Sports Info Solutions

Log In

Category: John Dewan’s Stat of the Week

  • What’s Happening To The Advantage For Right-Handed Batters vs Left-Handed Pitchers?

    What’s Happening To The Advantage For Right-Handed Batters vs Left-Handed Pitchers?

    There’s something going on within baseball right now for which I don’t have a good explanation. I’ve shared it with a few statistically-inclined friends of the company and I’m hoping they’ll be able to suss out the reasons for this.

    For now, I’m just going to point out what’s going on because I don’t know if it’s just a small-sample anomaly or something bigger.

    In a sentence: Right-handed batters are having a much rougher go of it against left-handed pitching than they typically do.

    In a table:

    Right-Handed Batters vs Left-Handed Pitchers – Last 5 Seasons

      BA OBP Slug Pct
    2021 .257 .328 .438
    2022 .252 .320 .416
    2023 .259 .326 .434
    2024 .249 .318 .410
    March-May 2025 .243 .313 .385

    Note the extreme drop-off from 2023 to the first two months of 2025. That doesn’t exist if we flip things and look at left-handed batters versus right-handed pitching.

    The gap between those hitter results in 2023 and the start of 2025 is 2 points of batting average (instead of 16), 2 points of on-base percentage (instead of 13) and 10 points of slugging percentage (instead of 49). Ten points is a deficit that could be made up as the weather gets warmer and offense increases. Forty-nine points of slugging percentage is a bigger crater.

    Let’s look at this from a more micro perspective.

    Yankees right-handed batters are hitting .304/.398/.535 against left-handed pitching for a league-leading .952 OPS and a large chunk of that is obviously Aaron Judge (.444/.565/1.111 in 46 plate appearances). But it’s also Paul Goldschmidt (24-for-45 with 10 walks) and Anthony Volpe (.328 BA, .929 OPS).

    And Yankees left-handed pitchers are dominating right-handed hitters, holding them to a .191 opponents’ batting average (2nd-lowest) and .562 opponents’ OPS (lowest). Carlos Rodón (.153 BA allowed, .499 OPS) and Max Fried (.207 BA, .521 OPS) are dominating. Ryan Yarbrough (.177 BA, .604 OPS) has been pretty good too.

    Meanwhile Orioles right-handed batters collectively have MLB worsts in batting average (.199) and OPS (.540). against southpaw pitching. There’s a six-player group with a smattering of 72 plate appearances headed by Tyler O’Neill and Gary Sánchez that is a combined 4-for-63.

    And Orioles left-handed pitchers have allowed the 3rd-highest batting average (.283) and OPS (.821) to right-handed hitters (Cade Povich and Cionel Pérez have been especially ineffective).

    I also want to give a shout-out to the left-handed relief pitchers who are thriving against right-handed hitters. We’re only a few years into the three-batter rule that all but eliminated the existence of the LOOGY. Lefty relievers wanting to stick around know they have to be really good against right-handed hitters.

    You may not know their names, but you should know their stats. Brendon Little (Blue Jays), Mason Fluharty (Blue Jays), Steven Okert (Astros), Garrett Cleavinger (Rays), Danny Coulombe (Twins), Yuki Matsui (Padres), Bryan King (Astros) and Brennan Bernardino (Red Sox) have the eight lowest opponents’ batting averages against right-handed hitters.

    Combined, right-handed batters are hitting .136 and slugging .211 against that group, with specialty pitches such as King’s sweeper and Matsui’s splitter repeatedly shutting hitters down. They are a small piece but nonetheless an interesting one to consider in trying to figure out what the heck is going on with this trend at the moment.

    If you want to see stats for right-handed hitters versus left-handed pitchers, click the links to see them on Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs.

