WEBVTT - 401 | Top 5 Middle Infields in Baseball 0:00:15.440 --> 0:00:16.640 He's sad. 0:00:16.720 --> 0:00:22.720 Your legs, the girls frizy s there we will sit 0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:35.600 in tows the Gunner. 0:00:36.280 --> 0:00:46.800 Welcome, Welcome back to the Just Baseball Show. It is Wednesday, 0:00:46.960 --> 0:00:52.199 February twenty second, and we continue our top tens, but 0:00:52.240 --> 0:00:56.840 now we're taking a slight detour. Instead of individual players, 0:00:57.080 --> 0:01:01.080 we're judging double play combinations. We got and we have 0:01:01.240 --> 0:01:05.000 the writer of this article. These are his rankings that 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:07.679 don't get mad at Rham and I specifically. But at 0:01:07.720 --> 0:01:10.200 the same time, we do back these rankings and you 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:13.199 can find them on Just baseball dot com. The top 0:01:13.240 --> 0:01:16.839 five double play combinations. We're going to go through honorable mentions. 0:01:17.000 --> 0:01:20.440 We're going to debate. It's going to be a fun show. Ryan, 0:01:20.959 --> 0:01:23.920 you are the host, well you also are the managing 0:01:24.000 --> 0:01:25.600 editor at Just Baseball dot com, but you are the 0:01:25.640 --> 0:01:28.480 host of the new podcast on the Just Baseball network, 0:01:28.680 --> 0:01:31.320 and that is Who's Better Baseball. I was just on 0:01:31.360 --> 0:01:34.280 a debate with you NL West versus NL East. I 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:37.559 love the show. It's a debate show. We love the debate, 0:01:37.600 --> 0:01:40.000 so we decided to bring that on here. How are 0:01:40.000 --> 0:01:42.000 you doing, my friend doing good? 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:42.440 Doing good? 0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:45.080 I think Peter told me he waxed me in that conversation. 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:47.240 You guys can go back to watch it. I don't 0:01:47.240 --> 0:01:49.160 know about that. You know, I think that you're just 0:01:49.160 --> 0:01:51.320 a little bit more aggressive, but I'm more level headed. 0:01:51.480 --> 0:01:51.600 You know. 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:53.360 People can go back and look at it. You know. 0:01:53.440 --> 0:01:55.920 I think Peter's always going to think he wins that 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:58.680 end debate, but I think it was a good conversation. 0:01:58.760 --> 0:02:00.240 We'll find up at the end of the year who 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:03.360 actually won it. When the NL East wins more games 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:06.120 in the West, it all comes down to arms Marlins. 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:09.240 Can they win seventy five games? That was the big thing. 0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:11.079 The hell you want to die on? Brother? 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:14.240 You had our last year. 0:02:14.360 --> 0:02:18.240 So before we get into the rankings, I have to 0:02:18.280 --> 0:02:21.160 ask you, guys, because Jack and I were arguing yesterday 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:23.960 on the show about In and Out about the best 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:27.640 burgers that you can find. Now, I'm slightly biased, of course. 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:30.880 I'm from California, grew up on In and Out, but 0:02:31.480 --> 0:02:33.560 I've lived in New York, I've been to the middle 0:02:33.600 --> 0:02:36.000 of the country. I haven't really enjoyed a lot of 0:02:36.000 --> 0:02:38.000 the burgers down south. But I feel like I have 0:02:38.080 --> 0:02:42.960 a decent understanding of burgers in America, and he ranked 0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:46.880 listen to this he ranked Culver's number one. 0:02:47.560 --> 0:02:49.239 Now I've never had Culver's. 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:51.639 That's a guy's been living in Indiana. I'll tell you 0:02:51.720 --> 0:02:52.239 that right now. 0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:55.520 I mean what a loser Jack is, right, Arm, Okay, 0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:58.320 I think In and Out is more of like a 0:02:58.480 --> 0:03:01.919 regional passion thing, kind of like for me being from 0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:04.480 South Florida or Florida in general, like people are with publics, 0:03:04.560 --> 0:03:06.720 right think as a Florida guy, like it's at the 0:03:06.800 --> 0:03:10.160 end of the day, it's a grocery store. I do 0:03:10.320 --> 0:03:13.000 think that it's nuts. I don't even know what Culver's is. 0:03:13.160 --> 0:03:15.280 There's no way it's a better burger than In and Out. 0:03:15.320 --> 0:03:17.919 There's no way. There's just no way. So that's why 0:03:18.240 --> 0:03:20.880 trying to be different, that's what I'm saying. Yeah, it's 0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:23.400 him trying to be artsy and just straight up wrong. 