Category: Defense

World Series Defensive Scouting Report: Toronto Blue Jays

Photo: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire

The Blue Jays finished second in the voting for our Defensive Team of the Year award, which was part of The Fielding Bible Awards. And that was for good reason. The Blue Jays have an abundance of strengths on their roster and very few weaknesses.

Here’s our scouting report on their defense heading into the World Series.

Strengths

Daulton Varsho

The Blue Jays have a center fielder who would run through walls to catch balls if he could. Varsho was the 2024 Fielding Bible Defensive Player of the Year and put up great Runs Saved numbers in limited action in 2025. He’s the MLB leader in Runs Saved since the start of both 2022 and 2023 (and 1 run shy of being the leader since the start of 2024).

Their other outfielders

We previously said that Myles Straw was worthy of being named ‘Reliever of the Year’ as a late-game defensive replacement. He’s played in nine games this postseason, played a full game once and closed seven others. Straw tied for second in Runs Saved in center field despite playing barely more than 500 innings. You’ll likely see him finish games in left field. He’s very aggressive at going after fly balls.

There’s also Nathan Lukes, who played both corner outfield spots in each of the last five games of the ALCS. He had 7 Runs Saved in 446 innings in right field and 4 Runs Saved in 249 innings in left field. Between the three outfield spots he had 26 Good Fielding Plays (including 9 assists without the aid of a cutoff man, tied for fifth-most in the majors).

Of the 20 outfielders with at least 18 Good Fielding Plays, Lukes had by far the fewest Misplays and Errors (5). The next-closest was 11.

Ernie Clement

Clement won a Fielding Bible Award for multi-position play this season after becoming the second player to record at least 10 Runs Saved at two different infield positions (second baseman/third baseman Ryan McMahon is the other).

Clement can play shortstop or fill in at first base (admittedly unlikely) as well and he does it all with one glove, a Mizuno that’s at least a decade old and looks it, that he purchased on EBay (we talked to him about it, but a hat-tip to ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian for finding that out).

Alejandro Kirk and Tyler Heineman

Blue Jays catchers had 19 Runs Saved this season, more than any other team. Kirk ranked second in our pitch framing metric and tied for the top spot among catchers in Runs Saved from Good Fielding Plays, which largely consists of blocking pitches. Should anything happen to him,

Heineman is more than capable of filling in defensively. He ranked tied for fourth among catchers with 10 Runs Saved despite ranking 47th in innings caught. He’s better at throwing out basestealers than Kirk, who’s a smidge below average at that.

Andrés Giménez

Giménez is MLB’s leader in Defensive Runs Saved among second basemen the last four seasons. He’s one of the most fun to watch defensive players in the sport and seamlessly slid over to shortstop (which he’d played in the past) when Bo Bichette got hurt. Wherever he’s going to play in the World Series, he’s capable of making a nifty, wow-inducing play. Giménez told us in a past interview that he loves to dance. It’s evident from how he plays in the field.

Vladimir Guerrero

Guerrero had the best defensive season of his career, finishing with 8 Runs Saved after back-to-back seasons of -7 and -1. He’s going to make his share of errors but he’s been particularly good rangewise in 2025.

Weaknesses

The Bo Bichette Quandary

With Bichette injured earlier this postseason and Springer at DH the Blue Jays were able to start their best possible defensive lineup. But as Bichette returns, the Blue Jays have a dilemma. Do they want to mess with a good thing and weaken their defense?

Bichette’s value as a hitter far outweighs his defensive shortcomings (-12 Runs Saved) so long as he’s healthy. But Toronto seems to be giving consideration to playing Bichette at second base, which would keep Gimenez on the field but take another good defender, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, out. Bichette’s pro history at that position is 30 games, the last one in 2019

Wherever Bichette plays, there will be questions, and it will be the most worrisome defensive thing for Toronto in this series.

Addison Barger’s range

Barger is best suited for third base, but that spot is currently occupied. So he’s playing right field in the postseason, where he totaled -11 Runs Saved related to range in only 57 games during the regular season. That’s why he came out of the game late in games for defense in each of Toronto’s four ALCS wins.

On the positive side the top 10% of his throws averaged 96.5 MPH, the third-fastest average in MLB, and he had 6 assists without a cutoff man. His 5 Outfield Arm Runs Saved matched the most of any right fielder.

George Springer

This one comes with a “don’t worry about it.” Springer hasn’t played the field in a month as he’s been almost exclusively a DH in that time. It’s probably for the best. He totaled -6 Runs Saved in right field this season.

Defensive Positioning

The Blue Jays actually ranked last in the amount of value (Runs Saved) they got from defensive positioning. They rated poorly both in their infield positioning when playing straight-up and in their outfield positioning. The Blue Jays have such good athletes that they make up for how they set up. The Blue Jays may have been last in Runs Saved from positioning but they were first in Runs Saved from the skills of their players.

Also of note, only 43% of balls hit against the Blue Jays were hit against a defensive shift, the second-lowest rate in MLB (we consider it a shift when the second baseman or shortstop is playing unusually close to second base and at least one other fielder is significantly deviating from straight-up positioning).

Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt limiting steals

The Dodgers have attempted only 2 stolen bases this postseason, so this may not be a big deal, but baserunners stole 17 times in 20 attempts against Gausman in the regular season and they were 14-for-17 against Bassitt.

October 24, 2025

The 2025 Fielding Bible Awards Winners

Contact: Mark Simon

Fielding Bible website: https://www.fieldingbible.com/awards

SIS is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 Fielding Bible Awards. This marks the 20th season that we have honored the best defensive players in MLB.

The awards are voted on by a panel of experts who consider statistical analysis, the eye test, and any other factors that they wish to utilize.

We are also announcing the winner of our third annual Defensive Player of the Year award and our first Defensive Team of the Year award.

