Dansby Swanson
After being selected #1 overall in the 2015 MLB draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks, Swanson was traded to the Atlanta Braves in the Shelby Miller trade but bounced back and forth from being a productive player to a bit of a disappointment. In 2022 though, Swanson has been an All-Star level player who’s ready for a big contract.
Swanson on the season is hitting .276./.328/.435 with 22 HR and 92 RBI on the season for the reigning champions. Swanson has been a good postseason player as well, with a career .768 OPS in 121 postseason at-bats.
Swanson scares me a bit as he has not been consistently great until the last two seasons and the pandemic shortened 2020. This could be a case of a player coming into his own at age 28, but he also could be peaking an on the decline after a few years into his major contract.
Swanson will likely get the smallest contract of the four shortstops, unless Correa signs another short deal at a high AAV. He has been a great player over the last few seasons and a clear upgrade to the Cardinals lineup, not to mention a chance to take him away from a fellow NL contender.