The Detroit Tigers have procured a series of excellent fielding shortstops in recent years. The run started with Jose Iglesias, who was the team’s starter from his arrival in 2013 until he departed in free agency this past offseason. Dixon Machado was stuck in Iglesias’ shadow until last season, when he couldn’t hit well enough to keep a starting job opposite Iglesias at second base.
The next man on this list is Sergio Alcantara, who flashed the leather in a big way on Friday evening.
De esta manera finalizó el partido del viernes, gracias a esa gran jugada de Sergio Alcántara. #LosTigres | #TigersST
— Tigres de Detroit (@TigresdeDetroit) March 9, 2019
Numeritos: https://t.co/ZkqCS5fuVg pic.twitter.com/Pg4Lh8vSEj
Alcantara’s spectacular diving play saved the game for the Tigers, preserving a slim 6-5 win over the New York Yankees.
While Alcantara still has some questions to answer offensively — he and Machado are a very close comparison on both sides of the ball — he without a doubt has the best infield glove in the system, and we just saw why.