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  • The Best Thing Going For The White Sox: Dominic Fletcher’s Defense

    The Best Thing Going For The White Sox: Dominic Fletcher’s Defense

    Photos: Melissa Tamez and Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire

    It’s admittedly very hard to find anything positive about the White Sox season, but we do have to tip our cap to the play of right fielder Dominic Fletcher.

    Entering Monday, Fletcher ranked tied for second among right fielders with 9 Defensive Runs Saved, despite not even being in the Top 50 in innings played there (he’s played just over 200 innings).

    Racking up that many Runs Saved in that short an amount of time is unusual. It’s not like he’s on pace for 50 Runs Saved over a full season. Defensive Runs Saved doesn’t work like that. But his collection of highlight-worthy plays is impressive. We track Good Fielding Plays encompassing catches requiring extraordinary efforts, outfield assists, and also plays like cutting a ball off in the gap to prevent an extra base. Fletcher has an abundance of Good Fielding Plays while avoiding Defensive Misplays & Errors.

    One of those Good Fielding Plays was this home run robbery against Yainer Diaz of the Astros. A player receives around 2 Runs Saved for any home run robbery (we don’t take into account the number of men on base) and he was fully worthy of it here.

    This was Fletcher’s second home run robbery of the season. He had one against William Contreras of the Brewers that was actually more impressive than the Astros one. It came as a center fielder.

    Fletcher can do a lot of things defensively.

    He can make diving catches

    Sliding catches

    He can handle outfield walls

    Side walls too.

    He can even dodge teammates

    And he can throw

    So while everyone else is feeling bad about the White Sox and their chance to set an MLB record for losses, there’s at least one player doing everything he can to try to prevent that – and doing it really well.

    Most Good Fielding Plays – Right Fielders

    Name Team Good Plays-Misplays & Errors
    Anthony Santander Orioles 15-16
    Hunter Renfroe Royals 13-11
    George Springer Blue Jays 13-8
    Wilyer Abreu Red Sox 12-16
    Mike Yastrzemski Giants 12-13
    Juan Soto Yankees 11-22
    Dominic Fletcher White Sox 11-4

     

  • Stat of the Week: One of the Most Complete Players in Baseball

    Stat of the Week: One of the Most Complete Players in Baseball

    Photo: Larry Placido/Icon Sportswire

    The signature play of Matt Chapman’s season came against the Mets on May 24. The Giants had a one-run lead with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning, with Mark Vientos facing Giants reliever Camilo Doval.

    Vientos hit a slow roller along the third base line. Chapman raced in to make a barehand play and his throw beat Vientos by a hair. It was as impressive a play as any third baseman has made in 2024.

    And it fits with Chapman’s season. He’s been one-of-a-kind at his position.

    Chapman ranks tied for No. 3 in the National League and No. 1 among all third basemen with 6.0 bWAR. In terms of the individual components, Chapman has been 18 Runs Above Average as a hitter, 15 Runs Above average as a fielder (that’s his Defensive Runs Saved), and a somewhat surprising 6 Runs above Average as a baserunner.

    We say somewhat surprising because Chapman had never totaled more than 1 baserunning run in a season prior to 2024. But this season, he has 13 stolen bases in 15 attempts. Those 13 steals are more than he had in his entire seven-year career entering the season.

    Chapman also ranks 6th in a Bill James-devised stat, Baserunning Net Gain, which measures a variety of things, including how often a runner takes an extra base on a hit, advances on a wild pitch or passed ball, and avoids getting thrown out on the bases.

    Chapman’s defense isn’t really a surprise. He’s a two-time Fielding Bible Award winner and four-time Gold Glove winner. He’s been at or near the top of the third base leaderboard consistently throughout this season.

    If you think it’s odd that Chapman has a better WAR than players like Rafael Devers, José Ramírez, and Manny Machado, look to their respective Defensive Runs Saved numbers. Chapman is 10 Runs Saved better than Ramírez, 15 better than Machado and 22 better than Devers.

    Hitting-wise, Chapman’s 2024 has been the opposite of his 2023 when he started super-strong and then faltered as the season moved along. This season, Chapman started slow. He entered May 17 with a .599 OPS in 44 games. He’s had an .864 OPS since then.

