BY MARK SIMON

In addition to tracking Defensive Runs Saved for major league players, we calculate it for minor leaguers as well.

These numbers can be challenging to interpret because we use major league out probabilities as a basis for comparison. As such, because most minor leaguers are worse defenders than major leaguers, most minor league players end up with a negative Runs Saved.

The leaderboards thus tend to be topped by players with low innings totals who happen to have positive Runs Saved. This isn’t true in every case, but it’s true in many of them. So to present what I want to show here, some top minor league defenders to watch, I’ve looked for players with both quantity and quality, even if they’re not No. 1 in the stat for their position.

Here are a few:

Luis Lara, Brewers CF

Luis Lara was a quantity and quality defender. He ranked tied for second among minor league center fielders with 7 Runs Saved and played the second-most innings at the position, all with Double-A Biloxi.

At 5-foot-8, Lara fits the Brewers profile of small but stellar defensive outfielders (he’s the same listed height as Isaac Collins and Sal Frelick). He’s the team’s No. 12 prospect per MLB Pipeline and doesn’t turn 21 until November. He maximized his skills. His .369 OBP was 48 points higher than Southern League average. His 6 Outfield Arm Runs Saved ranked 5th among minor league center fielders.

James Tibbs III, Dodgers RF

James Tibbs has been traded twice this season, first from the Giants to the Red Sox in the Rafael Devers trade, then from the Red Sox to the Dodgers in the Dustin May deal. He’s well regarded and currently ranks as the Dodgers No. 8 prospect per MLB Pipeline.

Tibbs’ Pipeline scouting grades favor his arm (55 on the 20 to 80 scale) over his glove (a below-average 40 for fielding) and that is borne out in his Runs Saved numbers. He had -3 Range Runs Saved  and 6 Outfield Arm Runs Saved for the season in right field. The 6 Outfield Arm Runs Saved were tied for the most of any right fielder. Only 33% of baserunners took an extra base on him, the lowest rate against any right fielder.

Konnor Griffin, Pirates SS

Maximo Acosta, Marlins SS

Edwin Arroyo, Reds SS

Cristofer Torin, Diamondbacks SS

Very good defensive shortstops in the major leagues total 10 or more Runs Saved for the season. That’s a much harder number to reach in the minors, so we thought we’d call your attention to four prominent shortstops with at least 5 Runs Saved.

We previously recognized MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 prospect Konnor Griffin a few weeks ago and had him as a guest on our baseball podcast. He finished the year with 8 Runs Saved, tied for second-most among minor league shortstops. We wouldn’t be shocked if he’s in the major leagues next year.

The player Griffin tied with, Maximo Acosta, was thought of highly enough by the Marlins to earn a call-up to the major leagues. Miami has used him as a utility infielder, as he’s made at least four starts at third base, second base, and shortstop. At the time of his call-up he was the Marlins’ No. 23 prospect.

Edwin Arroyo was a run behind Griffin and Acosta. He’s the Reds’ No. 8 prospect per MLB Pipeline, which gave him 60 grades for his fielding and his arm. Arroyo was part of the package that the Reds received from the Mariners for pitcher Luis Castillo. He had a standout season for Double-A Chattanooga.

Twenty-year-old Cristofer Torin is the Diamondbacks’ No. 19 prospect who spent most of the year at High-A Hillsboro. His .766 OPS was 41 points higher than league average and his glove fared well too. Much of his value was derived from plays on balls hit to his right, allowing him to show off an above-average arm.

Ahbram Liendo, Red Sox 3B

Ahbram Liendo’s 6 Runs Saved were the most of the 30 minor league third basemen who played the most innings at the position last year. The 21-year-old Liendo spent the entire season with Double-A Portland, where he had only a .630 OPS but stole 42 bases.

Though he’s not listed among MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Red Sox prospects, he won the team’s Defensive Player of the Year honors. Here’s one late-season example of his skill.

And check out our latest baseball podcast episode, featuring Ben Clemens and I talking about the 2025 MLB season’s biggest surprises. Click here to listen.