TEMPE, Ariz. – As Taylor Featherston and Erick Aybar stood together at shortstop, class was in session.

Featherston, the talented 25-year-old who has not played above Double-A, was simply soaking in everything he could from Aybar, a 31-year-old Gold Glove winner.

“Every day I’m asking him things,” Featherston said. “He’s always telling me why he does everything. He gives me a reason. That’s huge. He’s so open-minded and free to teach the game.”

On another day, it might have been Aybar with 20-year-old Cuban shortstop Roberto Baldoquin, who has been in the country just over a week but already texts Aybar regularly with questions.

“We’re all a family,” Aybar said of his relationship with the young players.

Hard as it may be to believe for anyone who still thinks of Aybar as the young shortstop with lots of rough edges on his talent, Aybar is the longest-tenured member of the Angels. His debut was a couple weeks before Jered Weaver’s in 2006.

Aybar is now one of the Angels leaders, on and off the field.

“No doubt he’s a leader,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “He’s come out of his shell from when he was a young player. He’s just blossomed.”

For years, Aybar and Howie Kendrick manned the middle of the Angels infield. When Kendrick was traded to the Dodgers, it left Aybar to try to break in a new second baseman. The Angels may have done him no favors by creating a spring training derby with four players competing for the job, including three who are new to the organization.

According to Featherston, the least experienced of the four, Aybar seems to have embraced the chance to mentor a new partner.

“He’s a super nice guy,” Featherston said. “He explains a lot to me about positioning. It’s not every day you get to be around a 10-year shortstop who really knows what he’s doing.”

Even though Aybar still seems somewhat uncomfortable with English, it’s no impediment to him getting his messages across.

“There’s a little bit of a language barrier, but just the way he plays the game makes him a leader,” Kendrick said. “He’s going to give you everything he has that day. That makes him a leader.”

Aybar has evolved on the field, too.

As recently as the beginning of last season, Aybar was a hitter who batted at the top or bottom of the order, setting up the run producers. But last year, he moved into the middle of the lineup, becoming a run producer himself. He drove in a career high 68 runs in 2014.

“He puts the ball in play, so he’s built for that situation,” said Albert Pujols, one of Aybar’s closest friends on the team. “You got guys that don’t like that pressure. He’s going to take the same approach. He knows his game. He knows he’s not a power hitter, but he’s a guy that if you aren’t careful he can turn and hit the ball out of the ballpark and change the game.”

Aybar said Pujols and Mike Trout have helped him learn how to handle clutch situations. He now looks more for a specific pitch that fits in with a scouting report, instead of simply looking for the baseball.

Aybar’s offensive production, combined with his always reliable defense, helped him earn his first All-Star appearance in 2014.

“It was great,” Aybar said of his All-Star experience. “I enjoyed that day like it was my last day.”

Pujols said Aybar has also matured on defense, learning better how to position himself and what risks are worth taking. The combination of better knowledge of positioning, and stronger, healthier legs, led to him having one of his best defensive seasons in 2014.

“Last year I don’t know if there was a better defensive shortstop in our league,” Scioscia said.

David Freese, who had played his entire career in the National League until finally playing next to Aybar last year, acknowledged he didn’t appreciate how good Aybar was from afar.

“It took me about five minutes to compare him to Rafael Furcal, with the energy he plays with, how positive he is and how he plays up the middle,” said Freese, who played with Furcal in St. Louis. “You can’t find that everywhere. He just gets it done day in and day out. He’s fun to watch.

“When you are around him, you understand how good he is, what a good teammate he is. You just think, ‘I’m glad he’s on my team.’”

Staff writer Bill Plunkett contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: jlfletcher@ocregister.com