0:03:23.760 --> 0:03:26.400 I mean probably as you know what, I think, one 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:28.519 of his worst takes that's ever been smoking into a bike. 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:30.799 So before we get into our top five, I need 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:34.320 to hear your top burger chain. Ryan will start with 0:03:34.320 --> 0:03:36.680 you then, Arm. Then we'll finally get to the baseball 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:37.920 part of the Just Baseball Show. 0:03:38.960 --> 0:03:41.119 That's tough, man, it's tough, you know, as someone who 0:03:41.160 --> 0:03:42.880 worked in McDonald's for a long time. I just try 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:44.800 to stay away from all fast food burgers. I like 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:47.040 to get a burger from a restaurant. But I will 0:03:47.080 --> 0:03:49.400 say I did go to school in Pensacola for a 0:03:49.440 --> 0:03:52.680 little bit. Uh water Burger was pretty fire out there. 0:03:52.720 --> 0:03:55.240 So what a burger underrated? Underrated? 0:03:55.480 --> 0:03:58.040 I'm fine with that being your favorite. I'd say it's wrong, 0:03:58.080 --> 0:04:00.280 but I'm fine with it. I can understand it. It's 0:04:00.320 --> 0:04:02.000 it's sort of like when we talk about these double 0:04:02.000 --> 0:04:05.760 play combinations finishing third fourth Seeger versus Korea. 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:08.120 I've only had I yet once. Man, I've had it 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:10.400 once and I was like seven, So I can't say 0:04:10.400 --> 0:04:11.920 in and out when I haven't really had it. 0:04:11.920 --> 0:04:13.640 You know, you're on culture. It's okay. At least you 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:16.560 admit it. Hum is Burger fi like. 0:04:16.480 --> 0:04:19.320 A national change. Is that considered a big enough chain? 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:20.479 Never even heard of that? 0:04:21.320 --> 0:04:22.040 It's down here? 0:04:22.640 --> 0:04:23.560 Is that only Florida? 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:27.840 That's your number one? Over five guys, Over five guys, 0:04:28.279 --> 0:04:28.800 five guys. 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:31.320 I'm a big fight the fries. I'm going to bake 0:04:31.400 --> 0:04:34.280 the fries into it. Five guys is probably my answer. 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:38.080 I like the peanut oil situation I like the bacon. 0:04:38.320 --> 0:04:40.400 I'm going to go five guys with my answer. But 0:04:40.440 --> 0:04:43.280 if you're if you're in Florida, try try burger fight. 0:04:43.279 --> 0:04:43.960 It's pretty good. 0:04:44.240 --> 0:04:47.080 Okay, two answers that I'm not upset about. Culver's. 0:04:47.120 --> 0:04:50.200 I was extremely was cover and it almost it almost 0:04:50.320 --> 0:04:53.840 ruined the Top ten shortstep episode for me. Thankfully, Yeah, 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:56.120 thankfully we got to talk about in fields, which we 0:04:56.120 --> 0:04:57.400 will do in this episode, and. 0:04:57.400 --> 0:04:58.479 Let's finally get into it. 0:04:58.600 --> 0:05:04.120 So Ryan again wrote the top five double play combinations 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:08.200 on Just Baseball dot com. You can find that article. Ryan, 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:10.960 these are your rankings, Arman. I look through the list. 0:05:11.080 --> 0:05:13.000 I agree on most of it. Some were going to 0:05:13.040 --> 0:05:15.719 debate a little bit, but it's pretty straightforward. 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:18.640 How did you rank these guys for me? 0:05:18.920 --> 0:05:19.080 You know? 0:05:20.520 --> 0:05:22.680 Yeah, yeah, So, I mean originally I think we were 0:05:22.720 --> 0:05:26.080 discussing top ten, top five, what do we do? Ultimately 0:05:26.160 --> 0:05:27.880 I went with the top five because I felt like 0:05:27.920 --> 0:05:30.480 the back half of that list it was more based 0:05:30.520 --> 0:05:32.719 on one player, right there was you know, you go 0:05:32.760 --> 0:05:35.440 to the braves like Ozzie Alby's is established. Is von 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:37.520 Grisham going to be that guy? He might be, but 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:40.039 weren't ranking at the beginning of the season. I don't 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:41.799 know if we put it there. You know, Boba Schett 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:45.600 is awesome, Santiago Espinal with Maryfield, who's the second baseman, 0:05:45.800 --> 0:05:47.240 and how do we kind of rank them? So that 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:49.719 was why I went with the top five. It was 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:52.680 interesting trying to look at really, I