Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good? To see the full series, click here.
2025 Team Defensive Runs Saved Rank: 30th
Team Strengths:
For a team that ranked 30th in Runs Saved last season, they still have some pretty good defensive players.
Center fielder Brenton Doyle had 0 Runs Saved in 2025 after totaling 18 and 11 the previous two years. His Defensive Misplays & Errors jumped to 28 from 20 the previous season. We still think he’s pretty good and can point out that he closed the year with 8 Runs Saved in September to back that up.
Most Defensive Runs Saved – Center Fielders- Last 3 Seasons
| Player | Runs Saved |
| Daulton Varsho | 43 |
| Ceddanne Rafaela | 32 |
| Brenton Doyle | 29 |
Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar is another player who is better than last year’s numbers (-2 Runs Saved). He had 12 Runs Saved in 2023 and 10 in 2024. Before last year started I figured he’d win a Fielding Bible Award. I was wrong, but I’m willing to pick him again.
Third baseman Kyle Karros stepped in after Ryan McMahon got traded to the Yankees and showed he was pretty good too. After a stellar minor league run, he had 3 Runs Saved in 42 games. But to play he’s gonna need to hit better than a sub-.600 OPS
Team Weaknesses
For a team that ranked last in the majors in Runs Saved last season they have fewer than you might think. As the roster is currently constituted Mickey Moniak is the primary DH and for good reason. He had -12 Runs Saved in right field and -9 Runs Saved in center field and -2 in a small sample in left field.
Second base could still be a weakness this season. The team totaled -11 Runs Saved there last year. Edouard Julien is listed No. 1 on the FanGraphs depth chart. He has -12 Runs Saved in 190 career games at the position.
Other Things To Know
The Rockies are moving Jordan Beck from left field to right field after he put up 1 Run Saved in left field last season. Beck’s arm rated well in left field as he had 8 assists without the aid of a cutoff man. It will be interesting to see how he fares in right. Just being okay would be a huge improvement over the -21 Runs Saved last year.
Are the Rockies A Good Defensive Team?
They’re getting there. If Doyle and Tovar each put up 10 Runs Saved, that’s a 22-run improvement. It’s tough to be a good defensive team statistically when you play 81 games in Coors Field. If the Rockies could get close to average, which they’re capable of, they’ll be the most improved defensive team in MLB this season.
