This is the second consecutive year that two teams that ranked in the top five in Defensive Runs Saved will meet in the World Series and we’re excited for the possibilities.
The Rays ranked second behind the Cubs thanks to the combination of an excellent shortstop, a very good outfield, and some impressive defensive positioning.
The Brewers finished tied for fourth in Runs Saved with the Braves. Their success is more based on the skill of their players than their defensive positioning. They also have a superstar defender and an excellent outfield.
What are some of the things we might see that we’ll be wowed by? Here are some possibilities.
Brice Turang’s range in both directions
Turang won the Fielding Bible Award at second base and led the position with a career high 23 Runs Saved this season.
Turang plays the position like a shortstop. He was the only second baseman to be at least +10 in Plays Saved (our version of Outs Above Average) both going to his left (+14) and right (+10) this season. You’re probably going to see a play or two where he comes across second base to make a play and throw a runner out at first. He’s very good at that and the first play of the LCS showed that off.
Likewise, Taylor Walls range in both directions
Walls was the Fielding Bible Award winner at shortstop and the shortstop leader in Runs Saved since the start of the 2021 season. This season was his best season (21 Runs Saved) and also the one in which he played the most. Adam Berry of Rays.com wrote about Walls’ use of a pre-pitch crow-hop to put him in better position to get an out. We’re hopeful FOX will show this at some point during the World Series so that people can see how it impacts his defense.
Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Luis Lara, Victor Mesa, and Chandler Simpson chasing down fly balls
Chourio has been a good outfield defender in both corners. In his rookie season he had 9 Runs Saved in right field. This year he had 13 in left field, which ranked second to Cody Bellinger’s 21. Chourio is just a very good athlete, as evidenced by his three straight 20-homer, 20-stolen base seasons.
Mitchell had two home run robberies within a two-week span in 2024 and then didn’t have another until this year’s NLDS against the Padres. He can definitely get after fly balls though. He ranked tied for second this season in MLB’s “burst” stat, which measures ground covered 1.5 to 3 seconds after a ball is hit (it’s meant to measure tracking and closing speed).
The Rays ranked No. 1 in the regular season in how often a ball hit in the air to the outfield was turned into an out. Simpson was a big part of that. He ranked second among left fielders in the range component of Runs Saved, trailing only Cody Bellinger. He’s another one with great reactions. Both Simpson and Cedric Mullins ranked in the top five in MLB’s “reaction” stat, which measures ground covered in the first 1.5 seconds after the ball is hit.
And let’s not forget Mesa and Lara, a pair of impressive rookies. Mesa totaled 12 Runs Saved in 65 games in right field. He ranked tied for fourth among right fielders in Runs Saved despite ranking 24th in innings played there. Lara was right behind him with 10 Runs Saved despite not even cracking 400 innings played.
Joey Ortiz’s sold play at third base
With rookie Cooper Pratt entrenched at shortstop, Joey Ortiz is settled in at third base and it’s the better of the two positions for him. Ortiz had 8 Runs Saved there in 2024 and 7 Runs Saved in 58 games there in 2026. He’s particularly good going to his left to make a play, which can take some of the pressure off Pratt.
The Rays’ defensive positioning
The Rays utilized a partial defensive shift on 81% of the balls hit against them, the highest rate of any team in the majors.
By our measures a partial shift is when at least two fielders deviate from “traditional” defensive positioning. Think of this as instances in which the second baseman or shortstop is standing at or near second base, in which case at least one other fielder has been moved too.
The Rays turned 76% of grounders and bunts into outs when they used a shift, 70% of grounders and bunts into outs when they didn’t shift. Overall, their 75% out rate on grounders and bunts was third-highest in MLB.
This can manifest itself in players ranging to make plays they wouldn’t normally make (like this one by another good defender, Ben Williamson) but also in how it creates routine plays for their fielders that wouldn’t have been routine otherwise. It’s more subtle than a fielder making a great play. The Rays led MLB with 44 Runs Saved specific to how they positioned their fielders for shifts.