think when we 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:54.480 get into the nitey grid of the list, the top 0:05:54.520 --> 0:05:56.800 three is pretty clear to me, and then the four 0:05:56.800 --> 0:05:59.640 to five and the honorable mentions. I almost would not 0:05:59.680 --> 0:06:01.800 be met if anyone wants to have an argument with 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:04.320 any of that kind of group of five, because I 0:06:04.400 --> 0:06:07.520 feel like there's the honorable mentions was more based on 0:06:08.120 --> 0:06:10.400 maybe not being as established as the two that I 0:06:10.440 --> 0:06:12.800 put behind our top three that we'll get into here, 0:06:13.120 --> 0:06:15.719 But ultimately, I mean, there's some really good dope play 0:06:15.720 --> 0:06:17.760 combination in baseball. I think one of the things that 0:06:17.800 --> 0:06:20.839 I found most interesting about this list is not a 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:23.520 lot of double play combinations have been together for a while, 0:06:24.240 --> 0:06:26.520 and we'll kind of go through it, but like most 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:28.840 of them, it's they've been formed over the last one 0:06:28.920 --> 0:06:32.120 to two years. And the number one team shockingly has 0:06:32.200 --> 0:06:35.880 been the longest form double play combination and it's only 0:06:35.920 --> 0:06:37.000 three years running. 0:06:37.200 --> 0:06:40.680 And how do you balance offense and defense? Because looking 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:43.560 through it seems like some you just believe in the 0:06:43.600 --> 0:06:45.839 bat a little bit more, some you rely on their 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:49.360 defensive acumen. Like, how did is it fifty to fifty? 0:06:49.440 --> 0:06:51.560 How do you rate defense and offense for a double 0:06:51.560 --> 0:06:52.440 play combination? 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:56.080 I think, you know, you want to make sure that 0:06:56.120 --> 0:07:00.440 there's at least one plus defender between the two. But 0:07:00.800 --> 0:07:03.200 it was really just, uh, you know, we could kind 0:07:03.200 --> 0:07:06.120 of go, you know, you know, each team by team, 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:08.039 and you'll kind of see where my head was at. 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:11.880 But a lot of it just came down to, you know, 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:15.720 what they just did. And I leaned a little bit 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:18.680 more towards this past season than projecting out, because I 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:21.040 think if we project out, there's a couple of double 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:23.680 play combinations that I look at and I say that 0:07:23.720 --> 0:07:26.560 the potential is there for them to be maybe the 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:28.480 best in baseball over some of the ones that are 0:07:28.560 --> 0:07:30.800 ranked ahead. I went a little bit more towards who 0:07:31.000 --> 0:07:33.720 just did it this season, for particularly the top two 0:07:33.760 --> 0:07:34.560 that I ranked there. 0:07:34.920 --> 0:07:37.760 Arm without giving it away, is there anything when you 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:40.200 look at the list? Anything egregious? I don't want you 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:42.640 to say it right now, but is there anything that 0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:44.960 jumps out at you where you can't wait to debate that, 0:07:45.120 --> 0:07:46.720 or do you think it's a pretty fine list with 0:07:46.800 --> 0:07:48.920 some holes that we want to uncover. 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:52.960 Honestly, I don't know if I if I would really 0:07:53.360 --> 0:07:58.440 disagree with with any any of it. The interesting part 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:01.800 that I wanted to build off of Fink's point was 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:06.840 that the honorable mentions could each be like number three 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:09.800 at some point if they have years that we think 0:08:09.800 --> 0:08:12.800 that they can have right like, and just to highlight 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:16.600 one of them, Wander Fronco and Brandon Lau could like 0:08:16.680 --> 0:08:19.240 those guys if they play to their potential next year, 0:08:19.280 --> 0:08:22.360 that's arguably like that could arguably be the number number two. 0:08:23.640 --> 0:08:26.240 And it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility if 0:08:26.240 --> 0:08:28.600 they both had their one hundred percentile outcome that it's 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:30.760 the best middle infield duo on baseball. Somehow, it'd be 0:08:30.800 --> 0:08:32.800 really hard to do. But like just the fact that 0:08:32.840 --> 0:08:35.000 