Storyline: If Cory Seager can hit as he did at AAA then he’s going to be worth at least 2 or 3 wins every year. At only 21 years old–and still improving as a player–we could be looking at a budding superstar. Written by Craig Helman, Washington DC.
Corey Seager, the #1 Prospect in Fangraphs Top 100, has arrived. He was called up last week by the Los Angeles Dodgers. It’s fair to say that I’m irrationally excited about this. Seager is one of my favorite prospects and has a chance to be a legit Major League shortstop for many years to come.
Seager is 21 years old and was drafted as the 18th overall pick in the 2012 Amateur Draft, He is the brother of current Mariners 3B, Kyle Seager. He fits a fantastic hitters profile and, from all accounts, seems to play adequate defense–enough that it shouldn’t drag down his WAR.
Courtesy: dodgers.mlblogs.com
He absolutely tore the cover off the ball as a 20- and 21-year old in AA ball hitting .345/.381/.534 in 2014, which was good for a 154 wRC+. Then, he demolished the ball early this year at .375/.407/.675 with an absolutely bonkers .300 ISO. He was quickly promoted.
Through 105 games this year in AAA this year Seager was hitting .278/.332/.451, while smacking 13 homers. His .783 OPS over 450 plate appearances places him 3rd among all ML baseball’s shortstops during the same time period–behind only Troy Tulowtizki and Brandon Crawford. He sports a strong 7% walk rate, a 14% strikeout rate, and has seen his BB/K rate improve at every level since being drafted.
Yes, AAA is not the Majors, but Seager had also been dealing with injury issues for much of the middle of the season.
What does it all boil down to? It’s why he’s the #1 prospect in all of baseball.
With at least league-average defense and speed and, with a high OBP and slugging relative to his position, this kid looks like his bat might fit at 3rd or in the corner outfield. The Dodgers are also going to have the luxury of putting him at SS, the lightest-hitting position on the field.
Courtesy: tokenlefty.com
With Seager and Carlos Correa we are seeing another generation of shortstops capable of locking down the infield’s most demanding position while, at the same time, hitting in the middle of the order and driving in more than their share of runs. But it’s completely unfair to compare Seager to Correa at this point, mostly because Correa might actually be the second coming of some sort of demigod. Having said that, they’re both capable of being superstar players.
If Seager can hit in the Majors as he did in AAA he’s going to be worth at least 2 or 3 wins every year. At only 21 years old–and still improving–we could be looking at a budding superstar.
As for this year, Seager will probably see a lot of time at short, 2nd, and 3rd, depending on who’s injured and who’s not hitting in the Dodgers infield. Justin Turner has experience at 2nd and 3rd base so, depending on how Chase Utley and the returning Howie Kendrick hit, you could see Seager and Turner playing some 2nd in the season’s final month. You can definitely expect Seager to spell Jimmy Rollins, who hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire this year, at short. It’s definitely a crowded situation but, if Seager hits, then there’s little doubt he could take the 2nd or SS job and run with it.
From a Fantasy perspective if you’re in a Keeper or Dynasty league, and don’t already have this guy, then take him! He’s probably taken, though. In redraft leagues or DFS, it’s pretty safe to ignore him for now, unless you have a mega-huge hole at SS (or lots of bench space) to take a flyer on a guy who could get hot and start mashing HRs in the Fantasy playoffs.
This season aside, though, I look forward to watching Corey Seager hit for years to come.
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This article also appeared at Craig’s blog, Steak and the Bear.
