The days of Ozzie Smith and Barry Larkin are over, well over. The shortstop position is being looked at as more of an offensive position these days. If a guy has pop in his bat and can play decent defense, he would start over a defensive wizard with little power. Defensive guys are still out there, Omar Vizquel is a guy of that era, but he's on his last wheel. I will list my top 5 shortstops going into the 2007 season (in no particular order) and give some honorable mention to a few that deserve some recognition.
Derek Jeter - Mr. November has four rings with the Yankees and seems like he can still get the job done. If his 3rd base counterpart can help get him in, I think the Yankees are the biggest threat in the AL, barring injury. Jeter's defense has stayed at a high level and his bat is still good for 200 hits and a .300 average. He is a true leader and the Yankees wouldn't be the same without him.
Jose Reyes - Reyes is probably the "Prince of New York" if Jeter is the King. Reyes is a young guy that had a breakout year last year and improved in every area. He had some defense problems in the past and had a tendency to boot a lot of balls, but he kept those down last year. He is a base-stealing threat and can send a few balls out of the ballpark. The left side of the Mets infield is the most promising in the league with David Wright occupying 3rd base.
Michael Young - Young is the reason that Texas Rangers fans don't really remember A-rod even being on the team. If Young would have been a bust at shortstop, I'm sure that the owner would have been ran out of town. Young has a mighty bat and has shown the ability to hit for a very high average. He even came through during an All-Star game against the games best, which still means a lot to younger guys.
Miguel Tejada - I am going to put him on this list for the sole purpose of his stats and on-field defense. I have some questions about if he juiced, since guys who appear to have had "Brady Anderson" type numbers for a year or two (i.e. Javy Lopez, Brian Roberts) was on the Orioles, plus Sosa, Giambi, and Palmeiro have been teammates with Tejada. Tejada needs to keep these numbers up and become a team leader, rather than going public monthly about his need to be traded.
Jimmy Rollins - Does this choice surprise you? I think Rollins had a breakout year last year and with Utley and Howard in the lineup with him, he is protected and will get some good pitches to look at. He's a 30/30 guy who will bat somewhere around .300 and be in the top 10 in runs scored. He will be an All-Star for many years to come, if Reyes doesn't overshadow him in voting.
Honorable Mention - David Eckstein, Omar Vizquel, Hanley Ramirez, and Julio Lugo.
I couldn't leave out Eckstein from the discussion. He has two rings and a World Series MVP on his resume. Eckstein is not the fastest guy, doesn't have a major league arm, but somehow he gets the job done when it counts.