like there's a even a one percent chance of that 0:08:35.360 --> 0:08:38.960 is a testament to just how talented even some of 0:08:39.000 --> 0:08:41.120 these middle and field duos are that are not in 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:43.880 the top five. I think where you could get a 0:08:43.920 --> 0:08:47.160 little bit nitpicky. The one area Peter I would say 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:50.880 is five versus the honorable mentions, and that's where it 0:08:50.880 --> 0:08:54.800 becomes a challenge of like how much do you wait 0:08:54.840 --> 0:08:58.480 the superstar and then the other guy versus like really 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:01.400 solid player, really solid player or a superstar and like 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:05.559 emerging player. It's a tough balance. So that's going to 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:06.680 be fun to kind of break. 0:09:06.440 --> 0:09:09.720 Down and Ryan getting straight into the first honorable mention. 0:09:09.840 --> 0:09:14.880 Like our mentioned Brendon Loo and Wander Franco talent wise 0:09:15.400 --> 0:09:19.880 their top five, but availability is important. Brandon Low has 0:09:19.880 --> 0:09:22.120 been banged up. Wanner Franco has played one hundred and 0:09:22.120 --> 0:09:28.400 fifty three games in his career over two seasons. I feel, 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:30.440 and maybe I'm wrong, tell me if I'm wrong. Now, 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:34.360 if they play one hundred and thirty games each, this 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:39.120 is a top five double play combination. It's just about 0:09:39.679 --> 0:09:41.240 doing that correct. 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:43.559 Yeah, Yeah, absolutely. I think a lot of times with 0:09:44.040 --> 0:09:47.400 these top tens, I like to put this type of 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:49.240 a group or that type of a player in an 0:09:49.280 --> 0:09:52.839 honorable mention because it's almost like you're kind of taking 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:55.079 a pass on ranking them. Like if we put Wander 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:57.440 Franco as an honorable mention in our top ten short stuff, 0:09:57.480 --> 0:09:59.760 he did crack the list. To me, it wasn't a 0:10:00.200 --> 0:10:03.640 about you know, not acknowledging him as a top ten shortstop. 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:06.680 It's he didn't play all of last season. We know 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:09.600 that once. It's more just, hey, we're mentioning the fact 0:10:09.600 --> 0:10:12.760 that this guy has this question. But we know that 0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:15.000 if he's healthy, you know, that's where he's going to 0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:17.480 be on the list. So yeah, a Wanderer in Low 0:10:17.640 --> 0:10:21.560 like that could be the best double play combination in baseball, 0:10:21.600 --> 0:10:24.240 as Arm said, but they're coming off a year where 0:10:24.280 --> 0:10:26.240 they were both injured, and Low wasn't that good when 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:28.559 he was on the field. We saw what Loud did 0:10:28.559 --> 0:10:31.160 in twenty twenty and twenty twenty one, where he might be, 0:10:31.240 --> 0:10:33.480 you know, the best power hitting second basement in all 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:35.920 of baseball. And we know wander is supposed to be 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:38.200 this stud that could be the best shortstop in baseball. 0:10:38.400 --> 0:10:40.400 I think both of them were in like the eight 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:42.360 to ten range of our top tens on second base 0:10:42.400 --> 0:10:45.280 and shortstop, so I think that it was fair to 0:10:45.360 --> 0:10:47.920 mention him, But I didn't believe that I could put 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:50.199 them above the five teams that we ended up going with. 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:54.560 And here was I guess my first issue, Because I 0:10:54.600 --> 0:10:59.680 believe this should be a top five double play combination, 0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:04.200 and that's Nico Horner and Dansby Swanson just straight defense alone. 