  • Stat of the Week: Teams Making Major Defensive Improvements

    Stat of the Week: Teams Making Major Defensive Improvements

    There were a few dozen instances in 2024 of a team’s position group finishing the year with -10 Defensive Runs Saved or worse. For example, Giants center fielders totaled -24 Runs Saved, Padres catchers had -17, and Phillies shortstops tallied -13. There were more than 30 others.
    It’s reasonable to say that the teams in those situations would benefit from specific defensive improvements, like trying out new players at those spots or working with the struggling defenders to find ways to improve.
    Some teams are still having trouble defensively at those positions. Some have improved. And some have improved a lot.
    In fact, as of Thursday, there are three teams that totaled at least -10 Runs Saved at a position in 2024 that have the most Runs Saved at that position in 2025.
    Tigers 3rd base
    -13 Runs Saved in 2024
    7 Runs Saved in 2025 (MLB leader)
     Seven players combined for -13 Runs Saved at the hot corner for the Tigers last season, with Gio Urshela and his -5 being the chief culprit. This year, sans Urshela, four Tigers have combined for a major-league best 7 Runs Saved at third base.
     There’s been a playing time split among the quartet of Jace Jung, Andy Ibáñez, Zach McKinstry and Javier Báez. None of them have started more than 14 games there but each of them has at least 1 Run Saved. Jung, a top prospect whom the Tigers wanted to win the starting spot, was just sent to the minors because he wasn’t hitting.
    Red Sox catcher
    -14 Runs Saved in 2024
    9 Runs Saved in 2025 (MLB leader)
    With Connor Wong missing nearly a month due to injury, Boston turned to Carlos Narváez, who was touted as a strong defensive catcher when he was obtained from the Yankees this past offseason. Narváez has thus far delivered with 6 Runs Saved. Wong has looked better than he did last season. In 2024, he had -14 Runs Saved. In 2025 he has 3.
    Pirates left field
    -13 Runs Saved in 2024
    8 Runs Saved in 2025 (tied for MLB lead)
    The Pirates’ shortcomings this year are pretty much all on their offense. The defense has actually been pretty good in most spots. In left field, Tommy Pham, who had a rough time with the White Sox last season, has 7 Runs Saved, including a home run robbery. It’s been a while since Pham managed a full season of numbers that good. He had 11 Runs Saved as a left fielder in 2017.
    Honorable Mentions
    Twins left field
    -11 Runs Saved in 2024
    7 Runs Saved in 2025 (1 shy of MLB lead)
    The Twins took a good center fielder in Harrison Bader and moved him to left field. That fixed their defensive issues there. Bader has 5 Runs Saved in left field and 3 in center field filling in for Byron Buxton.
    Yankees pitchers
    -9 Runs Saved in 2024 (1 shy of our criteria)
    8 Runs Saved in 2025 (MLB leader)
    Bringing in Max Fried (3 Runs Saved) and Ryan Yarbrough (2) paid dividends. Fried has a strong defensive history. He won a Fielding Bible Award in 2020. Also, props to Carlos Rodon, who allowed 21 stolen bases against 4 caught stealing last season but has yielded only 2 stolen bases with 2 caught stealing in 2025.
  • Familiar Names atop Defensive Runs Saved Leaderboards

    Familiar Names atop Defensive Runs Saved Leaderboards

    5 past Fielding Bible Award Winners Currently Lead Their Position in Defensive Runs Saved.

    If you’re someone who looks at the Defensive Runs Saved player leaderboards this early in the season, you should know that the numbers have not reached any sort of predictive level yet.

    But if you look at the names of the early-season positional leaders, you might notice that the best defensive players of recent vintage are already the best defensive players in 2025, particularly in the infield and outfield.

    There are five past Fielding Bible Award winners currently leading their positions in Defensive Runs Saved. And those that aren’t past winners seem worthy of their top spot early-on in 2025.

    Here are the current positional leaders.

    MLB Defensive Runs Saved Leaders

    Position Name Runs Saved
    1st Base Matt Olson 5
    2nd Base Andrés Giménez 5
    3rd Base Matt Chapman 5
    Shortstop Taylor Walls 7
    Left Field Steven Kwan 7
    Center Field Ceddanne Rafaela 6
    Center Field Pete Crow-Armstrong 6
    Center Field Victor Scott II 6
    Right Field Fernando Tatis Jr. 6
    Catcher Carlos Narváez 6
    Pitcher Sean Burke 4

    Click the name to see an example of some good defense this season.

