Where did Brandon Crawford rank among MLB shortstops in 2019?

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – MAY 21: Brandon Crawford #35 of the San Francisco Giants is unable to field a ball hit by Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves in the top of the fifth inning at Oracle Park on May 21, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

Brandon Crawford

PA: 560—17th
BA: .228—31st
OBP: .304—29th
SLG: .350—t-32nd
OPS: .654—32nd
OPS+: 75—32nd
H: 114—23rd
2B: 24—21st
HR: 11—t-25th
RBI: 59—t-20th
R: 58—t-23rd
WAR: 0.6—t-30th

Simply put, it was a brutal season at the plate for Brandon Crawford.

The only everyday shortstop with worse offensive numbers was Orlando Arcia of the Milwaukee Brewers, who hit just .223/.283/.350 with a 64 OPS+ and minus-0.1 WAR in 152 games.

Of course, Arcia was making the league-minimum, while Crawford took home $15.2 million.

That price tag won’t change anytime soon, as he’s owed $30.4 million over the final two years of a six-year, $75 million contract.

Can he bounce back?

His .274 BABIP was well below his .295 career mark, so he dealt with some bad luck, and his hard-contact rate actually jumped from 36.2 to 39.3 percent, so there is some reason for optimism.

Given his contract situation, he’ll get every chance to earn his salary next year, and with top prospect Marco Luciano still a few years away, there’s no immediate in-house threat to his playing time.

He’s also still a solid defender, albeit not the same dynamic shortstop he was in his prime.

The San Francisco Giants will almost certainly begin the 2020 season with Brandon Crawford penciled into the starting shortstop role. Can he return to form?

Brandon Crawford

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