Spring Training Preview: Short Stop

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Elvis Andrus had a good season at short stop in 2011, and I see no reason why he is not going to improve on that in 2012. He showed us more power than we had seen from him the previous seasons, and he also seems to really relish the role of batter no. 2 in the order. In 2010, in the no. 1 spot in the  batting order, he batted .265 with 0 home runs and 35 RBI’s in 148 games. He stole 32 bases, struck out 96 times. In 2011, in the no. 2 hole for most of the season, he batted .279 with 5 home runs and 60 RBI’s in 150 games. He stole 37 bases and struck out just 74 times. On the defensive side of the ball he had a career high in errors (25) and a career low in fielding percentage(.963), but he did have a career high in double plays turned (102). I am not so worried about the errors or the fielding percentage for such a young guy. His career fielding percentage is .969, and I believe that is going to go up. In comparison, Derek Jeter’s first 3 years as a starter he had a .977 fielding percentage. But we all know that Elvis is the real deal and he is just going to keep getting better. In the post season (which the Rangers should be seeing a lot of in the next decade) Elvis has a fielding percentage of .962 (it went up from .957 to .968 from 2010 to 2011) and his errors in the post season were 5. That stuff will get better. I believe that there is nothing but upside to Elvis, and I am excited to see what kind of player he will become in the next 5 years or so.

     We also know that Michael Young will be the back up at short stop in 2012, and at this point I trust MY wherever the Rangers decide to let him play. He is a true professional and I hope he is a Ranger until he decides to retire. To me, he is the life blood of this Rangers team right now. I will do a separate article on MY himself later. Up Next: 3rd base.