This year’s winners are:

Position	Name	Team
Player of the Year	Patrick Bailey	Giants
1B	Matt Olson	Braves
2B	Nico Hoerner	Cubs
3B	Ke’Bryan Hayes	Reds
SS	Mookie Betts	Dodgers
LF	Steven Kwan	Guardians
CF	Ceddanne Rafaela	Red Sox
RF	Fernando Tatis Jr.	Padres
C	Patrick Bailey	Giants
P	Max Fried	Yankees
Multi-Position	Ernie Clement	Blue Jays
Team of the Year	Chicago Cubs

This year’s group of winners includes seven players who previously won a Fielding Bible Award and three first-time winners. They come from 10 different teams. Three won by unanimous vote (Matt Olson, Nico Hoerner, Steven Kwan).

There were some common threads among the winners. Each of the four infielders led their respective position in Plays Saved (our version of Outs Above Average) on balls hit to their right. In other words, they did well fielding balls when moving away from first base.

And each of the three outfielders were highlight-reel players. They each led their respective position in Good Fielding Plays, a stat that combines Web Gem-caliber plays with effort plays, such as cutting a ball off in the gap or in the hole to prevent a runner from taking an extra base.

Below are the details about the winners.

Defensive Player of the Year – Patrick Bailey, San Francisco Giants

Patrick Bailey is the third winner of The Fielding Bible Defensive Player of the Year Award joining Ke’Bryan Hayes in 2023 and Daulton Varsho in 2024. He’s the first catcher to win the Award.

Bailey led all catchers with 19 Defensive Runs Saved. Since 2023 Bailey leads all catchers in Runs Saved and trails only Varsho for the most overall in that time. Bailey’s 40 Strike Zone Runs Saved are more than any catcher has total Runs Saved.

“Patrick Bailey has many ways of controlling a game as a catcher,” said SIS editorial operations lead Mark Simon. “He is a leader on the field with the way he supports his pitching staff defensively through pitch framing, stolen base prevention, and pitch blocking. He is a deserving honoree as Defensive Player of the Year.”

Defensive Team of the Year – Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are our inaugural Defensive Team of the Year winner. They ranked second in the majors and led all NL teams in Defensive Runs Saved.

The Cubs were the only team to have a positive Runs Saved total from eight of the nine defensive positions (all but right field).

They had the MLB leader in Runs Saved at second base (Nico Hoerner, who won the Fielding Bible Award) and the runner-up in center field (Pete Crow-Armstrong). They also had the No. 3 left fielder (Ian Happ), and the No. 3 pitcher (Matthew Boyd), as well as the No. 4 third baseman (Matt Shaw).

“Cubs management built a team that prides itself in defensive excellence and that showed up all over the field,” Simon said. “They were especially strong up the middle and at some of the game’s most important positions. Their best defensive players stayed healthy all season. They are a great choice as our inaugural Defensive Team of the Year winner.”

First Base – Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves

Matt Olson won his fifth Fielding Bible Award, matching Albert Pujols for the most by any first baseman since the Award was introduced in 2006. Olson previously won in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2024.

Olson led all first basemen with a career-high 17 Defensive Runs Saved in 2025. That matched the most Runs Saved by a first baseman in the last 15 seasons (Mark Teixeira had 17 in 2012, Christian Walker had 17 in 2022).

Olson, as is his custom, had excellent Range Runs Saved. He also added 4 Runs to his total through double plays, bunt defense, and Good Fielding Plays (including scoops). He easily led all first basemen with 145 assists, 40 more than his previous single-season high.

Olson is also an iron man. He has played in 162 games in each of the last four seasons and is the active leader with 782 consecutive games played.

Olson is the only Braves player to win the Award at first base.

Second Base – Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs

Nico Hoerner won his first Fielding Bible Award. He led all second basemen with a career high 17 Defensive Runs Saved in 2025. Only two other players had at least 10 Runs Saved at the position.

Hoerner was an MLB-best 15 Plays Saved better than the average second baseman on balls hit to his right, meaning he took away a lot of potential hits on balls hit up the middle. He is the lone winner from the Defensive Team of the Year, the Cubs.

Hoerner joined Darwin Barney (2012) as the only Cubs second basemen to win the Award. This is the second straight year that a Cubs middle infielder won the Award. Dansby Swanson won at shortstop in 2024.

Third Base – Ke’Bryan Hayes, Cincinnati Reds

Ke’Bryan Hayes won his third Fielding Bible Award. He previously won in 2021 and 2023.

Hayes led third basemen with 19 Defensive Runs Saved in 2025. The next-closest third baseman was Maikel Garcia with 13. Hayes has 95 Runs Saved since the start of the 2020 season. That’s 32 more than the next-closest third baseman, Ryan McMahon. Hayes has led third basemen in Runs Saved four times in the last five seasons and finished second the one year he didn’t lead.

The most impressive things about Hayes’ season were that he was once again great on balls hit to his right (MLB-best 12 Plays Saved) and he cut back on his Defensive Misplays and Errors. He had 18 in 2024, then had 16 in 2025 in 453 more innings.

Hayes joins Brandon Phillips as the only Reds to win a Fielding Bible Award. Phillips won at second base in 2008.

Shortstop – Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers

Mookie Betts won his seventh Fielding Bible Award. That snaps a tie with Yadier Molina and Andrelton Simmons for the most Award wins since the Awards were first introduced in 2006. Betts previously won as a right fielder in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2022, and won the multi-position Award in 2023.

Betts tied Taylor Walls for the lead in Defensive Runs Saved by a shortstop in 2025 with 17. Betts had played only 81 MLB games at shortstop prior to 2025 but handled the position very well. He turned 12 more plays than expected on balls hit to his right, best of any shortstop. He had 16 Defensive Misplays and Errors in 2025, three fewer than he made in 2024 in more than twice as many innings.

Betts is the first Dodgers shortstop to win the Award. The only other Dodgers infielder to win a Fielding Bible Award is first baseman Adrián González in 2014.

