Ranking the Top 3 Shortstops in Diamondbacks History

#2 Stephen Drew : 773 G,  13.2 WAR, +10 Fldg. Runs, .266/.328/.436,  96 OPS+

If this were a straight WAR or WAA ranking, then Drew would have come out above Ahmed. Here is the full listing of  D-backs shortstops at baseball reference ranked by WAR.  Drew was a league average hitter in a world where shortstops are usually 10-15% worse than the league average at the plate. At the same time he was more than competent in the field, registering +10 fielding runs while with the D-backs.  But his peak wasn't as high as Ahmeds, as he averaged 3.4 WAR and 1.0 WAA from 2008-2010, and shortstop is a defense first position. Drew never came close to winning a Gold Glove. 

A special note about Drew, is that due to the reputation of his brother,  J.D. Drew, Stephen was often lumped with him together unfairly by some fans and even scouts that made pre-determined judgements  about his willingness to hustle and play hard.  The truth is that as a kid growing up and playing the game his nickname was "Dirt" due to the fact that was always diving for any ball he could possibly get to.  I worked for the team during almost all of his tenure with the Diamondbacks and saw him play every day. Not once did I ever see him not run out a ball down to first or not give his best effort.  But because he was a first round draft pick, had Scott Boras as an agent and held out for a higher signing bonus, many people had already made up their mind about him before he even reached the majors. 

Drew suffered a horrific injury during the 2011 season sliding into home plate, and breaking/dislocating his ankle. The image of him reaching down while lying there at home plate trying to reset the ankle into place himself is seared into my memory.  It took him a little longer to feel confident to get back on the field than the team might have liked, and the owner famously got into a public dispute with his agent over the matter. This was not Ken Kendrick's best moment.  Stephen Drew was a gamer who played hard on every play and gave his all. I saw it every day, up close. The fact that he was not demonstrative or outwardly emotional cannot change that fact. 

#3 Geraldo Perdomo: 303 G,  3.3 WAR, -7 Fldg. runs, .221/.321/.313 78 OPS+

I'll submit to both the WAR table and recency bias in this case.  Perdomo is a heads up player, who makes up for whatever shortcomings he might have with great base running, timely hitting with runners in scoring position, and an ability to have extended at bats and draw a walk. But a case could be made for any number of players to place third here.  Tony Womack is a fan favorite and had some of the biggest clutch hits in the 2001 postseason. He also made a tremendous number of outs and had an extremely low OPS+ (70). Remember 1999-2002 was the height of the silly ball era where run scoring and league batting averages were much higher than they are today. 

Cliff Pennington was a terrific defender, on a rate basis, he along with John MacDonald slot in easily right behind Ahmed for best defensive shortstop. But they were utility players that just didn't play enough.  Chris Owings was well below average defensively at shortstop, posting -12 defensive runs at the position. He was well above average at second base and surprisingly in centerfield. But this is a shortstop ranking. Below is the abbreviated table from the link above.