    The top hitting third basemen don’t field like Chapman does and the top fielding third basemen (Ernie Clement, Ryan McMahon, Ke’Bryan Hayes among them) don’t hit like Chapman does.

    Chapman’s combination at third base is so distinct that with 6.0 bWAR, he’s at least 2 bWAR ahead of every third baseman other than Ramírez.

    In fact, the only other player this season to contribute as much run value as Chapman in hitting, fielding, and baserunning is Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran.

    Remember that Chapman had trouble finding a team as a free agent this past offseason. He came into spring training needing to prove that he was an elite player. To this point, he’s been both an elite player and a complete one.

    The Giants gave Chapman a 6-year, $150 million contract this week, a reward for his track record and his relative health since coming back from hip surgery in 2021. He’s played in nearly 93% of all games in the last four seasons.

    That said, Chapman will be 32 next April. Only three players in their age-32-or-older season have played even 70 games at third base this season (Nolan Arenado, Eugenio Suárez, and Gio Urshela). Four did so in 2023. Chapman’s next prove-it opportunity will be showing he can remain a complete player as he travels the downward slope of baseball’s aging curve.

    Most bWAR Among Third Basemen- 2024 Season

    Name Team bWAR
    Matt Chapman Giants 6.0
    José Ramírez Guardians 5.3
    Rafael Devers Red Sox 3.8
    Alec Bohm Phillies 3.4
    Josh Smith Rangers 3.3
    Ernie Clement Blue Jays 3.2
  • Guardians Defense Key To Emmanuel Clase Standing Out

    Guardians Defense Key To Emmanuel Clase Standing Out

    Photo: Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire

    On May 1, Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase was protecting a one-run lead in the bottom of the 10th inning against the Astros. With a runner on second, Mauricio Dubon poked a breaking ball to left center field that looked like it was going to be a game-tying hit.

    But two-time Fielding Bible Award-winning left fielder Steven Kwan did what Fielding Bible Award winners do. He ranged well over to left center, made a diving catch and subsequent throw to second base for a game-ending double play.

    That’s part of the story of Clase’s amazing 2024 season – how good the Guardians defense, which ranks second in the majors in Defensive Runs Saved, has been behind him.

    Clase has been one of the top closers in MLB since first taking on the role in 2021. He’s on pace to lead the AL in saves for a third straight season. His ERA currently stands at 0.70 and he hasn’t allowed more than one run in any of the 64 games he’s pitched this season.

    Clase isn’t a high-strikeout pitcher but he also doesn’t walk anyone. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is just under 7-to-1 and he’s allowed 2 home runs in 64 1/3 innings pitched all season. Clase is supposed to be good but he’s not necessarily supposed to be this good. His FIP is 2.34.

    Clase has allowed 35 hits in 64 1/3 innings pitched, a rate of fewer than 5 hits per 9 innings, and only 2 batters have reached via error.

    The Guardians have recorded 10 Defensive Runs Saved against the batted balls hit versus Clase. He’s one of 19 pitchers for whom teams have saved at least 10 runs with defense, with two other relievers in that group (Ryan Yarbrough slightly ahead of Clase and Bryan Hudson slightly behind).

    Clase has gotten the most defensive support among Guardians pitchers despite ranking 7th on the team in innings pitched.

    Because the circumstances of Clase’s appearances are often do-or-die, every play is important. The particularly good-looking ones for the Guardians with Clase on the mound have been of varied types.

     

     

    Good positioning matters too

     

    Clase got a similar level of defensive support in 2022 when the Guardians saved 9 runs behind him, but their defense didn’t do much for him in 2021 or 2023 (-1 and -3 Runs Saved, respectively)

    This whole presentation hasn’t been meant to devalue Clase’s effort. He’s done a much better job this season in terms of contact quality than he had last season (his hard-hit rate has dropped from 38% to 31%, a rate that ranks in the 96th percentile). He’s legitimately been the best relief pitcher in baseball this season. If there’s one thing to take away from this piece it’s that the Guardians have lived up to their name in how they’ve played behind him.

  • Braves Have Been Defensively Challenged in Right Field

    Braves Have Been Defensively Challenged in Right Field

    The Braves seem to have righted themselves after their record dropped to 61-56 following a loss to the Rockies on August 11. They’ve won 12 of 16 since.

