Ranking the top three shortstops in Diamondbacks franchise history turned out to be trickier than I thought it would be. The top two are obvious enough, but sorting between them took some additional thought. From there it's a very steep drop off to number three. Keep in mind that we already dedicated a specific category of super utility player to Craig Counsell. Had I not done that I would have just had him in the top three shortstops in franchise history and called it a day.
#1 Nick Ahmed: 888 G, 12.2 WAR, +80 Fldg. Runs, .234/.288/.376, 75 OPS+
Nick Ahmed came over to the Diamondbacks in the Justin Upton trade following the 2012 season. He made his major league debut in 2014, and was the primary shortstop in 2015. He posted +8 fielding runs, but struggled at the plate batting .226 with a .634 OPS. In 2016 Ahmed missed nearly all of the second half of the season with a hip impingement. But in just 90 games he posted +15 fielding, hinting at future Gold Gloves to come. He was terrible at the plate however, batting just .218 with a .564 OPS, or 46 OPS+.
A broken hand and later a broken wrist due to being hit by pitches cost Ahmed most of 2017, but when he was he played his bat looked like it was starting to improve, as he hit .251 with a .717 OPS in 50 games while still posting +6 fielding runs. Finally, in 2018, Ahmed began a three year stretch in which he was healthy enough to stay on the field and show the world on a daily basis just how great a defender he was. In 2018 he posted a whopping +28 defensive runs saved, and won his first Gold Glove. He followed that up with +16 runs in 2019, winning his second Gold Glove. Baseball Savant's Outs Above Average metric agreed that Ahmed was the best defensive shortstop in MLB during that time period.
Ahmed also played in 57 out of a possible 60 games during the 2020 Pandemic season, and from 2018-2020, prorating out to per 650 PA, or a full season, he averaged 4.6 WAR and 3.0 Wins Above Average, including +22 fielding runs. He posted a .248 batting average and .728 OPS, or 90 OPS+ which was plenty good enough for a shortstop. Unfortunately Ahmed suffered age and injury related decline over his final three seasons with the team. But his three year peak makes him the top shortstop in franchise history.
#2 Stephen Drew : 773 G, 13.2 WAR, +10 Fldg. Runs, .266/.328/.436, 96 OPS+
If this were a straight WAR or WAA ranking, then Drew would have come out above Ahmed. Here is the full listing of D-backs shortstops at baseball reference ranked by WAR. Drew was a league average hitter in a world where shortstops are usually 10-15% worse than the league average at the plate. At the same time he was more than competent in the field, registering +10 fielding runs while with the D-backs. But his peak wasn't as high as Ahmeds, as he averaged 3.4 WAR and 1.0 WAA from 2008-2010, and shortstop is a defense first position. Drew never came close to winning a Gold Glove.
A special note about Drew, is that due to the reputation of his brother, J.D. Drew, Stephen was often lumped with him together unfairly by some fans and even scouts that made pre-determined judgements about his willingness to hustle and play hard. The truth is that as a kid growing up and playing the game his nickname was "Dirt" due to the fact that was always diving for any ball he could possibly get to. I worked for the team during almost all of his tenure with the Diamondbacks and saw him play every day. Not once did I ever see him not run out a ball down to first or not give his best effort. But because he was a first round draft pick, had Scott Boras as an agent and held out for a higher signing bonus, many people had already made up their mind about him before he even reached the majors.
Drew suffered a horrific injury during the 2011 season sliding into home plate, and breaking/dislocating his ankle. The image of him reaching down while lying there at home plate trying to reset the ankle into place himself is seared into my memory. It took him a little longer to feel confident to get back on the field than the team might have liked, and the owner famously got into a public dispute with his agent over the matter. This was not Ken Kendrick's best moment. Stephen Drew was a gamer who played hard on every play and gave his all. I saw it every day, up close. The fact that he was not demonstrative or outwardly emotional cannot change that fact.
#3 Geraldo Perdomo: 303 G, 3.3 WAR, -7 Fldg. runs, .221/.321/.313 78 OPS+
I'll submit to both the WAR table and recency bias in this case. Perdomo is a heads up player, who makes up for whatever shortcomings he might have with great base running, timely hitting with runners in scoring position, and an ability to have extended at bats and draw a walk. But a case could be made for any number of players to place third here. Tony Womack is a fan favorite and had some of the biggest clutch hits in the 2001 postseason. He also made a tremendous number of outs and had an extremely low OPS+ (70). Remember 1999-2002 was the height of the silly ball era where run scoring and league batting averages were much higher than they are today.
Cliff Pennington was a terrific defender, on a rate basis, he along with John MacDonald slot in easily right behind Ahmed for best defensive shortstop. But they were utility players that just didn't play enough. Chris Owings was well below average defensively at shortstop, posting -12 defensive runs at the position. He was well above average at second base and surprisingly in centerfield. But this is a shortstop ranking. Below is the abbreviated table from the link above.
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