Left Field – Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians

Steven Kwan won his third Fielding Bible Award in four years. He previously won in 2022 and 2023. His 22 Defensive Runs Saved in 2025 were 10 more than the next-closest left fielder and matched Ernie Clement for the most by any player.

What differentiated Kwan in 2025 was the value of his throwing arm. He had an MLB-best and career-high 7 Outfield Arm Runs Saved and 10 assists without a cutoff man. He showed great skill in playing balls off outfield fences and preventing baserunner advancement. Kwan’s 29 Good Fielding Plays were the most of any left fielder.

Guardians players have won seven Fielding Bible Awards in the last four years. That’s the most of any team in that time.

Center Field – Ceddanne Rafaela, Boston Red Sox

Ceddanne Rafaela won his first Fielding Bible Award. He led all center fielders in 2025 with 20 Defensive Runs Saved.

Rafaela’s 27 Good Fielding Plays were the most of any center fielder. Rafaela had the second-most Range Runs Saved of any center fielder and tied for the most Outfield Arm Runs Saved at the position. Rafaela was also versatile. He played 24 games at second base and had 1 Run Saved.

Rafaela is the first Red Sox center fielder to win a Fielding Bible Award. Mookie Betts and Wilyer Abreu are the two Red Sox outfielders who previously won, both in right field, with Abreu most recently in 2024.

Right Field – Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres

Fernando Tatis won his second Fielding Bible Award. He also won it for right field in 2023.

Tatis finished tied for second among right fielders with 15 Defensive Runs Saved in 2025, just behind the leader Adolis Garcia, who had 16. Tatis led all players with 3 home run robbing catches. His 28 Good Fielding Plays were the most of any right fielder.

Tatis is the only Padres player to ever win a Fielding Bible Award.

Catcher – Patrick Bailey, San Francisco Giants

Patrick Bailey won his second consecutive Fielding Bible Award. Bailey and Matt Olson are the two returning winners from last year’s Awards.

Bailey has been MLB’s premier pitch framer since coming up to the Giants in 2023. He has led or co-led the majors in Strike Zone Runs Saved in each of the last three seasons (the stat measures how well a catcher does at getting more called strikes than expected). He also rated above average in both pitch blocking and in Stolen Base Runs Saved and led all catchers in Defensive Runs Saved with 19 in 2025.

Bailey joins Buster Posey as Giants catchers with multiple Fielding Bible Awards. Posey, now the team’s president of baseball operations, won it in 2015 and 2016.

Pitcher – Max Fried, New York Yankees

Max Fried won his second Fielding Bible Award. He previously won it in 2020.

Fried led all pitchers in 2025 with 10 Defensive Runs Saved, the most by a pitcher since Dallas Keuchel had 12 in 2021. Fried had 4 Runs Saved from turning batted balls into outs and also had 4 Runs Saved from controlling the running game. The latter stemmed from his 7 combined pickoffs and pitcher caught stealings, second-most in MLB. Fried led all pitchers with 39 assists.

Fried is the first Yankees pitcher to win a Fielding Bible Award. The last Yankees player to win an Award was catcher Jose Trevino in 2022.

Multi-Position – Ernie Clement, Toronto Blue Jays

Ernie Clement won his first Fielding Bible Award.

Clement tied for the MLB lead among all players with 22 Defensive Runs Saved in 2025. He is the second player to record at least 10 Runs Saved at two infield positions in the same season. The other is Ryan McMahon for the 2021 Rockies. Clement had 11 Runs Saved at third base (good for fourth-most) and 10 Runs Saved at second base (third-most). He also had 1 Run Saved at first base and played 29 games at shortstop with 0 Runs Saved.

Clement is the second straight Blue Jays winner of the multi-position award. Daulton Varsho won it last year. The only other Blue Jays infielder to win a Fielding Bible Award is Aaron Hill, who won at second base in 2007 and 2009.

Voters

Our voting panel consisted of SIS co-founder John Dewan, along with Daniel Álvarez-Montes (El Extra Base, editor/writer), Ben Clemens (FanGraphs, writer), Chris Dial (sabermetrician), Alyson Footer (MLB.com, editor), Tyler Kepner (The Athletic, writer), Bill Ladson (MLB.com, writer), Eduardo Pérez (ESPN, broadcaster), Hal Richman (Strat-O-Matic, founder), Eno Sarris (The Athletic, writer), Travis Sawchik (The Score, writer), Bobby Scales (Detroit Tigers, radio broadcaster), Joe Sheehan (Joe Sheehan’s Baseball Newsletter, writer), Mark Simon (SIS, writer), Danielle Wexelman (MLB Network Radio, broadcaster), and an aggregate vote from the SIS Baseball Operations staff.

About SIS

Sports Info Solutions was founded in 2002 and partners with Major Leagues, their teams, media companies, odds providers, and fans, to help them win. The company is well-known for its work in baseball and is the inventor of one of baseball’s most popular defensive metrics, Defensive Runs Saved.

October 23, 2025

2025 Defensive Team of the Year: Chicago Cubs

Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

“The Cubs have a lot of defensive strengths, arguably as many as any team in MLB.”

That’s what I wrote in March in our season previews of all 30 teams and I could write the same thing today. Except I’d get rid of “arguably.”

The Cubs are SIS’ inaugural Defensive Team of the Year, which was voted on as part of this year’s Fielding Bible Awards.

The Cubs were the only team to have a positive Defensive Runs Saved at eight of the nine positions in the field (the exception was right field where injuries had Kyle Tucker not up to his usual standards). They had a Fielding Bible Award winner (second baseman Nico Hoerner), a runner-up (center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong), two third-place finishers (left fielder Ian Happ and pitcher Matthew Boyd), and a fourth-place finisher (third baseman Matt Shaw). The team finished second in Defensive Runs Saved overall and also had the second-most Runs Saved from the skill of their players (factoring out defensive positioning).

