Yankees fans know just how good Didi Gregorius has been since coming over from Arizona in a three-team trade back in December 2014. However, it seems that Gregorius tends to be one of the more underrated players in the league, especially given the wealth of young, talented shortstops, notably in the American League.
Gregorius has to compete with the likes of Carlos Correa of the Astros, Francisco Lindor of the Indians, and Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox and tends to get the short end of the stick. He has yet to earn the distinction of being an All-Star, but given the trajectory of his career in his three seasons in the Bronx, there is no doubt that he will grab that achievement sooner rather than later.
So how does Gregorius stack up against the other elite shortstops in the American League? Here are some numbers for the aforementioned players since 2015 (which also happens to be when Lindor and Correa broke into the league):
| Player | BA | HR | RBI | wOBA | OPS+ | bWAR | FLD% |
| Player A | .293 | 60 | 218 | .349 | 114 | 15.8 | .981 |
| Player B | .276 | 54 | 213 | .313 | 97 | 11.9 | .978 |
| Player C | .296 | 38 | 232 | .326 | 104 | 10.5 | .978 |
| Player D | .288 | 66 | 248 | .367 | 138 | 16.3 | .975 |
These are just some metrics to look at, but at first glance, it appears as if Player D is above the rest. Yet there is not a tremendous amount of distinction between the players in some categories. Player A is Lindor, Player B is Gregorius, Player C is Bogaerts, and Player D is Correa.
So while Gregorius’ numbers are a tad below the field, they are not too far off from some of the best shortstops in the game. Also, keep in mind that this includes when Didi hit .238 with just 4 home runs and 19 RBI in the first half of the 2015 season. Subtracting that would raise his average to .283 over the span.
Of course, his competition doesn’t get any easier with Manny Machado making the move to shortstop for the Orioles in 2018, but the fact remains that Didi has shown improvement each year since coming over to the Bronx. Of course, it will be difficult to improve upon his All-Star caliber 2017 season, but he did miss a month of the season. We can compare the four aforementioned shortstops’ 2017 seasons, adjusting each to an arbitrary 600 plate appearances.
| Player | BA | HR | RBI | bWAR |
| Lindor | .293 | 27.4 | 73.9 | 4.6 |
| Gregorius | .287 | 26.3 | 91.6 | 3.9 |
| Bogaerts | .296 | 9.4 | 58.6 | 2.1 |
| Correa | .288 | 29.9 | 104.8 | 7.9 |
Here, it can be seen that last season Gregorius was ahead of Bogaerts in terms of productions, and definitely right up there with Lindor. It would be hard to argue placing him above Correa, but a case can be made for him being the second best shortstop in the Junior Circuit.
Either way, Didi has not only become a solid all-around player for the Yankees, but he is expected to be one of the leaders of this team. He will certainly assume that position in the infield with rookies Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres likely to demand significant playing time in 2018. To top it off, his ability to speak four languages in addition to his acclaimed post-victory tweets have made him a fan favorite who is sure to be a key part of this championship-caliber squad.