    Matt Olson is a four-time Fielding Bible Award winner at first base. Winning another would give him five, matching Albert Pujols for most at the position.

    Andrés Giménez has won the last two Fielding Bible Awards. The only second baseman to win three in a row is Kolten Wong (2018-2020).

    Matt Chapman has won three Fielding Bible Awards. Have you seen some of the throws he’s made this year???

    Taylor Walls doesn’t have any hardware, but he has the most Defensive Runs Saved of any shortstop since the start of the 2024 season, though he ranks 24th in innings played in that time.

    Steven Kwan has won two Fielding Bible Awards. He currently leads all outfielders with 6 assists.

    Ceddanne Rafaela, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Victor Scott II are the new kids on the block, so to speak. Crow-Armstrong and Scott each won minor league Gold Gloves. Rafaela twice won the Red Sox minor league defensive player of the year.

    Fernando Tatis Jr. won a Fielding Bible Award two years ago when he was the runaway leader in Runs Saved among right fielders.

    Carlos Narváez earned rave reviews from the Yankees for his defense prior to their trading him to the Red Sox this past offseason (Yes, the Yankees and Red Sox made a trade). We’ll see if he gets the playing time needed to stay atop the leaderboard with Connor Wong back from injury.

    Sean Burke went from unknown to Opening Day White Sox starter pretty quickly. He hasn’t allowed a stolen base in 39 1/3 innings and leads the AL with 11 assists.  

    A reminder that you can find all the defensive leaderboards at FieldingBible.com and past leaders at our archive site.

  • Harrison Bader, Pete Crow-Armstrong Named Defensive Players of the Month

    Harrison Bader, Pete Crow-Armstrong Named Defensive Players of the Month

    Twins outfielder Harrison Bader and Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong are the SIS Defensive Players of the Month for March/April.

    In his first month-plus with the Twins, Bader led all players with 7 Defensive Runs Saved and led all outfielders with 9 Good Fielding Plays.

    The Twins signed Bader this past offseason knowing that they could use him in a couple of ways. They could play him in left field, giving themselves a pair of highly-skilled outfielders if Byron Buxton stayed healthy in center field. And they knew that they could slide Bader over to center if Buxton had any issues.

    Thus far, though the team is struggling, Bader’s defense has given it a boost. He has 4 Runs Saved in 22 games in left field and 3 in six games in center field. His specialty has been coming in to make a diving catch, as he earned a Good Fielding Play for doing that 6 times (like this run-saving one).

    He has 5 Runs Saved for his range and 2 Outfield Arm Runs Saved, for plays like this one against the Mets.

    Crow-Armstrong finished April with 6 Runs Saved, the most by any center fielder. He’s tied with Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela with 17 Runs Saved for the most by anyone at the position since the start of last season.

    Crow-Armstrong has made a couple of nifty grabs on deep fly balls (like this one).

    He has 5 Runs Saved from his range and 1 Run Saved via a couple of assists (here’s one that wowed the announcers and was overturned to an out on replay review).

     

    Crow-Armstrong’s strong start on defense has helped the Cubs rank second in Runs Saved, trailing only the Rays. His strong start at the plate, with an OPS 170 points higher than his 2024, has buoyed the team as well.

    Other strong contenders for Defensive Player of the Month were Red Sox catcher Carlos Narváez, who leads the position with 6 Runs Saved, shortstop leaders Anthony Volpe, Corey Seager, and Taylor Walls, left field leader Tommy Pham, and Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr.

    Sports Info Solutions has been naming Defensive Players of the Month since 2012 (with ESPN from 2012 to 2017 and then on its own since then), using a combination of statistical analysis and the eye test. Defensive Runs Saved has tracked MLB player defensive value since the 2003 season and is considered one of the industry-leading defensive stats.

