Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good? We give an overview of team strengths, weaknesses, and other things to know, using Defensive Runs Saved and other stats as the basis for our evaluation. To see the full series, click here.

2025 Team Defensive Runs Saved Rank: T-7th

Team Strengths

Maikel Garcia ranked second in the AL in Runs Saved last season. Much of that came in the latter part of the season. He was a co-Defensive Player of the Month in August. Garcia’s rated very well at finishing plays once he got to balls (in other words, his arm got some outs that other players did not)

Center fielder Kyle Isbel has been consistently good the last three seasons, with 13, 5, and 9 Runs Saved, respectively. Isbel’s good numbers come moreso from his range than throwing. He ranks second in Range Runs Saved in that three-year time period.

Most Runs Saved From Range – Center Fielders – Last 3 Seasons

You’re probably wondering why we didn’t list Bobby Witt Jr. first here. Our metrics don’t value his defense as much as MLB’s do. He’s had 2 and 3 Runs Saved at shortstop in each of the last two seasons. Similar to Garcia, Witt’s skill at finishing plays is his key defensive trait. We’re willing to allow for the possibility that we’re undervaluing him, but we do think our stats usually tell the story of a player’s skills pretty well.

Salvador Perez can still throw guys out. He’s pretty good at preventing them from running to begin with. He allowed 18 steals in 30 attempts last season. He’s got weaknesses in other areas, most notably pitch framing.

Lastly, the Royals ranked first and second in Runs Saved from their pitchers the last two seasons. That emanates from a combination of limiting stolen bases and also being good athletes on balls hit back to or near the pitcher’s mound (which we wrote about in 2024).

Team Weaknesses

As good as Perez is at leading a pitching staff and stopping the running game, he does not rate well in either pitch framing or pitch blocking. His backup will be either Elias Díaz or Jorge Alfaro. The former has put up good defensive numbers more recently than the latter. Díaz is an interesting one in that he worked to shed the label of being a bad pitch framer and has worked his way to average at that skill.

On the right side of the infield, neither first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino nor second Jonathan India has finished a season with a positive Runs Saved. Also on the right side of the field, right fielder Jac Caglianone had -4 Runs Saved there last season.

Other Things To Know

If you’re wondering why Defensive Runs Saved and MLB’s Fielding Run Value differ on Witt, the answer is partly in how each system evaluates him on balls hit to his right (towards third base). MLB has him otherworldly. Defensive Runs Saved has him as very good. The difference is the difference between being the best defensive shortstop in MLB and a slightly above-average one. MLB also rates Witt quite highly at coming in on balls to make plays. It’s harder to ascertain how DRS feels here, but safe to say, it’s not as highly as MLB.

Are the Royals A Good Defensive Team?

Probably, though they feel like they hover between just inside and outside the Top 10. Maybe this is the year Witt’s Runs Saved matches that of other metrics. If that happens, than the Royals could be a Top 5 defensive team.