As Nico Hoerner pointed out in our interview with him, the Cubs defense gets it done in a lot of different ways.

Hoerner, coming off offseason elbow surgery, was undaunted by it. He specialized in making plays on balls hit up the middle. He had more plays saved going to his right than any other infielder in MLB.

Crow-Armstrong had a long list of highlight-reel catches and was at his best the deeper balls were hit.

Happ, a three-time Gold Glove winner, had the second-lowest baserunner advance rate of any left fielder last season.

Boyd easily led the majors with 11 pickoffs.

Shaw didn’t disappoint as a rookie and was a solid all-around fielder.

The Cubs players acknowledge that the success came from feeding off each other.

“There were times where I felt like our defense was really suffocating,” Happ said a few days ago. “Our pitchers would pitch to contact, nothing would fall and it put pressure on the other team. It felt like every time we had a chance to make a play, we were doing it.”

Said Hoerner in our interview with him on The SIS Baseball Podcast: “There’s something about being around guys who were doing it at a really high level that holds a group to a high standard. It was a point of pride.”

A point of pride with a trophy to back it up. Congratulations to the Cubs, the 2025 Defensive Team of the Year.

October 23, 2025
Q&A: Defensive Player of the Year- Patrick Bailey

Photo: Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire

We’ve been on top of Patrick Bailey’s defensive excellence since first writing about him just five weeks into his MLB career. He’d saved 7 Runs in his first 26 games in the majors, which seemed notable. It was foreshadowing what was to come.

Bailey, the 2025 Fielding Bible Defensive Player of the Year, led all catchers with 19 Defensive Runs Saved this season. Since 2023 he leads all catchers and ranks second among players in Runs Saved.

Bailey’s specialty is pitch framing. He has more Runs Saved from pitch framing since 2023 than any other catcher has total Runs Saved. He steals strikes at the top and bottom edges of the zone, and on his glove side well better than the MLB average. He doesn’t necessarily dominate when it comes to stopping stolen bases and blocking pitches, but he’s better than average at both.

Giants GM Zach Minasian threw in one other thing about Bailey that’s a little harder to quantify: “A knack for managing pitchers and calling tough games with conviction.”

We caught up with Bailey this week. Here’s what he had to say about his 2025 season.

Mark: Hey Patrick. Congratulations.

Patrick: Thank you

Mark: So this is your second Fielding Bible Award, your first Player of the Year award from us. What was this season like for you overall from a defensive perspective?

Patrick: It was good. Obviously winning the award in 2024 was, was awesome and a cool opportunity. But, one thing that my catching coach Alex Burg and I wanted to work on was how do I continue to develop and get better. It was cool to be able to do that this year as well.

Mark: We last spoke to you in June 2023. We were quite impressed with how you were catching right from the get-go. What’s changed for you since then?

Patrick: Receiving-wise, not a ton. You’re just trying to present each pitch as well as you can and give an umpire the best look.

Blocking’s probably been the biggest change for me back to ’23. Getting out to a (one-knee down) kickstance has helped me with the blocking.

Mark: Where do you feel you are defensively at this point? How much better can you get?

Patrick: I don’t know, but the goal is to find little ways to continue to develop. And obviously a big part of my responsibility is working with pitchers and getting the best out of them. Game calling keeps advancing. There’s a ton of little things that catchers have the opportunity to get better at.

Mark: Game calling is continuing to advance. How so?

Patrick: Just with the amount of information we get as teams, with the advance scouting reports just finding the best ways for your pitchers to have success.

And just balancing pitcher strengths and hitter strengths.

Mark: It seemed like Logan Webb bought into you right away. You had a start with him, I think it was your first or second start as a catcher that went particularly well for him.

What is it like to try to catch him?

Patrick: Yeah. It’s awesome. He’s been one of the best pitchers in baseball. It’s been really cool to see him just continuing to grow and get better as well over the years with his progression adding the cutter and more four-seams.It’s a lot of fun to game plan. As much as his ball moves, it’s a challenge, but it’s fun to be back there and catch him.

Mark: What was it like to catch Justin Verlander?

Patrick: It was incredible, man. He’s a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. Seeing how detail oriented he is with scouting, I think it really opened my eyes and it something that will help me continue to grow. The attention to detail he has is pretty incredible.

Not pitching to his standards early on, but just continuing to get better and just how well that he finished, it was incredible to see the journey. He was an awesome teammate through all of that as well.

Mark: What about Robbie Ray?

Patrick: Robbie’s awesome. He’s the simplest of the pitchers I’ve caught, just like here’s my best stuff, good luck trying to hit it, and if you do, you’re not going to get me next time.

Mark: Who are the people that have most influenced you in terms of your success as a catcher?

Patrick: My catching coach now, Alex Burg has been a huge help. Craig Albernaz was working with catchers when I was drafted by the Giants in 2020. He changed pretty much everything I did as soon as I got drafted. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. And then (former major leaguer) Scott Bankhead was the guy who owned the North Carolina Baseball Academy where I trained. He let me catch a ton of his pitching lessons when I was 12, 13, 14 years old. I got a pretty early understanding of what coaching looks like, what pitching looks like, and learning the game from that perspective.

Mark: What would you tell a kid who wanted to catch like you, a kid who was going to that facility now?

Patrick: Oh goodness. Just all this stuff you hear. Keep working hard. Put in the work and effort. Never feel like you know it all. I continue to learn and try to get better at as well. Catch as much as you can.

I feel like that’s something like as a young person that I was fortunate to be able to do is just catch a lot and catch a lot of older guys that were throwing pretty hard. I feel like that helped my comfort level pretty quickly.

Mark: One hitting question: You had an inside the park walk-off home run that pinged off the high brick wall in Oracle Park, and took essentially the perfect carom for you to get a home runs. What do you remember about that moment?

Patrick I remember being tired. No doubt about that man. That was awesome. That was a miracle. To have that as something to remember in my career is pretty special.

