Battle of the shortstops: Trevor Story vs. Fernando Tatis Jr.

Each of their rookie seasons was very similar to one another.

Below is a comparison of Story’s (2016) and Tatis, Jr.’s (2019) rookie years:

As you can see, they had almost identical rookies seasons, with both being cut far too short due to injury. Even with that being the case, they still both ended up in the top four of Rookie of the Year voting.

So you would be thinking we will be splitting hairs … and when you simply look at offensive numbers, you would appear to be right. But when you start to mix in defensive numbers, no matter if you use standard metrics or advanced stats, Story shines.

Standard metric comparison of Trevor Story and Fernando Tatis Jr. 2019 seasons (numbers from Baseball-Reference):

That’s right. In 61 fewer games, Story had 10 fewer errors. If you want advanced stats, Story had a 90% Success Rate, a 3% added Success Rate, and 15 Outs Above Average (seventh in MLB) in 2019.

Compare that to Tatis Jr., who posted numbers of 83% Success Rate, a -4% added Success Rate, and -12 OAA. Story has only posted negative defensive numbers once, 2018, when he posted a -1 OAA and 0% added Success Rate. I think it is safe to say, he has turned the corner.

I’ll say it again, no matter how you start writing the novel, Story always ends up writing the final chapter.

Note: All statistics are prior to Monday night’s action.