    However, they have one significant flaw that they haven’t been able to fix this season no matter what they’ve tried. 

    Braves right fielders have cost the team 19 runs in Defensive Runs Saved. Their -19 matches the worst total for any team at any position. The White Sox entered today having gotten -19 Runs Saved from their shortstops.

    You don’t want to be sharing a leader spot with the 2024 White Sox.

    The Braves have one of the biggest defensive weaknesses for a team contending to win the World Series.

    They’re not the only ones with a defensive issue. 

    The Phillies have had problems at both right field and shortstop where Nick Castellanos has had his annual regular season issues and Trea Turner has taken a considerable dip in performance. The Brewers also have a veteran shortstop not playing up to his usual standards in Willy Adames. Gleyber Torres is once again well below-average defensively at second base for the Yankees. The Diamondbacks have a similar problem to the Braves in center field where no one has a positive Runs Saved total, and the player who’s there the most, Corbin Carroll, has -6 Runs Saved.

    The current Runs Saved breakdown in right field for the Braves is Ronald Acuña Jr. -7 (out for the season), Jorge Soler -5 (in only 15 games), Ramón Laureano -4, and Adam Duvall -3.

    For now, the Braves have accepted the trade-off of offense for defense and are starting Soler regularly in right field. He’s rewarded them with an .868 OPS. But they know he’s not a good option late in a game, even though he threw a runner out at home yesterday. 

    In all 3 games of their recently-concluded series with the Twins, he was pulled, once at the start of the 6th inning and twice entering the 7th inning. In all 3 instances Laureano moved from left field to right field.

    Laureano and Duvall both have good track records (Soler doesn’t). Laureano actually saved 9 runs with his right field defense last season and had 5 Runs Saved there in 2024 before coming to the Braves midseason. His value is often centered around the value of his arm. 

    Despite having a positive Runs Saved total overall in right field this season, he has -4 Range Runs Saved in right field in 2024. To his credit, he did make two very nice catches to preserve a ninth-inning lead against the Phillies last week.

    Duvall has had as many as 18 Runs Saved in left field and 7 Runs Saved in right field in a season. But given both his defensive numbers and his sub-.600 OPS, he’s not done a lot to merit considerable playing time.

    Soler has a combined -10 Runs Saved in right field in just over 350 innings over the last two seasons.

    Castellanos proved in the past that in a small sample a statistically problematic defensive player can have a good few weeks in the postseason. But that’s not exactly something you want to count on. 

    It’s entirely possible that in two months the Braves could be on the verge of winning a World Series and that this was a non-issue. The Braves are very good defensively at the infield corners with Matt Olson and (when healthy) Austin Riley. Michael Harris can chase down balls in center field. Their defense is generally pretty good elsewhere. 

    But if there’s one play to be made to win a game in October and you’re a Braves fan, you’re probably gonna be a little nervous if the ball is hit to right field.

  • Stat of the Week: Aaron Judge, Blake Perkins, and Home Run Robberies

    Stat of the Week: Aaron Judge, Blake Perkins, and Home Run Robberies

    Photo:Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire

    “I’m glad we have a 6-foot-8 guy out there catching balls.”

    That’s a postgame quote from Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes, who may have exaggerated Aaron Judge’s height by an inch, but there was no exaggerating the impressiveness of Judge’s home run-robbing catch and subsequent double play against Andrés Chaparro of the Nationals on Monday night.

    “That was crazy,” said Yankees catcher Austin Wells.

    As for Judge, he simply said, “I was just trying to go out there and make a play,” noting that he was trying to match the energy of teammate Alex Verdugo, who made a nice catch earlier in the game.

    Judge’s play brings to mind this unusual distinction. Since the start of the 2018 season, when he made his first homer-robbing catch, he is both the major league leader in home runs with 252 AND home run-robbing catches with 9.

    If we go back to 2016, Judge’s debut season, he leads the majors in home runs (308) and is tied with Lorenzo Cain for the most homer-robbing catches with those 9.

    But it wasn’t the only highly-impressive home run robbery this week. Brewers center fielder Blake Perkins reached well over the fence in left center field to snag a would-be home run from Thairo Estrada of the Giants on Tuesday.

    For Perkins, it was his 4th home run-robbing catch of the season. That’s one shy of the most in a season since we began tracking every one in 2004. The mark is currently shared by Brewers center fielders Carlos Gómez (2013) and Cain (2019), as well as Astros right fielder Josh Reddick (2019).