Mark: Yep. An indefensible batted ball hit by the guy who is the best in defense in 2025. Patrick Bailey, congratulations again and best of luck.

Patrick: Thank you.

October 23, 2025
Stat of the Week: Fielding Bible Awards Preview Part II

Photo: Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire

This year marks the 20th annual Fielding Bible Awards, which SIS created in 2006 to honor the best defensive players in baseball. It was meant to go beyond recognizing the top player in each league and from our view, it has accomplished that. Defensive performance has gotten better recognition with the growth of both our and other statistics that allow us to go well beyond what information previously existed.

This is the second of two preview articles covering this year’s Fielding Bible Awards. The first covered catchers and infielders. This one covers outfielders, pitchers, and multi-position players, as well as Defensive Team of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. This will be the first year we announce a Team of the Year.

The Fielding Bible Awards are voted on by a panel of experts who can vote based on whatever criteria they choose, including observation and subjective judgement as well as statistical analysis. Each position has one overall winner, different from the Gold Gloves which has one in each league.

The Fielding Bible Awards will be announced on Thursday October 23 from 2 to 3 pm ET on Bluesky.

(Defensive Runs Saved totals in parentheses)

Left Field

Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Steven Kwan (22)

NL Gold Glove Favorite: Ian Happ (9)

AL Gold Glove Favorite: Kwan

Other Fielding Bible Contenders: Wyatt Langford (12), Jarren Duran (11), Tyler Soderstrom (10)

Steven Kwan is likely to win for the third time in four years after racking up well more Runs Saved than any other left fielder. He had a great season not just turning fly balls and line drives into outs, but also shutting down opponents when they tried to advance. He led all outfielders in Outfield Arm Runs Saved.

Ian Happ did likewise in terms of minimizing baserunner advancement and may win his fourth straight Gold Glove Award.

Center Field

Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Ceddanne Rafaela (20)

NL Gold Glove Favorite: Pete Crow-Armstrong (15)

AL Gold Glove Favorite: Rafaela

Other Fielding Bible Contenders: Myles Straw (15), Jacob Young (13), Victor Scott II (12)

For a good part of the season Ceddanne Rafaela and Pete Crow-Armstrong were neck-and-neck in Runs Saved. But in the latter part of the year, Rafaela held steady and Crow-Armstrong’s pace slowed down. Both are highly impressive at chasing down fly balls and we’d be surprised if someone else won a Gold Glove Award at the position.

Right Field

Fielding Bible Award Favorites: Adolis García (16), Fernando Tatis Jr. (15), Wilyer Abreu (15)

NL Gold Glove Favorite: Tatis Jr.

AL Gold Glove Favorite: García, Abreu

Other Fielding Bible Contenders: Cam Smith (12), Sal Frelick (9)

You could make a good case that any of Adolis García, Fernando Tatis Jr., or Wilyer Abreu is Fielding Bible Award-worthy. García engineered a nifty turnaround after a rough 2024. Tatis Jr. looked like something closer to his 2023 self when he won the Platinum Glove. He led MLB in home run robberies in 2025. Abreu was pretty much just as good as when he won the Fielding Bible Award last season.

Pitcher

Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Max Fried (10)

NL Gold Glove Favorite: Logan Webb (7)

AL Gold Glove Favorite: Fried

Other Fielding Bible Contenders: Luis Severino (6), Matthew Boyd (6), David Peterson (6), Spencer Schwellenbach (6)

Max Fried became the first pitcher to total at least 10 Runs Saved since Dallas Keuchel in 2021. He’s in position to win his second Fielding Bible Award after having earned the honor in 2020.

Logan Webb has fielded his position well throughout his career and took a big step in lowering his stolen bases allowed to 9, his fewest in any of the five seasons in which he’s pitched 140 innings. There is tough opposition in lefties who stop the running game in Matthew Boyd and David Peterson. Had Spencer Schwellenbach stayed healthy, we suspect he’d have been right there with Fried. The shortstop-turned-pitcher is that good.

Multi-Position

Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Ernie Clement (22)

NL Utility Gold Glove Favorite: Jared Triolo (9), Miguel Rojas (7)

AL Utility Gold Glove Favorite: Clement, Mauricio Dubon (14)

Other Fielding Bible Contenders: Myles Straw (18), Jose Caballero (10), Nathan Lukes (10)

Our Multi-Position Award is a tricky one to assess because it pits different types of players against each other. There are some players who played a combination of infield positions, some who played all three outfield positions, and some who played a mix of both infield and outfield.

We listed Ernie Clement as the favorite because he was a standout at two different spots (second base and third base) and was capable at both. Mauricio Dubon feels most likely to be his top competition, as he played every position except pitcher and catcher and totaled 14 Runs Saved.

NL Gold Glove could have a repeat winner in Jared Triolo, though veteran Miguel Rojas —a former full-time shortstop— has made himself into a very good all-around infielder.

The candidate pool for this award was tilted a bit. There were seven American League players on the ballot with at least 10 Runs Saved. Triolo’s 9 Runs Saved were the most for any NL player.

Team of the Year

Fielding Bible Award Favorites: Texas Rangers (89), Chicago Cubs (84)

NL Team Gold Glove Favorite: Cubs

AL Team Gold Glove Favorites: Rangers

Other Fielding Bible contenders: Dodgers (67), Blue Jays (51)

The Rangers and Cubs separated themselves from the other teams defensively in 2025. The Rangers led the majors in Defensive Runs Saved. They were led by right fielder Adolis García, who led the position in Runs Saved, shortstop Corey Seager, and outfielder Wyatt Langford. The Cubs got positive Runs Saved at eight of the nine positions and have very strong Gold Glove candidates in second baseman Nico Hoerner, center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, and left fielder Ian Happ.

The Dodgers are an odd case because though they had strong infield defense up the middle, the primary reason why they finished third in Runs Saved was because of their defensive positioning numbers.

