SHORTSTOP SUPERNOVAS

Baseball is a game rooted in tradition. Yet over the years, it has seen its fair share of evolution.
On the field, the shortstop position is evolving faster than any other.
But we don't get where we are today without first going back in time more than a quarter century. In the late 1990s, the trio of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra defined the shortstop position through their brilliance on both sides of the ball. Collectively, they set the standard for what a shortstop could be.
Baseball America tabbed Jeter, Rodriguez and Garciaparra the "Holy Trinity." In an August 1999 issue, BA surveyed 50 players, general managers and assistant GMs at that year's All-Star Game in Boston about the trio's best tools and skills.
"When you go back to Jeter, Garciaparra and Rodriguez, there were lots of really good shortstops then. Maybe there was a bit of an ebb. And I think what we've now seen over the last six to seven years, that maybe there's a resurgence in the position." Antonetti knows a thing or two about talented shortstops. Cleveland debuted Francisco Lindor as its shortstop in 2015. He would have won American League Rookie of the Year if not for Carlos Correa, another brilliant young shortstop who debuted that same season.
The Dodgers' Corey Seager followed Lindor and Correa in 2016, winning National League Rookie of the Year. The group formed a second power trio of all-time young shortstop talent blossoming at once.
This story, however, isn't a survey or a retrospective. It's a story about the supernova of talent taking over the shortstop position in MLB today.
If in 1999 we were talking about the Holy Trinity. Today, we are experiencing The Threequel.
Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson and Elly De La Cruz are shaking up the shortstop position with their athleticism, power and defensive excellence. The trio has a chance to rival peak Jeter, Rodriguez and Garciaparra from nearly three decades ago.
Witt's arrival in Kansas City as a 2022 rookie heralds the starting point for The Threequel.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1398697516/1742889922/articles/YFjOMg0WU1742992354369/2877410164.jpg]
Henderson debuted late that season for the Orioles and won 2023 AL Rookie of the Year.
De La Cruz joined the Reds midstream in 2023, appearing in 98 games.
"I've played shortstop ever since I can remember," Witt said. "I always wanted to be a shortstop, because I was able to help the team win offensively, defensively and every day."
Witt may have the best mix of power, speed, hitting ability, defensive range and arm strength since, well, A-Rod. Witt turns 25 years old this season and already has two 30-30 seasons, another 20-20 season, a Gold Glove and a runner-up finish for AL MVP last year.
He has quickly developed into one of the most dominant players in baseball. According to FanGraphs. com, Witt has generated 18.5 WAR, a total that trails only Aaron Judge, Lindor, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman since his 2022 debut.
Witt's ascendance is even more impressive in light of the lost 2020 minor league season. The Royals drafted him second overall in 2019, but he saw no official game action in 2020 before winning Minor League Player of the Year honors in 2021 and quickly adapting to MLB a year after that.
Witt's 30-30 seasons are indicative of a new type of headlining shortstop: one who combines traditional skills with a new-age power and speed into a star-making mix.
"It's just how the game is evolving," Witt said. "Guys are getting stronger. They're not trying to hit homers, it's just part of it now.
Naturally, you try to hit line drives. For me, I try to hit the ball hard and put good swings on it.
Home runs are sometimes mistakes." Playing at Colleyville Heritage High outside Dallas, Witt was a known commodity who had been heralded as top prospect for years. His father of the same name was a 16-year MLB veteran righthander whom the Rangers drafted No. 3 overall in 1985.
Witt's draft scouting report in 2019 read in part: "If he is even a .230 or .240 hitter, he should have a lengthy big league career because of his defensive ability at shortstop, speed and power.
If he proves to be an average or better hitter, he could become a franchise-caliber player." As Witt has developed into a superstar, the Royals have been transformed by his play. His MVP-caliber season, along with top-five Cy Young Award finishes from Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans, lifted the Royals to 86 wins and an AL wild card last season after seven straight losing seasons.
It's a trend Royals GM J.J. Picollo has seen in modern day shortstops.
"Kids now train differently when they come into the system, maybe a little bit more advanced than they were 10 to 15 years ago," Picollo said. "They're more athletic. They understand what it takes to play that positionthe flexibility, the footwork, the athleticism and the movement patterns they train for that."
Some kids train differently, but others are just built differently. De La Cruz stands at 6-foot-5 and has the combination of speed, strength and agility that almost seems otherworldly. It almost looks like he belongs on a football field, rather than a baseball diamond-and maybe if he grew up in the U.S. rather than the Dominican Republic that would have been the case.
The 23-year-old switch-hitter's ability to produce power, steal bases and play elite defense makes him a rare talent in the modern game. De La Cruz is one of the most electrifying players, but that outcome would not have been obvious when the Reds first scouted him.
In fact, De La Cruz wasn't initially on the Reds' radar in the 2018 international class. He happened to be working out at the El Niche Baseball Academy in Santo Domingo when the Reds arrived to scout another prospect. A 16-year-old De La Cruz was there, too, already standing 6 feet tall, but without any semblance of the sinewy muscle that has helped fuel his rise.
The Reds were intrigued. After one workout, they saw enough and signed De La Cruz for $65,000.
Quickly, they realized they had uncovered a gem.
De La Cruz debuted in the Dominican Summer League in 2019, then lost the 2020 season to the pandemic.
Once play returned, he made the sport snap to attention. Evaluators were awestruck. His pyrotechnics on the field upstaged fireworks shows across the minor leagues.
In 2022, a near 30-50 campaign helped him finish runner-up to Henderson as Minor League Player of the Year.
In two seasons in Cincinnati, De La Cruz has hit .250/.324/.447 with 38 home runs. Last year he made his first all-star team and led MLB with 67 stolen bases-but also 218 strikeouts.
Continued improvement to his contact rate and OBP are required, but he has the athleticism to adap...