Black MLB Players #29: Francisco Lindor

Background + Path to Professional Baseball

Francisco Lindor is a 27-year-old shortstop from Caguas, Puerto Rico that plays for the New York Mets. Lindor began playing baseball at four years old, as his father nurtured his love for the game at a very early age. His father had him doing fielding drills and exercises at four years old, and Lindor began switch-hitting at seven years old. When he was 12 years old, Lindor moved to the Orlando area with his father and enrolled at Monteverde Academy to play baseball. Lindor was already so advanced as a player that he started as the JV shortstop while in the eighth grade.

During four standout years at Monteverde Academy Lindor earned a reputation as a solid contact-oriented switch-hitter with an excellent glove that almost guaranteed a long-term future at shortstop. Scouts praised his makeup, work ethic, and maturity, and thought that his vibrant personality would sell tickets and endear fans. The Puerto Rican shortstop was drafted by the Cleveland Indians with the eighth overall pick of the 2011 MLB Draft, one of the greatest drafts in MLB history. Lindor was ecstatic to be drafted by the organization where two of his favorite players and fellow switch-hitting Latino infielders Roberto Alomar Jr. and Omar Vizquel played. He forewent a full commitment to the Florida State baseball program to begin his professional career with Cleveland, agreeing to a 2.9 million dollar signing bonus.

Lindor’s Minor League Baseball career started in 2011, where he only played five games due to signing late and also suffering an injury. What stood out about the brief MiLB appearance Lindor made was that Cleveland put him in Short-Season A-Ball directly out of high school, which means they thought very highly of him based on the aggressive assignment. Lindor was the top prospect in the Indians system for most of his tenure in the minor leagues, also reaching as high as four on the numerous Top 100 Prospect Lists of accredited publications and individuals evaluating Minor League Baseball. During his time in the minors, Lindor developed into the wiry and athletic switch-hitting shortstop with an elite glove and outlying feel for contact that pundits envisioned when he was a skinny teenager.

After four years of above-average performance in the minor leagues, Francisco Lindor made his MLB debut on June 14th, 2015, getting a hit in one of the two at-bats he got. Lindor’s rookie season was spectacular as he showed Major League Baseball that he was all that was advertised. The shortstop impressed everyone with his ability to hit for contact and power, play stellar defense at shortstop, and run the bases very well. In 99 games at the major league level during the 2015 season, Lindor ranked third in fWAR, fourth in wRC+, tied for 10th in stolen bases, third in wOBA, and 7th in DRS. He also accumulated 22 doubles, four triples, 12 home runs, and 12 stolen bases in those 99 games, coming in second in the AL Rookie of the Year Award behind fellow Puerto Rican shortstop Carlos Correa.

In January 2021 Lindor was traded to the New York Mets in a deal that sent four players to Cleveland, and then signed a 10 year/$341 million dollar contract to stay a New York Met for the rest of his career.

Since becoming a full-time player in 2015, Francisco Lindor has been the most productive shortstop in baseball. He is first in fWAR, tied for fifth in wRC+, has the sixth most stolen bases, and the most home runs. Lindor has finished in the top ten for MVP voting three times, been an All-Star four times, has won two Gold Gloves, and has won two Silver Sluggers.

Player Profile

Francisco Lindor is 5'11, weighs 190 pounds, and is built like your typical shortstop. He bats from both sides of the plate and throws right-handed. He features smooth, quick swings from both sides of the plate that are also very aesthetically similar to another. His ability to put the bat on the ball is the driving force behind his effectiveness as a hitter. The four-time All-Star strikes out eight percent less than the average MLB player and puts the ball in play seven percent more than the average player, but also does so with power that is extremely uncommon for a shortstop.

Lindor started taking advantage of his ability to put the ball in play at an above-average rate by focusing on elevating the ball and driving it for extra-base hits to his pull-side, and that turned him from an already top tier shortstop to the best shortstop in all of the game. As Lindor’s Groundball to Flyball ratio dropped his home run to flyball ratio skyrocketed and it cemented him as one of the faces of baseball and a bonafide five-tool player.

With an eight-percent career walk rate that hovered at or around double-digits in multiple individual seasons, Lindor has a sound understanding of the strike zone. Lindor will never be an absolute on-base machine due to a swing heavy approach where he can expand the zone trying to hit his way on base far too often, but he frequently makes adjustments and works hard at his daily routine to keep himself in the best condition possible.

Lindor is a very quick runner and can easily steal twenty bags per year and regularly does so, but he is not a good baserunner based on BsR. Even with that caveat, Lindor is a competent run-scorer and will not be an absolute liability on the basepaths. He has a very great baseball IQ and is well aware of all that is happening at all times. Lindor’s athleticism definitely helps him on defense, where he is one of the best defensive players in all of baseball. The high-quality glove at shortstop is one of the significant facets of his game and rightfully so. Lindor has regularly been amongst leaders at his position based on surface-level defensive stats, advanced defensive metrics, and the eye test might be the most compelling form of convincing for anyone that thinks otherwise.