The Blue Jays are the one other team with a decent chance to win one of these awards. The Blue Jays had the most Runs Saved from the skill of their players (as opposed to defensive positioning). They had the co-leader in Runs Saved, Ernie Clement, and led the majors in Runs Saved at catcher second base and center field despite not having the individual leader at those positions. The only thing holding them back were their struggles at shortstop and right field.

Player of the Year

Player of the Year Favorites: Steven Kwan (22), Ernie Clement (22), Ceddanne Rafaela (21), Patrick Bailey (19), Ke’Bryan Hayes (19)

NL Platinum Glove Favorites: Bailey, Hayes

AL Platinum Glove Favorites: Kwan, Clement, Rafaela

Player of the Year is definitely a wide-open race.

Steven Kwan, Ceddanne Rafaela, Patrick Bailey, and Ke’Bryan Hayes all led their respective positions in Runs Saved by at least 5 runs. Clement managed an impressive accomplishment of totaling at least 10 Runs Saved at two positions and tied Rafaela for the MLB lead in Defensive Wins Above Replacement (a stat devised by Baseball-Reference that uses Runs Saved in its calculation).

October 22, 2025
Stat of the Week: Fielding Bible Awards Preview Part I

This year marks the 20th annual Fielding Bible Awards, which SIS created in 2006 to honor the best defensive players in baseball. The Awards meant to go beyond recognizing the top player in each league and, in our view, it has accomplished that. The growth of both Defensive Runs Saved and other statistics have allowed us, teams, and fans to go well beyond the information previously available in evaluating a player’s skills.

Our next two Stat of the Weeks will focus on the top candidates for The 2025 Fielding Bible Awards, which will be announced later this month.

The Fielding Bible Awards is voted on by a panel of experts who can vote based on whatever criteria they choose, including observation and subjective judgement, as well as statistical analysis. Each position has one overall winner, different from the Gold Gloves which has one in each league.

This week, Part I of our preview looks at catchers and infielders from the perspective of the top Fielding Bible Awards and Gold Glove favorites and contenders.

(Defensive Runs Saved totals in parentheses)

Catcher

Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Patrick Bailey (19)

NL Gold Glove Favorite: Bailey

AL Gold Glove Favorites: Carlos Narváez (10), Adley Rutschman (10), Alejandro Kirk (9)

Other Fielding Bible Award Contenders: Freddy Fermin (13), Luis Torrens (11), Sean Murphy (10), Pedro Pages (9)

Patrick Bailey solidified his handle on the title of best defensive catcher in baseball this season as he led all catchers in Runs Saved for the second straight season. Bailey’s defensive excellence stems from pitch framing. He easily led catchers in our strike-getting stat, Strike Zone Runs Saved.

Bailey and Red Sox catcher Carlos Narváez were the top two catchers in Runs Saved for much of the season. Narvaez is a favorite for the AL Gold Glove, as he led catchers in Stolen Base Runs Saved. Not bad for a guy picked up in a little-noticed trade from the Yankees last December. Alejandro Kirk is a credible candidate too. He ranks second among catchers in Runs Saved over the last three seasons.

First Baseman

Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Matt Olson (17)

NL Gold Glove Favorite: Olson

AL Gold Glove Favorites: Carlos Santana (11 w/ Guardians, 12 overall), Ty France (9)

Other Fielding Bible Award Contenders: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (8), Spencer Steer (8), Jonathan Aranda (7)

Matt Olson is highly likely to snag his fifth Fielding Bible Award, which would match Albert Pujols for most by a first baseman. Olson easily led the position in Runs Saved, posting a career high total while playing in 162 games for the fourth straight season. He showed great range as usual, particularly on balls hit to his right. His 145 assists easily led the position.

In the American League, Carlos Santana won his first Gold Glove as a 38-year-old last year. He has a reasonable shot at winning this year too.

By the way: Of the 15 first basemen who played the most innings this season, 10 had a negative Runs Saved. It was tough to play that position a lot and be good defensively this season .

Second Baseman

Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Nico Hoerner (17)

NL Gold Glove Favorite: Hoerner

AL Gold Glove Favorites: Andrés Giménez (9), Luis Rengifo (5), Marcus Semien (5)

Other Fielding Bible Award Contenders: Xavier Edwards (12), Brice Turang (7)

Nico Hoerner had by far his best defensive season as a second baseman per his 17 Runs Saved. He won a Gold Glove two years ago and he has a good chance to graduate to a Fielding Bible Award in 2025. Xavier Edwards of the Marlins was the only other eligible second baseman in double digits in Runs Saved (Ernie Clement also had 10, but his Fielding Bible eligibility is third base).

Though Andrés Giménez was injured and also spent some time at shortstop, he posted the most Runs Saved of any eligible AL second baseman and we wouldn’t be surprised if he wins his fourth straight Gold Glove.

Shortstop

Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Mookie Betts (17), Taylor Walls (17), Corey Seager (16)

NL Gold Glove Favorite: Betts

AL Gold Glove Favorites: Walls, Seager

Other Fielding Bible Award Contenders: Zach Neto (13), Nick Allen (12), Dansby Swanson (7), Otto Lopez (7), Bobby Witt Jr. (3)

Mookie Betts won 5 Fielding Bible Awards as a right fielder and another for Multi-Position excellence. One more Award would give him 7, the most of any player in what will be the 20-year history of the Awards. Betts and Taylor Walls tied for the Runs Saved lead at the position. Betts did it over 148 games. Walls’ season was shortened by injury in August. Corey Seager also has a chance at the Award. He had by far the best Runs Saved total of his career in 2025.

There’s good competition for the Gold Glove in both leagues, particularly from Zach Neto of the Angels and Nick Allen of the Braves. Bobby Witt Jr. could also swoop in and take the AL honor. He rated more highly in other defensive metrics than he did in Runs Saved.