    “This is my work,” Perkins told reporters after the game. “I’m just trying to do my best to stay aggressive out there and work for my guys on the mound.”

    Gómez and Cain also show up on another list, players with the most home run robberies since 2004. Mike Trout leads the way with 14. Gómez is second with 13 and is followed by Torii Hunter (12), Cain (11), Adam Jones (11), and Ichiro Suzuki (10).

    The Brewers, who lead MLB with 8 home run robberies this season, are one of five teams with at least 50 home run robberies in the home run robbery tracking era. The team leaderboard since 2004 is Angels (63), Tigers (63), Orioles (55), White Sox (54), Brewers (50).

    Immediately after Perkins’ home run robbery, the next batter, Grant McCray, hit a home run.

    It was the first “potential HR is robbed, next batter in inning hits a homer” in MLB in 2024. It’s happened at least once a year from 2016 to 2024 with the exception of 2020 and 2021.

    The one other time the Brewers were involved was against the Twins on July 4, 2018. Center fielder Keon Broxton made a catch on Brian Dozier that was as good as Perkins’ and then the next batter, Eduardo Escobar, homered.

    It’s one of those things that seems extraordinarily unusual but isn’t necessarily so. It happened four times in 2023.

    Most Home Run-Robbing Catches – Since 2004

    Regular Season

    Player HR-Robbing Catches
    Mike Trout 14
    Carlos Gómez 13
    Torii Hunter 12
    Lorenzo Cain 11
    Adam Jones 11
    Ichiro Suzuki 10
    Aaron Judge 9
    Mookie Betts 9
    Coco Crisp 9
    Josh Reddick 9
    Jason Bay 9
  • Stat of the Week: A Strong Brew In Milwaukee

    Stat of the Week: A Strong Brew In Milwaukee

    Photo:Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire

    The last two days notwithstanding, the NL Central leading Brewers have come hard in a push for one of the league’s top two playoff seeds. Defense is an important part of their story.

    Milwaukee is the No. 3 team in the major leagues with 65 Defensive Runs Saved, a total that easily leads the National League. Pat Murphy’s team has continued the emphasis on sound defense that Murphy’s predecessor, Craig Counsell, placed throughout his time as manager.

    The Brewers are the only team to net at least 15 Runs Saved from three different positions—second base, center field, and right field.

    Second base is manned by Brice Turang, who leads players at the position with 20 Runs Saved. Turang was one of our Defensive Player of the Month selections in June. He was pretty good defensively last season too but struggled offensively. He’s bumped his OPS up by 95 points points to its current .680 and taken his defensive game to an elite level. Despite a below-average bat, Turang leads his team with 4.2 WAR (Baseball-Reference version).

    The outfield performance has been a group effort. In center field, Blake Perkins (7 Runs Saved), Garrett Mitchell (5), and Sal Frelick (3) have combined for 15 of the team’s 16 Runs Saved there. In right field, Frelick (11) and Jackson Chourio (9) are responsible for all of the Brewers’ 20 Runs Saved at that position.

    With Christian Yelich out for the season and Perkins just back from the injured list, the Brewers can regularly play the best version of their outfield defense with him in center field, Chourio in left field (6 Runs Saved), and Frelick in right field.

    The Brewers outfield is capable of taking away a lot of extra base hits. Milwaukee is MLB’s best team at robbing home runs this season, something that helps boost their Runs Saved total (since home run robberies literally save runs). 

    Mitchell’s home run robbery against the Cardinals yesterday was his 2nd of the season and the team’s 7th. Perkins, who has 3, is tied for the individual lead in homer-robbing catches with Stuart Fairchild of the Reds.

    The Brewers are respectable defensively at most other positions, with third base being the next-strongest of the other spots. The one player on the roster struggling this season is shortstop Willy Adames, who ranks last at the position with -12 Runs Saved. That’s in contrast to a track record consisting of five straight seasons with positive Defensive Runs Saved.

