Red Sox Rankings: The Top 5 Shortstops in the AL
By Drew Peabody
The 21 year old Astros phenom burst on to the major league scene in June of this year, the team likely only waiting that long to bring him to the majors in order to keep him from arbitration for another season. For a rookie to bat below the third spot in the order only four times in his rookie season tells you what the team thought of him. Correa was the number one overall pick in the 2012 player draft, tearing up AA and AAA last season to the batting line of .335/.407/.600 when he was called up to the majors on June 8. Correa might have made it to the bigs even faster if not for a broken leg in June of 2014 which took away the rest of that season. Correa posted a batting line of .279/.345/.512 with 22 homers and 68 RBI in 99 games and 432 plate appearances in his 2015 rookie year. He was a model of consistency, posting at least an .800 OPS each month in the big leagues.
All Correa did against the Red Sox last season was go 10 for 23 with two homers and two doubles, driving in six runs in six games, blasting his way to a .435/.481/.783 batting line. Just for good measure, he stole a base. Red Sox fans might remember his spectacular Boston debut last July 3-5 when he went seven for 15 at Fenway with both his homers against them on the season. While Correa lit up Fenway, he benefited from Minute Maid Park’s friendly dimensions, posting a .949 OPS there vs. just .773 OPS on the road.
Despite a playoff disappointment vs. the Royals last season, the future for the Astros should be bright with Correa at shortstop for the next decade or more. The Red Sox travel to Houston for their first meeting of 2016 with the Astros, April 22-24. Correa hopes to continue his Fenway success for the first time next season, coming in for four games from May 12-15. Correa and Bogaerts will likely compete for that coveted Silver Slugger at the shortstop position for years to come.
Next: 2. Xander Bogaerts