Third Baseman

Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Ke’Bryan Hayes (19)

NL Gold Glove Favorite: Hayes

AL Gold Glove Favorites: Maikel Garcia (13), Ernie Clement (11)

Other Fielding Bible Award Contenders: Matt Shaw (12), Ryan McMahon (10), Nolan Arenado (6), Matt Chapman (5)

Ke’Bryan Hayes, who led the position in Defensive Runs Saved, is highly likely to win his 3rd Fielding Bible Award, his 2nd in the last three years. He was again great fielding balls hit down the third base line. He made only one throw all season that required a Good Fielding Play from his first baseman.

Hayes, who has always been good at minimizing mistakes, had 16 Defensive Misplays & Errors this season. That’s actually two fewer than he had in 2024 when he played in 56 fewer games.

Maikel Garcia and Ernie Clement make for a tough call for the AL Gold Glove at third base. Clement’s potential path to a Fielding Bible Award also comes via our Multi-Position Award, which we’ll detail next week. Garcia came on strong at the end of the season, sharing Defensive Player of the Month honors in August. He had a 10-run jump in Runs Saved from 2024 to 2025.

Next week we’ll look at outfielders, pitchers, and the multi-position award.

October 22, 2025
Fielding Bible Awards History: Jeff Mathis Won by Doing a Lot in Limited Time

On Thursday, we’ll announce the winners of The 2025 Fielding Bible Awards for defensive excellence. This will be the 20th annual announcement recognizing the best defensive players in baseball at each position, as well as the best team.

I thought it would be interesting to talk to two players who won Fielding Bible Awards for whom the Award might mean a little bit more: Brendan Ryan, who won as a shortstop for the Mariners in 2012, and Jeff Mathis, who won as a catcher for the Diamondbacks in 2018. Each won a Fielding Bible Award but did not win the more well-known Gold Glove Award.

Jeff Mathis winning The Fielding Bible Award in 2018 required a combination of things to happen unlike anything since we began giving the awards in 2006. One was that even though he caught only 63 games, he was great. Even with so few games caught, he was considerably better than everyone else in Defensive Runs Saved.

The other was that there was no clearcut other option. There were a bunch of good defensive catchers, but no one else separated himself from the rest. As such Mathis won a close vote in a crowded field over Mike Zunino of the Mariners and Austin Hedges of the Padres, two catchers who were well behind Mathis in Runs Saved.

This was not a ‘Rafael Palmeiro played 28 games and won a Gold Glove’ situation. Mathis may have caught just over 500 innings, but he led the Diamondbacks in innings caught.

He had the second-best totals in Runs Saved from both pitch blocking and pitch framing. I was one of five voters on the 12-voter panel that gave Mathis a first-place vote. The statistical support for his candidacy was too overwhelming to turn away from.

“That’s a pretty awesome award or accomplishment for anybody,” Mathis said, talking to us from his Florida home. “There are a lot of numbers that are flying around out there but this award really represents all the small things and attention to detail that goes into the defensive side.”

Mathis’ former manager with the Angels, Mike Scioscia, was integral in Mathis’ winning the award. Mathis credits a lot of his pitch blocking success to his time as a middle infielder in high school, but his pitch framing was well honed by Scioscia.

“The one thing that really sticks out in my mind is how he wanted us to give a low target early, down in the zone,” Mathis said. “He was really big on presentation for the pitcher, them knowing a target they have to throw to. I felt my strong suit was down in the zone, being able to beat the ball to the spot.”

Mathis also credited former coach Don Wakamatsu, former Marlins manager Mike Redmond, and teammate Mike Napoli as those who helped him leading up to his time with the Diamondbacks.

In that 2018 season Mathis caught every inning of Zack Greinke’s 33 starts and Greinke pitched to a stellar 3.21 ERA. He also caught 73 2/3 innings from Patrick Corbin in a season in which Corbin went from a decent pitcher to a very good one. His ERA with Mathis was 1.83, about two runs better than it was with Arizona’s other catchers.

“Working with Zack and how meticulous he was, and with Corb, we had a good plan,” Mathis said. “Those guys are super talented and it was a fun time.

Mathis was aware of The Fielding Bible Awards prior to winning it and winning it was a big deal to him. “I’m very proud of that,” he said. “Defense is the one thing that kept me going and around. It’s a proud possession. It’s not front and center in my man cave, but you can surely see it, I promise you that.”

The award was valuable from a financial perspective too. Mathis was able to sign a two-year contract with the Rangers that offseason despite being a 35-year-old with a .544 OPS. His salary went from $2 million to $3.25 million.

Mathis’ playing career ended in 2021 and he’s currently “living the retired life” and raising two daughters. He’s thought at times about getting into coaching, though he knows his more traditional approach to catching is different from the currently popular one-knee down style.

“ I miss all the intricacies behind the plate,” he said. “I think I have some stuff to offer if or when time comes and someone comes calling.”

October 21, 2025
Fielding Bible Awards History: Brendan Ryan Put Himself in the Best Position to Win

Photo: John Cordes/Icon Sportswire

On Thursday, we’ll announce the winners of The 2025 Fielding Bible Awards for defensive excellence. This will be the 20th annual announcement recognizing the best defensive players in baseball at each position, as well as the best team.

I thought it would be interesting to talk to two players who won Fielding Bible Awards for whom the Award might mean a little bit more: Brendan Ryan, who won as a shortstop for the Mariners in 2012, and Jeff Mathis, who won as a catcher for the Diamondbacks in 2018. Each won a Fielding Bible Award but did not win the more well-known Gold Glove Award.

Brendan Ryan took his defensive positioning as a shortstop very seriously. He played at a time when defensive shifting was just starting to become a major part of the game and players still had the ability to move well off of where teams positioned them. By 2012 the Mariners were giving him the ability to move not just himself but also the third baseman and second baseman to where he felt they needed to be.