  • Stat of the Week: Early Observations – Impressive Outfielders

    Stat of the Week: Early Observations – Impressive Outfielders

    We’re hesitant to make any proclamations about anything defense-related a few weeks into the season. But we like to honor defensive excellence regardless of what time of year it is. So we’ll point out a few things we’ve found notable. Here are a few of them from outfielders. We’ll try to look at infielders (and maybe catchers) next week.

    Mark April 24 on your calendar as it’s the day that Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong led the majors in a stat that our company invented some years back, Total Runs.

    Total Runs combines hitting, baserunning and defensive performance into one number in a manner similar to the run component used by Wins Above Replacement.

    And yes, it’s Crow-Armstrong, not Aaron Judge or Pete Alonso, who ranks No. 1 and defense is a part of that. Crow-Armstrong plays one of the most important positions on the field and he plays it like someone wanting to win a Platinum Glove. His 16 Runs Saved since the start of last season (including 5 in 2025) are tied for the most among center fielders.

    Shameless plug: He was one of a few topics of conversation on this week’s edition of The SIS Baseball Podcast.

    Most Total Runs – 2025 Season

    Total Runs
    Pete Crow-Armstrong 32
    Aaron Judge 31
    Fernando Tatis Jr. 30
    Corbin Carroll 30
    Pete Alonso 29

    Fernando Tatis Jr. is back to chasing down fly balls like he did two years ago when he co-led the majors with 27 Defensive Runs Saved. Former major leaguer and current ESPN broadcaster Doug Glanville said on our podcast that Tatis is a player who would most likely be a good gymnast too, because of his flexibility. He’s made five catches that earned “Good Fielding Play” tallies from our Data Scouts, including this one that Glanville loved.

    “He slid for the ball and he kept sliding, and while he was sliding he threw a rocket to first base,” Glanville said. “I was like ‘wait, how did he even get that ball?’”

    The Padres rank No. 2 in MLB in terms of turning fly balls hit to the outfield into outs (among balls that stay in the park), trailing only the Reds.

    Staying out West and staying in the outfield, Giants center fielders had the worst Runs Saved of any team in baseball in 2024. In fact, they were the worst defensively of any team at any position. But fan-favorite Jung Hoo Lee is healthy now after missing most of last season with an injury. And he’s good enough such that the negative Runs Saved total may turn positive for the Giants in 2025.

  • Stat of the Week: The All-Scrapes Team

    Stat of the Week: The All-Scrapes Team

     Photo: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire

     

    Did you happen to see this catch by Blue Jays right fielder George Springer against the Red Sox last week? We did and we weren’t particularly surprised by it.

    From 2022 to 2024, no right fielder dove for a ball more than the 30 times that Springer did. In fact, only one other right fielder had even half as many diving attempts in that span as Springer did, his teammate, Anthony Santander (25).

    In those 30 times that Springer dove, he caught the ball 22 times, a success rate of 73%, pretty good given that the average right fielder was successful at making a catch on 54% of his dives (center field and left field have similar rates of effectiveness).

    If you were listening to our most recent episode of The SIS Baseball Podcast, you heard our guest, Hannah Keyser, and I run through “The All-Scrapes Team.” That’s the list of players who dove the most at each infield and outfield position over those three seasons.

    We’re still largely working in small sample sizes for 2025, so we thought it would be fun to review that All-Scrapes squad with some comments related to each of the leaders and positions.

    First Base – Pete Alonso dove for balls 139 times from 2022 to 2024. The next-closest first baseman was Carlos Santana (81). Alonso was a little better than average at getting outs on his dives (41% of the time, MLB average was 37%).

    The most effective divers by percentage were Ryan Mountcastle and a relative newcomer to the position, Bryce Harper, both with 60% success rates. Harper ranked second to Alonso in dives by a first baseman last season with 39.

    Second Base – Three second basemen dove more than 100 times in the last three seasons – Andrés Giménez (140), Bryson Stott (113), and Nico Hoerner (112). Of those, Giménez is the most successful, recording an out on 25% of his dives (MLB average is 24%).

