Detroit Tigers Ranking High on the 2017 Shredder Top 10 List

The Infield

First Base: This is going to be an obvious one: Miguel Cabrera. He is perennially in the Top 10, but he has not been ranked number one for a few years. This is because the Shredder takes defense and offense into account. In 2017, Cabrera is ranked second. the Shredder ranked Paul Goldschmidt in the first spot. Three is held by Joey Votto and four belongs to Anthony Rizzo. Mike Petriello said of Cabrera: “While he’ll be 34 in March and isn’t the defender that Rizzo is, there’s little doubt that Cabrera is one of the best right-handed hitters to ever live, and he’s still acting like it.”

Petriello also put Cabrera in the number two spot on his list. He ranked Anthony Rizzo ahead of Cabrera. His third and fourth place finishers were Votto and Goldschmidt.

Second Base: This position is stacked with All-Stars and some potential Hall of Famers. There is little doubt why the Shredder placed Jose Altuve at the top of the list. He can hit and he can field. But, this list is about the Tigers. So, where does the Shredder place Ian Kinsler? Fifth. The second through fourth spots belong to Robinson Cano, Daniel Murphy, and Dustin Pedroia. Kinsler finished farther from the top than his 2016 Gold Glove award signified, because of his age and because his fielding ability is so similar to the other players.

Third base: Nick Castellanos did not appear on the Shredder or on any other MLB Network Top 10 Lists. The big names on the third base list include Kris Bryant, Josh Donaldson, Manny Machado, and Nolan Arenado.

Shortstop: Unfortunately, the same goes for Jose Iglesias. His competition lies with NL Rookie of the Year Corey Seager, Francisco Lindor, and Carlos Correa. This isn’t to say that Iggy is bad at his job, there are just men who can field better (amazingly so) and hit better.