0:11:04.720 --> 0:11:08.880 I think they're number two to you know, the Mets, 0:11:08.920 --> 0:11:11.960 which we will talk about in this top five, but 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:15.280 even offensively, like Nico Horner is a really good bat. 0:11:15.320 --> 0:11:19.000 We've talked to pitchers on this podcast who said Nico 0:11:19.040 --> 0:11:21.800 Horner is one of the toughest aabs that they've had. 0:11:22.160 --> 0:11:24.199 Kind of a name that we were surprised about. And 0:11:24.200 --> 0:11:26.839 when we spoke to Justin Steel, who was on his team, 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:29.640 he called him the most underrated player in all of 0:11:29.720 --> 0:11:32.320 Major League Baseball. And that's not even mentioning the guy 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:35.400 coming off a six and a half war season. Are 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:37.600 Before we go to Ryan to get his kind of 0:11:37.600 --> 0:11:39.800 opinion on this, because of course it's his list, I 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:42.840 want to go to you would this should this have 0:11:43.000 --> 0:11:45.800 cracked your top five? Or do you agree with Ryan 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:48.120 where they're probably on the outside looking in. 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:52.360 This is the one spot where it's tough because it's 0:11:52.440 --> 0:11:54.240 kind of that exact question that I post. 0:11:54.360 --> 0:11:54.520 Right. 0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:58.439 I know Dansby had like a all like a superstar 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:01.800 ish season in the department of f war, but I mean, 0:12:01.800 --> 0:12:04.240 I don't think anyone's looking at Dancy Swanson is a superstar, 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:06.200 and that's not a slight. He's a really good player. 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:09.920 Nico Horner really good player. Those are two really good players. 0:12:10.040 --> 0:12:11.960 You get to number five, you have a superstar and 0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:16.000 an emerging young player. That's where it's it's a really 0:12:16.080 --> 0:12:17.320 tough juggle. 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:18.120 On one side. 0:12:18.400 --> 0:12:20.480 And this kind of goes into like one of your 0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:23.640 first questions to Ryan Peter, which was, how do you 0:12:24.200 --> 0:12:28.680 wait this? Because Swanson and Horner could both be one 0:12:28.760 --> 0:12:31.760 hundred WRC plus guys next year, and I think they'd 0:12:31.760 --> 0:12:36.160 combined for like seven or eight war right, so maybe 0:12:36.240 --> 0:12:39.880 more so that gives them such a high floor. And 0:12:39.880 --> 0:12:42.080 then I think Horner's bat's going to keep getting better. 0:12:42.120 --> 0:12:44.040 I don't know how Swanson's going to hit. I won't 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:46.400 pretend to have an idea there, because he is kind 0:12:46.400 --> 0:12:50.800 of really tough to fully project offensively and has improved 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:54.600 in some areas regress and so it's it's weird. I 0:12:54.720 --> 0:12:58.160 think that if you believe in to spoil it, if 0:12:58.200 --> 0:13:02.160 you believe in Bryce and Stott, then you can really 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:05.319 make that case. And I wonder if that's why I 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:10.000 think has the Phillies duo ahead to spoil number five, like, 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:14.520 is is it the belief in Bryson Stott or is 0:13:14.559 --> 0:13:17.240 it maybe that you don't know how Swanson's going to 0:13:17.280 --> 0:13:20.240 bounce back or not bounce back, But I mean build 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:21.160 off of what was. 0:13:21.120 --> 0:13:21.800 A career year. 0:13:23.200 --> 0:13:25.160 Yeah, I think for me that was the biggest thing. 0:13:25.200 --> 0:13:29.080 It was trying to look at our honorable mentions and 0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:31.800 then weighing the fact that Trey Turner is the second 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:34.840 best shortstop of baseball. To me, it was Trey Turner 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:37.280 is that good? He is the best player of the bunch. 0:13:37.320 --> 0:13:40.160 And as much as Swanson had an unbelievable season, it's 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:43.199 wondering is he gonna do it again? Whereas Tredye Turner, 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:45.120 I know he's gonna do it. And the more I 0:13:45.160 --> 0:13:48.080 looked at Stott, if we throw out the first two 0:13:48.120 --> 0:13:50.000 months of his season where he was trying to get 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:53.560 his feet wet, he wasn't that much different than Niko Horner. 0:13:53.600 --> 0:13:55.720 His WRC plus was one or two compared to one 0:13:55.800 --> 0:13:58.640 zero six for Horner. The defense he was playing shortstop 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:01.160 knock second. Now, granted's so is Horner, and he was 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:04.560 better at short stop. But I don't know if the 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:07.480 gap between Horner and Stott is that great where I 0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:10.720 feel that the gap between Trey Turner and Swanson is bigger. 