    Brendan Rodgers had the best track record at getting outs on dives (45%). At the other end is Jeff McNeil, who got an out just five times on 60 diving attempts (8%).

    Shortstop – The leaders in dives are Geraldo Perdomo and C.J. Abrams with 111. The average shortstop is successful on only 21% of his dives, so Perdomo’s 32% looks pretty good.

    Perdomo and Abrams played the position differently from a lot of shortstops. The average shortstop dives every 2.5 times for every time he slides to make a play, but Perdomo and Abrams almost never slid, doing so just 7 and 3 times, respectively.

    Third Base – Alec Bohm (115) and Rafael Devers (96) ranked 1-2 in dives in that time. Before you say, ‘Only bad fielders dive for balls,’ you should know that the next five players in diving attempts are Matt Chapman, Austin Riley, Ryan McMahon, Ke’Bryan Hayes, and Alex Bregman.

    Of the 20 third basemen who dove the most, the one who got an out most often was Manny Machado (38%).

    Left field – Jurickson Profar (27) and Ian Happ (26) are the top two here. Happ goes all out for balls in all sorts of ways. His 133 slides, dives, and jumps in that span were miles ahead of the player with the second-most, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., 78. Shout-out to Brandon Nimmo, who has split time center field and left field and has recorded an out on 80% of his dives over the last three seasons.

    Center field – Brenton Doyle is another outfielder who goes all-out, so much so that he had more dives in two seasons (34) than any other center fielder had in three. He won a Fielding Bible Award last year for playing with a high effort level. Standouts at getting outs when they played center field and dove included Riley Greene (79%) and Cedric Mullins (78%)

    Right field – As mentioned above, Springer leads the way in dives here and is highly effective when he does dive.

    All Players – Because some players switch positions, we thought it was worth checking the overall leaderboard, and in fact, the top diver was a position switcher – Nico Hoerner of the Cubs has 155 dives for balls over the last three seasons. However, we’re wondering if he might be able to save his body a little bit. He’s been successful at getting an out on only 15% of his diving attempts.

    Here are the leaders by position:

    Most Diving Attempts – 2022 to 2024

    Player Dives
    1B- Pete Alonso 139
    2B- Andrés Giménez 140
    SS- Geraldo Perdomo (tie) 111
    SS- C.J. Abrams (tie) 111
    3B- Alec Bohm 115
    LF- Jurickson Profar 27
    CF- Brenton Doyle 34
    RF- George Springer 30
    Overall- Nico Hoerner 155
  • Stat of the Week: 10 Seasons Of Strike Zone Runs Saved Part II

    Stat of the Week: 10 Seasons Of Strike Zone Runs Saved Part II

    Last week we looked back at 10 seasons of data for our pitch-framing stat, Strike Zone Runs Saved, which puts a run value on the result of taken pitches, and we looked at which catchers have fared best and worst in those measurements.

    One of the neat things about Strike Zone Runs Saved (SZRS) is its flexibility. It can also be used to evaluate hitters, pitchers, and umpires. We can see which batters and pitchers are getting more or fewer called strikes than expected. We can also see which umpires are calling more or fewer strikes than expected. 

    Batters

    Batters With Most Extra Called Strikes, 2015-2024 (minimum 5 seasons)

    SZRS per season
    Xander Bogaerts 1.0
    Curtis Granderson 0.9
    Wilmer Flores 0.9
    Alcides Escobar 0.9
    Luis Garcia Jr. 0.8

    Batters With Most Extra Called Balls 2015-2024 (minimum 5 Seasons)

    SZRS per season
    Rhys Hoskins -1.5
    Bryce Harper -1.4
    Charlie Blackmon -1.4
    Ryan McMahon -1.3
    Carlos Santana -1.3

    What these tables are showing is that Xander Bogaerts is getting more called strikes against him than he should be (and the most above what he should be of any hitter in the majors in the last 10 seasons). Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper are at the other end of the spectrum. They get a more favorably called strike zone than other hitters.