    Milwaukee’s defensive success is particularly important considering that the pitching staff has the 8th-fewest strikeouts in MLB and is tied for 5th-most home runs allowed. The Brewers’ pitchers have the greatest differential between their FIP* and ERA of any MLB team. Pitchers like Colin Rea, Tobias Meyers and Jared Koenig all have ERAs well below their FIP. The Brewers have saved 14 runs on the batted balls behind Rea, the 4th-highest total by a team for a pitcher.

    * Fielding Independent Pitching, an ERA estimate based on strikeouts, walks, and home runs allowed.

    The Brewers are not going to be the favorite to get through the National League to the World Series even if they do have the league’s best record. The Dodgers have hitters you don’t want to pitch to. The Phillies have pitchers no one wants to face. But the Brewers have some guys you definitely don’t want to hit the ball to and if they go a long way this postseason, that could be a difference-maker.

    Team Runs Saved
    Guardians 76
    Blue Jays 75
    Brewers 65
    Royals 60
    Dodgers 42
    Cardinals 36
    Yankees 31
    Mariners 26
    Rangers 25
    Red Sox 25
  • Stat of the Week: Defenses Can’t Stop Bobby Witt Jr.

    Stat of the Week: Defenses Can’t Stop Bobby Witt Jr.

    In February, I wrote an article asking what it would take for Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to make the jump to being an 8-to-10 WAR player.

    Well, it’s August 15 and Witt’s at 7.9 WAR per Baseball-Reference and 8.3 WAR via FanGraphs. We suspect he’s not going back below those numbers, so let’s look into one aspect of how he got there – maybe not one you think about.

    Defensive Runs Saved can be used to measure fielder performance in any number of ways, including against a specific player.

    Opposing defenses have -16 Defensive Runs Saved on the balls hit by Bobby Witt this season. That’s the worst total against any player in the majors.

    This is not to discredit Witt so much as to show that he puts a lot of pressure on opposing defenses with his speed.

    For example, this ground ball hit to Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford has a 92% out probability but Witt beats it out. This one to Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux has an 87% out probability but again Witt beats the throw to the base. And here’s a comebacker that Casey Mize muffed, a play that had a 100% out probability at the time. But not anymore.

    Defensive Runs Saved incorporates a player’s speed within its out probability calculations by placing the players into five different speed groupings based on a combination of stats (home-to-first time being the primary one with a Bill James- devised formula utilized if there’s not enough sample of home-to-first times). The top grouping encompasses the fastest 10% of MLB players.

    Witt is in the fastest grouping and at the very top of it. He’s in the Top 10 in average home-to-first time and has the fastest sprint speed. Witt’s now hitting .422 on ground balls this season with as many infield hits (15) as he had in 2023. That batting average ranks second to Cody Bellinger’s .438.

    Similarly, if you miss a fly ball against Witt, he’s going to burn you. He’ll hurt your Runs Saved and boost his slugging percentage. This ball had a 93% out probability for Rangers center fielder Leody Taveras but he missed it, it went over his head, and Witt wound up with a triple. This one had a 71% out probability for Tigers right fielder Kerry Carpenter. But it too ended up a Witt triple. Witt is tied for second in MLB with 11 triples this season, 5 of them coming on balls that had an out probability of at least 50% for one fielder.

    You might think that Witt benefited from opposing defenses in his first two seasons in the majors too. He did in 2022 when defenses had -18 Runs Saved against him, but last season they saved 4 runs on his batted balls.

    As you’d expect, the players against whom defenses have the most trouble per Runs Saved are some of the fastest players in the sport. Here’s this year’s leaderboard through Wednesday.

    Fewest Defensive Runs Saved By A Defense

    On Player’s Batted Balls (2024)

    Player Current Team DRS
    Bobby Witt Jr. Royals -16
    Amed Rosario Dodgers -14
    Trea Turner Phillies -13
    Elly De La Cruz Reds -13
    Cody Bellinger Cubs -11
    Ceddanne Rafaela Red Sox -11
  • Stat of the Week: Most Improved Defensive Players

    Stat of the Week: Most Improved Defensive Players

    BY MARK SIMON

    If you had said before the season started that Jarren Duran would lead all center fielders in Defensive Runs Saved entering August 6, I’d have been quite surprised.

     And if you’d said that he’d be doing that even as the Red Sox have split his defensive time between center field and left field, I probably wouldn’t have known what to say.

    But here we are in early August. Duran not only ranks No. 1 in center field with 12 Runs Saved. He’s also been good in left field, totaling 5 more Runs Saved.

