Lindor or Correa: Puerto Rican Baseball Talent on the Rise

To many, the tiny island of Puerto Rico is a cultured Caribbean land of vast mountain chains, tropical rainforests, and long white beaches. Puerto Rico’s main exports include electronics, canned tuna and rum; yet arguably the greatest exports ever to come from the country of Puerto Rico go by the names of Carlos Correa and Francisco Lindor.

In Major League Baseball, a league where experience and repetition are keys to success, many young baseball players struggle upon making the jump from college or the minors. The same certainly cannot be said about the two twenty-one year Puerto Rican shortstops that are already the promising faces of their franchises. The two young studs have taken baseball by storm both with their incredible defensive range, and their pine tar smothered bats. So after each rookie was able to get ninety-nine games under their belt in their first MLB season, it is time to project which one of these young superstars will have the better career!

With the eighth pick in the first round of the 2011 MLB amateur draft, the Cleveland Indians selected Francisco Lindor; a fluent fielding shortstop from Caguas, Puerto Rico. The masterful fielder brags a .974 fielding percentage, with a 1.7 DWAR (defensive wins above replacement) which was elite amongst Major League shortstops last season. Lindor was always hyped as a prolific fielder, but what has been most impressive has been his ability to seamlessly adapt to MLB quality pitching. The 5’11’’ switch-hitter has been all that was advertised and more thus far after a short sample size in Major League Baseball. Lindor hit an astounding .313 average in 2015 and knocked in 51 RBI’s for an Indians team that struggled to produce runs for the majority of the year. Although not known for his power, Lindor flexed his offensive muscles by tacking on 12 home runs in just 438 plate appearances.

The young Puerto Rican seems to possess the perfect combination of discipline at the plate and speed on the bases, facts that can be supported by his superb batting average, and his nearly 86% success rate swiping bags. His rookie season numbers are not only good, they’re impressive. Lindor’s 2015 season draws comparisons to another great shortstop, Jose Reyes, whose best season took place in 2006 while a member of the Mets. In a season which saw Reyes finish seventh in MVP voting, he posted a .300 BA which is less than Lindor’s, and totaled nearly identical stats in OBP and SLG. Lindor is also already regarded as a more consistent fielder than Reyes. Although Lindor is not quite the baserunner that Reyes has been throughout his career, he has the raw speed to be equally skilled on the base paths in years to come.

Just one year later, fellow countryman Carlos Correa was selected first in the 2012 MLB amateur draft by the Houston Astros. With his towering 6’4”, 210lbs frame, Correa is revolutionising the way shortstops are perceived. He is one of the largest to ever play the position, and as a result of these unique physical gifts, he will be able to produce power unseen by a shortstop since the pre-Yankees Alex Rodriguez era. In fact, the comparison between Correa and A-Rod has been made many times; frankly it’s not hard to see why.

Drafted into the league as a Shortstop, Rodriguez had a stature very similar to Correa. Standing at 6’3”, A-Rod broke into the league with great fielding mechanics, and a high powered bat. To say the 14-time all-star was prolific on both sides of the ball is an understatement. With just ninety-nine professional games to his credit, Correa has had similar success for a player of his unique physical stature for the position. His elegant fielding has been somewhat overshadowed by his 108 hits, 22 home runs, 68 RBI’s, .279 Batting Average, and .512 Slugging Average. Another interesting piece of information to note is that A-Rod did not break out until his third season in the league, making what Correa has already accomplished all the more impressive.

These two budding talents will leave significant marks on the Major Leagues for the duration of their careers, but it’s time to answer the question. Which star will have the better overall career? After a healthy dose of number crunching and analytics of player tendencies, Francisco Lindor projects to be the more successful of these Puerto Rican Prodigies. This has to do mostly with the consistency that will be expected from Lindor throughout his career.

Lindor is a contact hitter who will hit for average but still punish pitchers mistakes with the pop off of his bat, while Correa’s game relies more heavily on the long ball and being able to hit for power. Because of this, pitchers will be more equipped to deal with Correa by feeding him a steady dose of off-speed pitches. This is not to say that Correa will not be able to post a 50 homerun season, it is just much more difficult to project consistency with the long ball than with batters who can hit for average.

One of the major stats that favored Correa over Lindor last season was his RBI totals. This stat is vital but not to be read too much into because of the lopsided differences in the quality of the offences which they play. After all offensive stats are accounted for, the two players, both with different strengths and weaknesses, were essentially equally productive.

The X-factor in deciding who would have a better career came down to fielding. Though a small sample size, the advantage with the glove narrowly went to Lindor. His slightly higher fielding percentage and his ability to turn seemingly any groundout with a baserunner into a double play are what give him the edge. By the conclusion of their careers, both of these promising talents may be able to compare Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers awards, All-star appearances, MVP’s, and maybe someday, Hall-of-Fame inductions.

Main Photo