MLB.com: Former Wolfpacker Trea Turner vs. Francisco Lindor, who is the better SS?

MLB.com is ramping up for the 2021 season and they’ve decided to weigh in on who they think the top SS is in the national league.We thought Wolfpack fans may be interested in this debate since it’s one of our own who is being debated for the top spot.

The debate comes down to former NC State star Trea Turner (now with the Washington Nationals) and Francisco Lindor (who was recently traded to the NY Mets).

Turner, in my opinion, has been one of the more underrated stars in major league baseball and I don’t hear Wolfpack fans talking about him very often. Just look at these career stats from last year.

It wasn’t just a good 2020. Turner has hit 19 HRs in both 2018 and 2019 (38). Over those two seasons, he has stolen 78 bases, he has walked  112 times. He had 130 RBIs and 199 runs scored over that span.His career average is .296.

Now let’s look at Lindor.

The guy is a career average is pretty good at .285, but not as good as Turner’s. He stole 47 total bases in 2018 & 2019. That is over 30 less than Truner over the same two years. He has walked 130 times over those two seasons, which is slightly ahead of Trea and he hit 70 HRs. He drove in 166 runs (RBIs) and scored 230 runs.

Some argue that the most important metric is WAR (wins above replacement) and over 2019-20 Turner leads Lindor by the slightest of margins (6.3 to 6.2).

So I don’t know. The question MLB poses is a good one. These guys are very similar and it’s hard to say which is better.

The one thing that we can be sure of however,m is that NC State fans should be pretty darn proud of Trea Turner. He has worked himself into a position where he is one of the most elite players at one of the most important positions.

What do you think? Are there some deeper metrics that tell a different story? Hit us up on Twitter and let’s talk about it.

Until then, take some time to check out these Trea Turner highlights…