Re: Previews of Top 10 at each position?
I think you'd be surprised how slightly above average Andrus is at fielding. Flashy plays don't really mean anything. Look at Jeter. Andrus is getting the same type of reputation in terms of they both make the highlight reels on ESPN because of flashy plays, HOWEVER, those same plays to SS like Alexei Ramirez, Brendan Ryan, Cliff Pennington, and other elite defensive SS become routine looking plays. Sometimes players FORCE themselves into making special plays because they aren't good enough to make those plays routine.
I know that sounds weird to read, but it's true. They always say the best fielders are the ones who make everything look easy. Look at Franklin Gutierrez and Andruw Jones (when he was awesome). They both just glided to the ball and made everything look so easy.
Alexei put up a 3.8 WAR last year (4th best in MLB), while Andrus put up a 1.5. Andrus' low WAR is mainly because of his bad offensive numbers. Hitting .265/.342/.643 with 0 HR and only 15 doubles is not going to cut it. Yes, he had 32 SB, but also 15 CS. That's a 68% success rate, which is actually negative value. The rule is that anything under 75% actually HURTS your team more than it helps. So while Alexei actually is quite bad at stealing (13 steals in 22 attempts), he is much better in almost everything else offensively, outside of OBP. His .282/.313/.744 with 18 HR, 29 2B, and 70 RBI is actually very good production from a SS, especially one who draws most of his value from his defense.
So bottom line, I think all the stats point to Alexei being a much better player than Andrus, both offensively and defensively. I wouldn't put Andrus in the top 5, and maybe not even in the top 10. That being said, Andrus is 22-years-old, and has a LOT of time to improve, and he WAY ahead of other SS of his age.
First off let me say that SS is THE hardest position to rate and rank, primarily due to the fact that many, if not most, of the shortstops contributions are not statistically calculated, and if they are, have other factors. That said, if we are going to bring in Alexie, you gotta show Elvis Andrus. Elvis Andrus easily could have, and probably should have won a gold glove this year, and actually did win the defensive PLAYER of the year in the MLB awards...not just for shortstops, but for ALL players. Comparitively, range factors and sabermetrics are similar, as well as fielding %, but offensively Andrus is a monster for the Rangers. His avg is lower, as well as power numbers, but has 3 times the walks, grounded into half the DPs, more HBPs, way more Sacrifice and "productive ABs" as well as dominating in the stolen base department. Granted I am a ranger fan, but watching him was incredible because of what he does beyond the stats. And trust me when I say few SS are more exciting to watch. I mean, the dude was on web gems every night just about! Plus the baserunning, taking the extra base, making heads up plays, leading the defense and doing what NEEDS to be done to let the offense go to work. I would take him over Alexie, but both are legit SS, and both of us are biased to our loyal teams 
I think you'd be surprised how slightly above average Andrus is at fielding. Flashy plays don't really mean anything. Look at Jeter. Andrus is getting the same type of reputation in terms of they both make the highlight reels on ESPN because of flashy plays, HOWEVER, those same plays to SS like Alexei Ramirez, Brendan Ryan, Cliff Pennington, and other elite defensive SS become routine looking plays. Sometimes players FORCE themselves into making special plays because they aren't good enough to make those plays routine.
I know that sounds weird to read, but it's true. They always say the best fielders are the ones who make everything look easy. Look at Franklin Gutierrez and Andruw Jones (when he was awesome). They both just glided to the ball and made everything look so easy.
Alexei put up a 3.8 WAR last year (4th best in MLB), while Andrus put up a 1.5. Andrus' low WAR is mainly because of his bad offensive numbers. Hitting .265/.342/.643 with 0 HR and only 15 doubles is not going to cut it. Yes, he had 32 SB, but also 15 CS. That's a 68% success rate, which is actually negative value. The rule is that anything under 75% actually HURTS your team more than it helps. So while Alexei actually is quite bad at stealing (13 steals in 22 attempts), he is much better in almost everything else offensively, outside of OBP. His .282/.313/.744 with 18 HR, 29 2B, and 70 RBI is actually very good production from a SS, especially one who draws most of his value from his defense.
So bottom line, I think all the stats point to Alexei being a much better player than Andrus, both offensively and defensively. I wouldn't put Andrus in the top 5, and maybe not even in the top 10. That being said, Andrus is 22-years-old, and has a LOT of time to improve, and he WAY ahead of other SS of his age.
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