Colorado Rockies: Trevor Story is the standard for NL shortstops

Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story has always had the talent.  But now entering his fourth season in the big leagues at the age of 26, he has finally put it all together–and there’s no telling how high he can climb.

Trevor Story is coming off a career year in which he raised his OPS from .765 in a disappointing 2017 to .914 in an MVP-caliber 2018.  He also slashed his strikeout percentage rate by 10 percent and raised his batting average 52 points to the cusp of .300 while also leading the National League in extra base hits with 85.

It didn’t take long for Story to begin separating himself from the pack in 2018, and though he was not the starting shortstop for the NL in the Midsummer Classic, he did belt a game-tying home run as a reserve in the seventh inning in his first ever All Star Game at bat.

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By the end of the season (and in my opinion, even by the All-Star break), it was clear that the fans had made a mistake.  Trevor Story was without question the best shortstop in the NL last season.  And now he has the Silver Slugger to prove it.

Story smashed a career-high 37 home runs last season, just one behind superstar teammate Nolan Arenado for the league lead.  That number is also almost twice as many home runs as any other shortstop hit in the NL in 2018.

Story’s 108 RBI were three short of the league lead and well ahead of the second-place NL shortstop, Trea Turner, who drove in 73.  And while Turner holds the edge for stolen bases, Story’s 27 were second among NL shortstops and nearly delivered him a 30-30 season.  If Story’s on base skills continue to improve at the rate we are seeing, there’s a really good chance we could see a 30-30 season from him next year.

For the record, Story also led NL shortstops in batting average (.291), OPS (.914), slugging (.567), and doubles (42).

But despite those numbers, it took a legendary performance for Story to finally start getting the national attention he deserves.  On September 5th, Story crushed THREE massive homers against the San Francisco Giants, including one that traveled an estimated 505 feet–the longest ever measured by Statcast.

If he could only hurt you with the bat, Story would still be the NL’s top shortstop–but Story can also play Gold Glove-level defense that can fly under the radar because of his offense.  But instead of me throwing numbers at you, just sit back and watch:

The next play happened during spring training, but still:

Finally, here’s the bare hand play he used to get Matt Chapman last season:

https://twitter.com/Rockies/status/1023026342105767936

That defense combined with his speed and power is what makes Story so unique.  And with him and Arenado, the Rockies have easily the best left side of the infield in baseball–on both sides of the ball.

While LA Dodgers star shortstop Corey Seager should be back healthy for 2019 and free agent Manny Machado could wind up in the NL, neither of them will enter next season as the league’s best shortstop.  That title belongs to Trevor Story–and you expect him to defend it in 2019.