Shortstop is quite the interesting position this year. While most people talk about position scarcity because of the drop-off in talent following the top few guys, that’s actually not really the case. Yes, there’s a drop-off, but as you make your way down the rankings, there are plenty of solid options available to you. Sure, Carlos Correa has the upside, but for pennies on the dollar, give me Alcides Escobar, Brad Miller or even Eugenio Suarez. They won’t match Correa’s production by any means, but I can still get some speed and maybe a little power to boot. There are plenty of guys out there in the later rounds, so don’t think that if you don’t get Correa or Tulo that you’re screwed.

We don’t have too many battles at short this spring, which is a great thing, but there are a few situations which certainly warrant your attention.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Jean Segura vs Nick Ahmed

We touched on this back when we discussed second basemen as Segura may end up having to move to the keystone on days when the Diamondbacks face a southpaw. He did hit .283 against lefties last season, but he’s still a career .251 hitter against them. The question is, though, did he turn a corner? Was last year’s performance a fluke or has he learned to be a better hitter? More importantly, do the Diamondbacks want to find out? Ahmed batted .296 against southpaws last year with a .345 wOBA which obviously entices the team, but let’s keep in mind that he’s only got a .268 average and .311 wOBA against lefties for his career. Not to mention that while both are posting outstanding offensive numbers this spring, Segura has three hits, including one home run, in eight at-bats against lefties while Ahmed is hitless in six trips to the plate against them. Obviously the sample size is small, but suddenly Ahmed isn’t looking too appealing which could keep Segura locked in at shortstop. Maybe the Diamondbacks need to think about Ahmed sharing second base with Chris Owings rather than Segura.

Baltimore Orioles

J.J. Hardy vs Manny Machado(?)

When I was growing up I was a huge comic book nerd and one of my favorites was Marvel’s “What If” series. What if the Fantastic Four never got their powers? What if Thor and the Avengers battled the gods? What if Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben lived and Aunt May died? All were outstanding stories and, all in all, a great series. So here’s mine for the Orioles: What if Hardy sucked so much that Baltimore played Machado at shortstop and used Pedro Alvarez at third base? It’s tough to imagine that the team brought in Alvarez simply to compete for 1B/DH at-bats with Mark Trumbo. At least it is for me, considering neither of them hits for a decent average nor does either guy hit either handed pitcher particularly well. How about the power from an infield of Chris Davis, Jonathan Schoop, Manny Machado and Alvarez with Trum-bombs at DH? Pretty tasty and one hell of a “What if…”

Chicago White Sox

Jimmy Rollins vs Tyler Saladino

If you’ve heard me chatting it up with Ray Flowers on SiriusXM, you’ll know I’m a huge Tim Anderson fan. He was dynamite last season in his first full year at Double-A in which he slashed .312/.350/.429 with five home runs and 49 stolen bases. Best of all, he increased his walk rate and lowered his strikeouts, though both could still use a little more improvement. So to me, the White Sox starting shortstop on Opening Day is simply a placeholder; a guy to keep the seat warm until Anderson proves himself at the next level. For that reason, I believe that Rollins, who is having the stronger spring, will earn the gig, hold down the fort for a couple of months and step aside when Anderson is ready. But that certainly isn’t etched in stone and Saladino is still getting the full opportunity to prove himself. Should Anderson not be ready, I could easily see Saladino supplanting Rollins once the veteran starts to peter out. Manager Robin Ventura says he sees both breaking camp on the 25-man roster so keep watching.

Cincinnati Reds

Zack Cozart vs Jose Peraza

Let’s face it…no one likes Cozart. No one. I don’t even think the Reds like him. But there he is, sitting atop the depth chart with his lousy average, minimal power and humdrum speed. His injury last year maybe gave the team a glimpse of what it could be like without that automatic out in their lineup and now Peraza is getting an opportunity to push his way through the door. He’s got a slick glove, fantastic speed and best of all, a solid on-base percentage throughout his time in the minors. While everyone continues to salivate over Billy Hamilton’s stolen base potential, it’s Peraza who could be the hot ticket should he earn the job. The Reds are rebuilding so they could keep Peraza down in the minors for the first two months, but once that Super-2 deadline passes, he should be up with the big club and impressing on the bases.

Colorado Rockies

Jose Reyes vs Cristhian Adames vs Trevor Story vs Daniel Descalso

What a mess, right? Fantasy owners are still left twisting in the wind as they wait for MLB to hand down its punishment to Reyes. If Aroldis Chapman got 30 games for his indiscretion, how many games will Reyes get? 50? 100? Some say he’ll get tossed for the full season while others are saying half a year or 81 games. Whatever the case may be, no one believes his actions will go unpunished by the league and therefore we have to look deeper into the team’s depth chart. Adames had a nice season last year and earned himself a call-up, but he doesn’t have much in the way of power or speed. Descalso is in the same boat from an offensive standpoint, but his versatility could force the Rockies to leave him as a super-utility guy. So that leaves Story who is absolutely killing it at the plate this spring. Through 20 at-bats, the 23-year old is slashing .350/.458/1.100 with four home runs, eight RBI and a 4:3 BB:K. It’s tough to put any kind of stock into spring numbers, but with Reyes likely gone for a considerable amount of time, Story is the best the team has left. Manager Walt Weiss continues to say that this competition is wide open, but Story seems to be grabbing the majority of time at the position right now. Not that it means anything, but it’s still something to factor in.

New York Mets

Ruben Tejada vs Wilmer Flores

With Asdrubal Cabrera set to start the season on the DL, it’s going to come down to Tejada and Flores as the fill-in. Flores has an average glove but some real nice, underrated power in his bat, but Tejada has the better range and glove. With David Wright at the hot corner, the Mets are probably going to go with the better range most of the time. Look for the two to maybe share the role until Cabrera comes back but neither one is worth much of an investment on draft day. In fact, you can probably bypass the Mets shortstops altogether this year.