Carlos Correa vs Francisco Lindor

[3and2Fastball]

Somewhat of a downtime on Brewers news as we approach Christmas (although with Stearns wheeling and dealing there could be 2 trades by the time I finish this post!)

 

Anyways I thought it'd be interesting to see what the consensus opinion is here in comparing 2 young potential superstar MLB shortstops, Carlos Correa & Francisco Lindor. Interested in your opinions as to who you project to be a better player longterm, both in terms of franchise building and their overall value.

 

I think it is a fascinating comparison and isn't quite the automatic slam-dunk for Correa like many seem to think. They both played about the same amount of games last year and Lindor had a 4.6 WAR vs Correa's 4.1 WAR. While Correa is no slouch with the glove, Lindor is clearly better defensively, offers switch-hitting ability and last year at least hit for a better average. Hard to pass up the power that Correa offers at a premium position though, and the possibility of him hitting 40+ HR's in 2016 and/or 2017 as a SS is a reasonable projection. Longterm Correa might be a 3B while Lindor is likely a career SS.

[MrTPlush]

Carlos Correa has quite a bit more value and I would rather have him if the Brewers could have one. Mainly because Correa won't need to move to 3B any time soon if ever. Though Lindor and his glove/high AVG combo would be very attractive in itself. Of course that is assuming he can truly hit .310+ long term. If his average drops Correa is the obvious choice.

 

15 years from now I think Correa ends up being the best over his career.

[craigharmann]

Having watched Correa in person 7 times this year, he's the real deal. His defense is good, not great. I remember seeing a pop up hit to short left that looked like it was going to fall in and he made an amazing running catch and then on replay, he almost overran it. And his bat.....wow. Such a mature approach to hitting for a 21 year old. I can't wait to watch him over a full season.....and seasons to come!!

[StearnsFTW]

Correa in a rout. He'll hit 40 HR at some point. I truly believe that. And he'll be a good shortstop for 10 years. He's Cal Ripken to me.

[reillymcshane]

For me, Correa's power is the difference maker. He could easily hit 30-35 HR. That's hard to get at any position.

 

Correa might eventually end up at 3B, but it's hard to say that for sure.

[QuevedosTongue]

It's Correa, but I don't think it's a rout. Assuming good health for both players, Correa should be the better hitter and Lindor will be the better fielder over their careers. Lindor was the better player overall last year, but I don't think his offense is sustainable at that level over his career. Looking at his BABIP, it was quite a bit higher than what he posted over his minor league career, I just don't think he keeps that level consistently.

 

Correa should be an offensive machine, generating significant offense, well above average for the SS position. If the power comes as everyone thinks it will, he will put up HoF numbers.

 

Lindor will be a much better glove and, if the voting is truly based on defensive ability, should win a bunch of gold gloves over his career (Andrelton Simmons being in the AL notwithstanding). I think it's likely Lindor will be a player who is underappreciated because he's being measured against Correa in an era where defensive metrics don't hold sway like offensive ones do.

[StearnsFTW]

I'm not a huge believer in defensive metrics, but I definitely think Lindor is the better defender.

 

Having said that, I don't think Lindor had the better season last year even though i know WAR says he did. Correa was hitting 3rd on a contender, which says a lot to me. Lindor was in a pressure-free situation on a doormat. I know that that's not really quantitative in any way, but it speaks volumes to me.

 

Rout was probably a poor choice of words, but I definitely think Correa will be more valuable over the long haul.