With Trea Turner becoming a Free Agent recently, one of the biggest question marks for the Dodgers is who will play shortstop next year and beyond. We have covered all the options in a past article, so today’s article is going to focus only on Jacob Amaya.

Amaya is a shortstop prospect that is thought of more for his defense and, having seen him play many, many times, I can say he is very good defensively. His lifetime fielding percentage of .964 is 2 points lower than Willy Adames, 4 points lower than Gavin Lux, and 14 points lower than Swanson. 

Defensive Mechanics

In today’s day and age of infield play, many young infielders seem to prefer looking “pretty” when they field the ball over being fundamentally sound. Amaya does not fall into that category, however. Although the ease with which he fields the ball and the confidence he plays with does give him some “flash” his mechanics are impeccable.

He is proof that you can be fundamentally sound and “pretty” both at the same time and that is doesn’t have to be either/or.

He does a great job judging hops, he uses great glove angles to field the ball, his footwork is superior, he transitions from fielding to throwing seamlessly, and he has every different arm angle to throw from based on the position he is in when throwing the ball.

The following video shows him making a series of very routine plays that emphasize the mechanics he puts into even the most routine of plays and how he takes nothing for granted. 

Moving To His Left

As mechanically sound as Amaya is making the routine plays, his mechanics really shine when he makes plays on the move. He is very good at moving to both his left and his right, but this video focuses on him working to his left.

Notice how he’s able to turn his shoulders to the target after fielding the ball without having to also flip his hips away from the throw. This allows him to get into throwing positions from every angle in a more natural way.

I have no inside information, but if I were to bet on it, I would have to guess that someone taught him this technique of how to make plays on the move. 

The first play in this video shows him coming in and to his left. The impressive part of the first play in this video is how he got a great jump, attacked the ball very aggressively, but never slowed down through the fielding process and into the transition of the throw. 

The skill level, flexibility, athletic ability, instincts, and IQ it takes to make a play like this look that easy is very high caliber. 

The 2nd play shows Amaya going way to his left which shows his range and how he is able to throw on the run so effortlessly. 

To His Right

Moving to the left is a more natural position for a shortstop because they are moving in a direction that is towards their target of first base. On the contrary, moving to the right moves a short stop away from their target and increases the difficulty level fairly substantially. 

The play to the right of a shortstop separates the average defensive players from the elite. Amaya is very, very good going to his right which is one of the reasons why the case could be made that he is the best defensive infielder in the organization. 

One thing to notice on these 2 plays is how well he circles the ball, then, within one shuffle, is able to redirect and get his momentum headed toward first base. 

Again, his nearly flawless mechanics are on display.

Straight In

This next video is 2 plays that Amaya has to come straight in on. Because he is so aggressive in attacking the ball he cuts the throw down by quite a lot. Cutting the throw down gives him time to get his feet underneath him to increase the odds of making an accurate throw. 

Under Duress

One thing is for sure about playing shortstop and that is those that play the position have to be able to perform under pressure. Shortstops have to want the ball in all situations, and they have to be able to react quickly in difficult situations. 

This next video shows Jacob under duress as he knocks down a ball to his left, and has to hurry to pick the ball up to throw it to first base. Watch how he stays calm, trusts the process, and keeps everything under control.

His reactions after he doesn’t catch the ball cleanly indicate that he has the ability to stay calm and collected under duress. 

Offense 

Although Amaya is known for his defense, he puts things together on the offensive side of the ball in 2022. In 2022 he hit .261, hit 17 home runs, had an OPS of .795, and knocked in 71 runs. His strikeout rate was 23.6% which isn’t terrible, and it would place him in the top 100 best of all hitters in the MLB. But, for the type of gap-to-gap offensive player that he is, it would be great if he could get that number below 20% which would make him top 75%.

Gap to Gap

Although Amaya showed quite a bit of pop in 2022 hitting 17 home runs, the type of hitter he would like to be is a gap-to-gap hitter and one that hits the ball to all fields. His pull % and Oppo % were both exactly 36% this year in AAA, and he hit the ball up the middle 28% of the time, so he did a great job of going with the pitch.

The next video shows Amaya hitting the ball to all fields and with power.

Upside

Amaya has a very nice swing, typically has good timing, and has a lot of up-side offensively. His swing is of the same mold as Mookie Betts as you can see in this series of pictures. 

Elbow Slot:

Contact

Projection

Amaya has the chance to be a top-shelf defensive player at the MLB level. His work process has put him in a position to be very fundamentally sound, and he doesn’t nonchalant. He respects every play, even the most routine, and doesn’t take anything for granted.

His range is good, his footwork is elite, his arm is strong and he has a confident swagger that can’t be taught.

His defense is MLB-ready, no question!

Offensively, he is capable of being a good player. But, for next year, if he could just hit around .250, keep his K% to around 20% or so, have an on-base % between .350 and .375, hit 7-10 home runs, and drive in 50-75 RBIs, he would be a huge asset to the Dodgers at the MLB level. 

These are benchmarks that he either reached, surpassed, or came very close to in 2022, so there is no reason to believe he can’t hit those marks in 2023. And, looking further into the future, there’s no reason to believe that he can’t do better than those benchmarks the more experience he gains which would make him a really good MLB shortstop.