    In all, he’s made a 22-run jump, from -5 in 2023 to 17 Runs Saved in total in 2024.

    Two players have improved on their Defensive Runs Saved total by at least 20 runs among those who played at least 400 innings in the field both last season and this season. Duran is one of the two. Rockies catcher Elias Díaz is the other.

    The improvement has come in the form of both catches and throws. In his three previous seasons in center field, he’d totaled -13 Runs Saved from range. He’s saved 8 runs with his range there this season plus 1 more run from range in left field.

    Duran leads the majors with 7 Outfield Arm Runs Saved, 4 in left field and 3 in center field. His 9 outfield assists are tied with Miguel Andujar for the major league lead. One of his best of the year was a game-saver last month against the Marlins, a throw that denied the winning run from scoring in the bottom of the 9th.

    Most of the players who rank high in Defensive Runs Saved improvement from 2023 to 2024 had a position change or shift in playing time at one spot this season. You can see the leaderboard at the end of this article.

    But even if we considered only Duran’s Runs Saved change in center field, he’d still be among the most improved defensive players in the game in 2024.

    Elias Díaz

    Elias Diaz frames a pitch from a catching stance

    Average never felt quite so good.

    In 2022 and 2023, Díaz finished last and next-to-last in Strike Zone Runs Saved, our stat which measures a catcher’s ability to get more strikes than expected, with -13 and -16, respectively.

    This season, Díaz’s pitch framing issues are no longer issues. He’s saved 1 run, per Strike Zone Runs Saved, making him basically an average catcher in that area. A closer look at the data shows that Díaz has gotten much better at getting called strikes on pitches to his arm side (pitches outside to right-handed hitters, like this one).

    With that boost, Díaz has 6 Runs Saved overall in just under 500 innings this season, a 22-run improvement from 2023.

    The area in which Díaz rates well is in stolen base prevention. He’s recorded an MLB-best 13 Stolen Base Runs Saved over the last 4 seasons, including 3 Runs Saved in 2024.

    A good finish to the season would give Díaz a chance at his career high in Runs Saved, 9 for the Rockies in 2021. That came two years after his career-worst -21 with the Pirates in 2019, as he’s showing that he can make big improvements to his game.

    Below is a list of the players who have improved the most in overall Defensive Runs Saved

    Biggest Improvement In Defensive Runs Saved

    2023 to 2024 (Minimum 400 Innings Played In The Field Each Season)

    Player Team DRS Improvement
    Jarren Duran Red Sox 22 (-5 to 17)
    Elias Díaz Rockies 22 (-16 to 6)
    MJ Melendez Royals 17 (-14 to 3)
    Riley Greene Tigers 16 (-7 to 9)
    Tim Anderson Marlins 15 (-15 to 0)
    Brandon Marsh Phillies 15 (0 to 15)
    Juan Soto Yankees 14 (-5 to 9)
    Isiah Kiner-Falefa Blue Jays/Pirates 14 (0 to 14)

  • July’s Defensive Players of the Month

    July’s Defensive Players of the Month

    Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez and Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho are two of the best defenders in the sport. You already know they’re great, so we’re not breaking any new ground here. But both had outstanding months, so we wanted to make sure to reward them. They’re our winners of July’s Defensive Players of the Month honors.

    Additionally, picking Defensive Player of the Month is a lot more fun if we include players who don’t necessarily stand out as household names for fielding excellence. That’s why we’re also saluting Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh and Mets outfielder Tyrone Taylor as standout honorable mentions.

    Giménez had as good a defensive month as this author can remember in the seven years we’ve been picking this award here. He finished with an MLB-best 10 Defensive Runs Saved, raising his season total from 6 to a position-leading 16. Giménez was credited with 8 Good Fielding Plays and not charged with any Defensive Misplays or Errors.

    In addition to making some great plays on ground balls and line drives, Giménez also had a terrific relay throw to nail a runner at the plate, a leaping catch of a catcher’s wild throw to prevent an extra base being taken on a steal attempt, and a nifty backup of an errant pickoff throw to again prevent an extra base. Those instances of executing little details add to Giménez’s reputation as a defensive wonder who won the Platinum Glove last year.

