Top Young Shortstops for 2011 - Baseball's Best Shortstops Under Age 25

Ah shortstop, the glamour position. Every little league kid wants to play shortstop and generally at that young age, that’s where most of the talent goes. It is probably the most important position on the diamond, with the exception of the pitcher. You need your best athletes at shortstop, and the position is usually rife with youngsters who can steal bases, smash homers and throw up a few web gems.

At this position we see a few more players who meet our qualifications, and from there, we narrow it down to a select few who stand out above the rest. Atop our list of best shortstops under age 25 is Starlin Castro of the Chicago Cubs. This north sider slugged over .400, had double digit steals, and scored over 50 runs. Not bad for a guy who just celebrated his 20^th birthday. His defensive troubles have stolen much of the spotlight from this young kid, but trust me, his offensive upside can’t be ignored any longer. He probably has the most potential out of a pretty notable list of young shortstops which includes Asdrubal Cabrera and Elvis Andrus. Any one of these young shortstops could pop in 2011, so keep your eyes open.

2010 Stats for Shortstops Under Age 26

Player	Team	Age	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Starlin Castro	CHC	20	463	53	139	3	41	10	0.300	0.347	0.408	0.755
Ian Desmond	WSH	25	525	59	141	10	65	17	0.269	0.308	0.392	0.700
Asdrubal Cabrera	CLE	25	381	39	105	3	29	6	0.276	0.326	0.346	0.673
Elvis Andrus	TEX	22	588	88	156	0	35	32	0.265	0.342	0.301	0.643