If you’re someone who looks at the Defensive Runs Saved player leaderboards this early in the season, you should know that the numbers have not reached any sort of predictive level yet.
But if you look at the names of the early-season positional leaders, you might notice that the best defensive players of recent vintage are already the best defensive players in 2025, particularly in the infield and outfield.
There are five past Fielding Bible Award winners currently leading their positions in Defensive Runs Saved. And those that aren’t past winners seem worthy of their top spot early-on in 2025.
Here are the current positional leaders.
MLB Defensive Runs Saved Leaders
| Position | Name | Runs Saved |
| 1st Base | Matt Olson | 5 |
| 2nd Base | Andrés Giménez | 5 |
| 3rd Base | Matt Chapman | 5 |
| Shortstop | Taylor Walls | 7 |
| Left Field | Steven Kwan | 7 |
| Center Field | Ceddanne Rafaela | 6 |
| Center Field | Pete Crow-Armstrong | 6 |
| Center Field | Victor Scott II | 6 |
| Right Field | Fernando Tatis Jr. | 6 |
| Catcher | Carlos Narváez | 6 |
| Pitcher | Sean Burke | 4 |
Click the name to see an example of some good defense this season.
Matt Olson is a four-time Fielding Bible Award winner at first base. Winning another would give him five, matching Albert Pujols for most at the position.
Andrés Giménez has won the last two Fielding Bible Awards. The only second baseman to win three in a row is Kolten Wong (2018-2020).
Matt Chapman has won three Fielding Bible Awards. Have you seen some of the throws he’s made this year???
Taylor Walls doesn’t have any hardware, but he has the most Defensive Runs Saved of any shortstop since the start of the 2024 season, though he ranks 24th in innings played in that time.
Steven Kwan has won two Fielding Bible Awards. He currently leads all outfielders with 6 assists.
Ceddanne Rafaela, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Victor Scott II are the new kids on the block, so to speak. Crow-Armstrong and Scott each won minor league Gold Gloves. Rafaela twice won the Red Sox minor league defensive player of the year.
Fernando Tatis Jr. won a Fielding Bible Award two years ago when he was the runaway leader in Runs Saved among right fielders.
Carlos Narváez earned rave reviews from the Yankees for his defense prior to their trading him to the Red Sox this past offseason (Yes, the Yankees and Red Sox made a trade). We’ll see if he gets the playing time needed to stay atop the leaderboard with Connor Wong back from injury.
Sean Burke went from unknown to Opening Day White Sox starter pretty quickly. He hasn’t allowed a stolen base in 39 1/3 innings and leads the AL with 11 assists.
A reminder that you can find all the defensive leaderboards at FieldingBible.com and past leaders at our archive site.