0:14:10.960 --> 0:14:13.440 So that's why I went that way. Actually, that's a 0:14:13.440 --> 0:14:14.959 really good argument. The way you put it that way, 0:14:15.000 --> 0:14:16.880 I can I can totally see that, because it's like, 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:21.480 if you were to rank these guys, you're Trey Turner, 0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:27.280 then a big gap, then dance by Horner Stott or 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:30.240 dance Mey stot Horn like it's it's not that far off, 0:14:30.280 --> 0:14:33.320 but the gap for Turner puts them at number five. 0:14:33.360 --> 0:14:36.600 And before we really truly dive into number five, Correa 0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:39.160 and Polonco again another one where I'll. 0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:40.800 Like, yeah, they could probably be a top five. 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:43.520 Like this is why this list is so fascinating to me, 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:46.640 because there's so many good arguments here. Because Carlos Korea 0:14:46.800 --> 0:14:49.720 is a top five shortstop. You coul put him at five, 0:14:49.720 --> 0:14:51.600 You could put him at two, and I don't think RM, 0:14:51.640 --> 0:14:53.960 you or any of us would be upset with that ranking. 0:14:54.480 --> 0:14:57.880 So but and then you have Jorge Polonco, who you'll 0:14:57.960 --> 0:15:00.920 find on our utility rankings didn't rank him within the 0:15:00.960 --> 0:15:05.120 top ten second basement because play some shortstop play some 0:15:05.240 --> 0:15:08.360 DH has played other positions before so we thought a 0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:11.280 good spot for him would be the utility rankings. It 0:15:11.360 --> 0:15:13.280 might be wrong. He might just play a full time 0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:16.040 second baseman, and we apologize for that. That's where we 0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:18.480 put him initially. So that's where we're gonna rank him. 0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:20.520 If you're upset, I don't know what to tell you. Well, 0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:21.520 it's interesting to know. 0:15:21.560 --> 0:15:22.760 The one thing I want to add on that is 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:26.680 the Twins were oscillating between having Correa or not, you know, 0:15:27.000 --> 0:15:28.640 were they gonna bring him in, which that would make 0:15:28.640 --> 0:15:30.680 Polanco either play short or not. And then depending on 0:15:30.720 --> 0:15:32.520 what happens with Rice Lewis, he could play second, he 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:34.360 could play short. I don't think he's gonna play center. 0:15:34.720 --> 0:15:36.560 Now Correa is in the Fold League. I am interested 0:15:36.560 --> 0:15:38.560 to see how they how they handle Polanco there. So 0:15:39.000 --> 0:15:42.160 we we definitely should have probably mentioned him in one 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:44.160 way or another. I think he got a little bit 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:45.520 lost in the shovel there. But I think, you know, 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:46.920 it makes more sense for us to rank him as 0:15:46.960 --> 0:15:49.240 a utility guy, and I think that's what we're gonna 0:15:49.280 --> 0:15:50.840 do if he ends up playing all his games at 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:54.000 second base. Sorry about that, but he was a weird 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:56.840 one to try to like land in a spot, especially 0:15:56.840 --> 0:15:59.440 with you know how interesting the twins in field situation is. 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:02.640 But that into the final honorable mention, which it was 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:04.760 another tough one because I think you can make the case, 0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:09.720 as you said, Correa is elite Polanco similar to Law 0:16:10.280 --> 0:16:14.000 really good twenty twenty one a little bit, a little 0:16:14.040 --> 0:16:16.960 bit of a step back last year, a little banged up, 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:19.040 more of there's just a step back and almost don't 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:21.800 know what's worse. Is it better to be unavailable or 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:24.480 available and take a step back, Like, I don't know, 0:16:24.560 --> 0:16:26.120 So how did you consider that? 0:16:26.200 --> 0:16:26.400 Think? 0:16:27.760 --> 0:16:31.400 Honestly, the twins, just to be completely brutally honest, have 0:16:31.480 --> 0:16:33.200 like fallen off my radar for a lot of it. 0:16:33.240 --> 0:16:36.400 When we made our top tens, Carlos Correa was supposed 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:37.880 to be a third basement for the Mets. When we 0:16:37.880 --> 0:16:40.400 were having our big zoom discussing, We're like, all right, 0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:43.320 he's either the fourth best shortstop or the fifth best. 