    Varsho won Defensive Player of the Month for the second time in 2024 (he also won it in May). He led all outfielders with 9 Defensive Runs Saved and tied Will Benson of the Reds for the outfield lead in Good Fielding Plays with 7.

    Varsho continued to make dazzling catch after dazzling catch, putting his body on the line to make plays and save runs. He leads MLB with 12 Defensive Runs Saved as a left fielder and ranks tied for 2nd with 11 Runs Saved as a center fielder (one run off the MLB lead there). His 18 Good Fielding Plays on flies and liners are the most of any player this season.

    Marsh’s 11 Runs Saved this season barely trail Varsho for most Runs Saved by a left fielder this season. Marsh is doing his best to keep up, and he’s doing so with plays that highlight his sprinting after balls (here and here). Marsh, like Varsho, has moved around the outfield depending on his team’s need. In July Marsh had 4 Runs Saved in left field, 2 in center field and 1 in right field. 

    Taylor is another versatile outfielder who saved an MLB-best 6 Runs Saved in right field and 1 in center field in July. Taylor’s best play was this home run robbery against the Twins in the final series of the month.

    He’s improved the Mets significantly at a position that was problematic prior to Starling Marte’s injury. And though his OPS is below MLB-average and there are other factors to point to for the team’s improvements, it’s worth noting that the Mets are 28-21 when Taylor starts compared to 29-30 when he doesn’t.

  • Stat of the Week: What A Turnaround For The Mets

    Stat of the Week: What A Turnaround For The Mets

    The Mets currently rank 25th in the majors with -13 Defensive Runs Saved. They haven’t gotten positive value at any defensive position over the entire season.

    But to leave it at that would be incredibly misleading because they’re currently on an amazing run. It’s one in which their defense has played a huge part.

    As bad as their -13 looks right now, that’s nothing compared to how entering June they were at -34 Runs Saved, which ranked next-to-last in MLB. After a dreadful start to the season, the Mets are 32-15 in their last 47 games. Since June 1 they’ve totaled 21 Runs Saved, 4th-most in MLB in that time.

    Team Runs Saved
    Guardians 38
    Brewers 30
    Royals 26
    Mets 21
    Blue Jays 16
    Braves 15
    Diamondbacks 15
    Red Sox 12
    Rangers 10
    Astros 9

    Of the top 10 teams in Runs Saved since June 1, the Mets and Astros are the only ones who still have a negative Runs Saved for the season. In other words, most of the teams that were good before continued to be good. The Mets were an anomaly.

    So what happened here?

    Early-season injuries to right fielder Starling Marte and catcher Francisco Alvarez, and a rough start for their other catcher, Omar Narvaez, forced the Mets to make some adjustments and acquire Luis Torrens.

    Tyrone Taylor has rotated between the three outfield spots but has been particularly good in place of Marte in right field. Marte had -9 Runs Saved in right field prior to his injury. For the season, Taylor has 6 Runs Saved there, 4 since June 1.

    Alvarez and Narvaez went through a stretch in which they couldn’t throw any would-be basestealer out. Torrens has caught only 18 games but he’s made a world of difference, throwing out 8-of-12 would-be basestealers and picking off another. He has 3 Runs Saved.

    Meanwhile, shortstop Francisco Lindor got off to a dreadful start to the season but now looks like an MVP candidate. He entered June with -3 Runs Saved but has flipped that around and has 3 Runs Saved since the start of that month.

    Lindor’s positive play has impacted the entire infield. The Mets ranked last in the majors in how frequently they turned a ground ball or bunt into an out through the end of May. They rank 8th since the start of June.

    There are other things going right too. First baseman Pete Alonso has played better defense in this stretch. Harrison Bader replacing Brandon Nimmo in center field improved their defense there from last season, even though it still rates below average in 2024. Nimmo has been alright in left field and avoided major mistakes.

     

    We’d also be remiss if we didn’t point out how the overall play of Jose Iglesias has sparked the team. Three years ago, Iglesias was the worst defensive shortstop in the majors. Now, he’s a utility player and team sparkplug. Though he has -3 Runs Saved at second base, when he’s filled in at third base (a position he last played in 2013), the ball has found him in important spots.

    Iglesias also has a hit song, ‘OMG,’ that has become the Mets’ anthem as they’ve surged into playoff position. The song title is an apt way to describe how their defense has played too.