good 2019 season split between Rookie-League and Short-Season hitting for average. He’ll likely start the 2020 season with Spokane but could move quickly if he continues to hit.

Other Shortstop Prospects: Chris Seise (Hickory), Jonathan Ornelas (Hickory)

2020 Outlook

Shortstop will continue to be the model of consistency for the Texas Rangers in 2020 and likely beyond. Elvis Andrus will man short come Opening Day and the only question will be, can he regain his qualities at the plate and return to being one of the best players on the Rangers lineup. On FanGraphs, Steamer projects Andrus to hit .268 with a .723 OPS in 150 games. To be considered a successful season at the plate, Andrus will likely hope to see that OPS closer to .800 which would significantly improve his value which currently is projected to be a 1.3 fWAR.

If Andrus goes down, that’s where Texas could run into considerable trouble. Unlike the other infield spots, there is no everyday quality player ready to step in and fill Andrus’ spikes. Matt Duffy, Danny Santana and Isiah Kiner-Falefa could all make a case for that game time but none can be expected to match Andrus. How Elvis plays in 2020 is going to be a big factor into how Texas plays as a team. They need more consistency from the top of the lineup and Andrus could provide a needed spark in the two-hole where he has found himself hitting often over the past few seasons.