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:45.400 I mean, we didn't know where to put them. And 0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:47.440 I feel like because of that, the twins have kind 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:49.760 of got lost in the sholf a little bit. Ultimately, 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:52.120 I still don't believe they're a top five doll play 0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:55.280 combination because again, it gets back to how much I 0:16:55.360 --> 0:16:58.520 value Trey Turner compared to everybody else. Like as great 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:02.000 as Correa is, Trey Turner, I feel great knowing that 0:17:02.000 --> 0:17:03.480 he's going to play one hundred and fifty games with 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:06.600 the Phillies this year. I don't know how many games 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:09.320 Korea is going to play. Not to say that it's 0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:12.600 because of the ankle, but you know, throughout his career, 0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:16.360 we just don't entirely know there. And we think it's 0:17:16.359 --> 0:17:18.600 Planco playing second, but it could be Nick Gordon, it 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:20.000 could be a lot of guys. They have a ton 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:22.960 of infielders. It could be Royce Lewis. So it's also 0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:25.760 that where we don't really know exactly what the double 0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:29.880 play combination is going to be in Minnesota and Polanco, Sorry, 0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:30.280 real quick. 0:17:30.320 --> 0:17:32.760 Planco played one hundred and four games last year and 0:17:32.840 --> 0:17:35.399 had a one point eight f war, right, Like, this 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:38.200 guy's not a great defender at second base, they stretch 0:17:38.240 --> 0:17:40.400 him at shorts top. He's definitely not a great defender there. 0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:43.320 And with with ariahs out that that could be a 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:45.040 guy that ends up daching a little bit more than 0:17:45.080 --> 0:17:49.640 I think we thought, especially with Lewis eventually returning. So yeah, 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:52.600 I think when you bake in defense too. None of 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:55.040 these guys on this list are bad at defense. Most 0:17:55.080 --> 0:17:57.480 of them are good, and a lot of them are great. 0:17:57.680 --> 0:17:59.960 I think if you go through all of the defenders here, 0:18:00.000 --> 0:18:02.840 if I'm not mistaken, I would probably say Polanco is 0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:05.520 the worst defender of all these middle infielders. Would that 0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:06.960 be fair, Peter. 0:18:07.440 --> 0:18:13.320 Yeah, I'm going through it. Yeah, I think you're right. 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:14.840 I mean, I think. 0:18:16.359 --> 0:18:19.440 He's a short stuff and buthet the Blue Jays combination 0:18:19.560 --> 0:18:20.439 isn't on this list. 0:18:20.880 --> 0:18:23.480 Yeah, yeah, he he was a mention in the introduction, 0:18:23.560 --> 0:18:24.480 not even honorable mention. 0:18:24.600 --> 0:18:27.399 So yeah, and we'll get to the uh, you know, 0:18:27.440 --> 0:18:30.000 the Padres double play combination. But I guess you can 0:18:30.080 --> 0:18:34.080 make the argument for Bogarts at short. But I still 0:18:34.160 --> 0:18:37.119 think Blanco is the right answer of worst defender on 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:39.960 this list, and he had that downyeard defensively, when his 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:43.719 calling card is power and he had sixteen home runs, 0:18:43.960 --> 0:18:47.199 it's not like he had four, but it's not like 0:18:47.280 --> 0:18:51.040 he had thirty like he can. So it's a balance. 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:54.480 And that's why I do appreciate number five getting now 0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:58.280 into the list, Trey Turner and Bryce and Stott, because 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:02.520 you're right over the over. Bryson Stott's full season last 0:19:02.560 --> 0:19:05.080 year eighty three WRC plus, threw one hundred and twenty 0:19:05.080 --> 0:19:08.720 seven games, But he really, really, really struggled in those 0:19:08.760 --> 0:19:12.080 first two months. And if we're talking about a balance 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:15.159