“Let’s say Ian Kinsler was coming up,” said Ryan in a recent conversation from his home in Los Angeles. “I know he’s not hitting the ball up the middle, so that’s going to be a backhand opportunity for me. But I don’t want to be in the backhand lane. I want to be straight up and moving into the backhand so that I could get a head start. The bounces would work in my favor. I felt in complete control that way.”

It’s this approach and Ryan’s own positioning (“I just tried to play as far back as I could”) that made him so adept in the field, which culminated in 2012 with an MLB-best 27 Defensive Runs Saved and a Fielding Bible Award.

As Sports Info Solutions wrote in its Awards announcement at the time: “Brendan Ryan is the best defender in baseball. Period. Make that double period.”

From 2009 to 2012, Ryan is credited with 93 Runs Saved. The next-most by a shortstop is 46. Ryan lapped the field!

A lot of credit for that goes to Ryan’s days with the Cardinals, for whom he totaled 22 and 24 Runs Saved in 2009 and 2010, respectively, prior to his trade to the Mariners. Coaches George Kissell, who invented “The Cardinals Way” and Jose Oquendo, the longtime Cardinals infield coach.

“Those two guys were on me,” said Ryan, who entered his pro career as a second baseman. “Kissell with discipline and detail and Oquendo put me in position where he made some things easier, detailed things like where to catch a ball on a double play to make it easier to transition and make an accurate throw. The confidence comes behind that.”

And yet, in the days prior to the existence of the Sabermetric Defensive Index, which now accounts for 25% of the vote, as good as Ryan was, he couldn’t win a Gold Glove. (Let’s be fair, he probably could have won more than one Fielding Bible Award too). His lack of offense (he had a .555 OPS in 2012) may have had something to do with that, as there was a perception that better hitters had a better chance at winning the Award.

“I was so lost at the plate and I couldn’t find my way, but I knew I had value because they kept running me out there and I knew they valued defense,” Ryan said.

Ryan thought for sure that he’d win a Gold Glove in 2012 and even had fleeting thoughts about winning a Platinum Glove. He got beat out by J.J. Hardy, who wasn’t a bad choice, though Ryan had a decisive Runs Saved edge.

Ryan was aware of The Fielding Bible Awards. His brother and his agent both tipped him off that SIS stats viewed him favorably and he was familiar with an article Bill James wrote comparing Derek Jeter and Adam Everett. The trophy he received is prominently placed in his man cave.

“I certainly cherish it,” he said.

The Mariners understood something about how valuable Ryan was and that that award meant something. Ryan’s salary nearly doubled from 2012 to 2013, his fifth season of service time. He played professionally for five more seasons. Now happy in retirement, he and his family live almost next door to where he grew up and he coaches his three sons in different sports.

“I still love talking defense,” he said. “I love how far this [statistical analysis] has gone and that they’re really getting an accurate assessment of who guys are and what they do outside of the batter’s box. It’s awesome.”

October 21, 2025
Stat of the Week: Minor League Defensive Standouts

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.

September 25, 2025
Up For Grabs: Who’s Going to Be The Overall Defensive Runs Saved Leader?

We normally advocate comparing players to those at their respective positions when it comes to defensive performance because that’s the best way to evaluate them. But there isn’t really any harm in pointing out the Defensive Runs Saved overall leader.

With that in mind, we’ve enjoyed something that’s happened within the last week. Three different players have led the majors in Defensive Runs Saved in 2025 within a five-day span. None of them are the player who opened September as MLB’s overall leader, Pete Crow-Armstrong.

No, these three are Giants catcher Patrick Bailey, Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela, and Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement.

Ceddanne Rafaela

Rafaela can catch it and he can throw it. He has 22 Runs Saved total, 21 in center field and one at second base, where he’s played 24 games. He has an MLB-leading 26 Good Fielding Plays in center. His specialty has been catching the shallow fly ball but last night he showed how good he is at getting the deep fly ball too. He’s tied for the center field lead in Outfield Arm Runs Saved with Andy Pages of the Dodgers.

The Red Sox have tried Rafaela at shortstop (last year) and second base (this season), but he’s made only one start at second since August 25. It seems they know what to do with their best defender for the stretch run.

While Crow-Armstrong’s numbers have stalled, Rafaela’s haven’t. He’s now 5 runs ahead of Myles Straw for the center field lead in Runs Saved. PCA is 6 runs behind.

Ernie Clement

We’re guessing that Clement has low name recognition outside Canada, but he held the Runs Saved lead entering Wednesday before ceding it back to Rafaela today. Clement has 11 Runs Saved at third base, 9 Runs Saved at second base, and 1 Run Saved at shortstop this season.

This isn’t a fluke. Last season he had 9 Runs Saved at third base and 6 Runs Saved at shortstop. Both years at third base he has specialized in making plays on balls hit to his left. At second base he’s been solid going in both directions and at turning double plays.

Clement is the favorite both to win a Utility Player Gold Glove Award and to win The Fielding Bible Award for multi-position play.

Patrick Bailey

The thing that Bailey has going for him is his pitch framing, which accounts for 14 of his 20 Runs Saved this season. Bailey has 40 Strike Zone Runs Saved (our pitch framing stat) since the start of the 2023 season. Only three other catchers have half that many (Austin Hedges, Alejandro Kirk, Cal Raleigh).

This season Bailey has more Runs Saved from pitch framing than any other catcher has from all aspects of catching (framing, blocking, limiting basestealing, fielding balls).

The strikeout-to-walk ratio when he’s caught this season is just about 3-to-1. With other Giants catchers, it’s barely over 2-to-1.

The Giants’ ERA when Bailey catches this season is 3.58. With their current backup, Andrew Knizner, it’s 5.31.

It is entirely possible that the end-season leader will be none of these players. Steven Kwan is within 2 runs of the lead and Ke’Bryan Hayes is 3 runs back. Kwan has been No. 1 at a few points this season (we just wrote a whole article about him at the trade deadline). Hayes led all players in Runs Saved in 2022.

September 19, 2025