    The scale for batters isn’t mind-blowing, just a run per season at the extremes. And that’s not shocking, considering there isn’t some obvious direct mechanism by which the batter might influence a strike call, other than maybe how close he stands to the plate. 

    However, there does seem to be some kind of a reputation effect at play. You don’t see it as clearly in the top five, but here are the top 20 in each group:

    • Extra strikes: Xander Bogaerts, Curtis Granderson, Wilmer Flores, Alcides Escobar, Luis Garcia Jr., Carlos Correa, Nomar Mazara, Thairo Estrada, Ian Kinsler, Yolmer Sanchez, Mark Canha, Joey Wendle, Logan Forsythe, Isaac Paredes, Brock Holt, Jorge Polanco, Eloy Jimenez, Donovan Solano, Hunter Pence, Domingo Santana
    • Extra balls: Rhys Hoskins, Bryce Harper, Charlie Blackmon, Ryan McMahon, Carlos Santana, Russell Martin, J.P. Crawford, Jed Lowrie, Dustin Pedroia, Cody Bellinger, Freddie Freeman, Yasmani Grandal, Yadier Molina, Nathaniel Lowe, Buster Posey, Carlos Gonzalez, Corey Seager, Shohei Ohtani, Joey Votto, Yonder Alonso

    There are several MVPs and a few near-misses in the hitter-friendly group, and none in the pitcher-friendly group. That seems unlikely to be a coincidence. 

    It’s also notable that there are four catchers in the hitter-friendly group and none in the pitcher-friendly group. At a more macro level, only one player who had at least five years at catcher in the last 10 had more than a quarter of a run per season go against him (Ryan Jeffers). There were 19 catchers on the positive side of that.  

    You often hear about catchers not wanting to get into a tiff with an umpire when they’re batting because they want to get good calls as a catcher, but they seem to get a little bit of favoritism regardless.

    Pitchers

    Pitchers With Extra Called Strikes, 2015-24 (minimum 5 seasons)

    SZRS per season
    Jon Lester 1.6
    Gio Gonzalez 1.2
    Masahiro Tanaka 1.1
    Clayton Kershaw 1.1
    Steven Wright 1.0

    Pitchers With Fewer Called Strikes, 2015-2024 (minimum 5 seasons)

    SZRS per season
    Framber Valdez -1.4
    Zack Wheeler -1.2
    Yusei Kikuchi -0.9
    Eric Lauer -0.7
    Jake Arrieta -0.7

    For those who have believed that Clayton Kershaw gets strike calls because he’s Clayton Kershaw, perhaps his inclusion on the list adds a little something to that belief. He’s among the pitchers who have gotten more calls than expected. That Framber Valdez and Zack Wheeler are still succeeding in spite of having arguably the least pitcher-friendly strike zone is illustrative of their reliance on ground balls and missed swings, respectively.

    We’re not sure what to otherwise make of these lists other than that the strike zone is tighter for current pitchers. The calculation of Strike Zone Runs Saved uses a rolling two-year window, so slight changes to rules are accounted for, but it isn’t going to move immediately when guidelines change.

    Umpires

    More Called Strikes Than Expected (2015-2024, Minimum 5 Seasons)

    SZRS per season
    Doug Eddings 11.7
    Bill Miller 9.5
    Lance Barrett 6.2
    Phil Cuzzi 6.0
    Mike Estabrook 5.3

    Fewer Called Strikes Than Expected (2015-2024, Minimum 5 Seasons)

    SZRS per season
    Alfonso Márquez -6.7
    Edwin Moscoso -6.2
    Mark Wegner -5.3
    Carlos Torres -5.2
    Tom Woodring -4.6

    As we’ve previously noted in Stat of the Week, Doug Eddings and Bill Miller have and have had the most pitcher-friendly strike zones in baseball. They’ve largely gone unchanged over the years. Lance Barrett, Phil Cuzzi, and Mike Estabrook are all big strike zone umpires, though they don’t occupy the same ballpark as Eddings and Miller.

    At the opposite end of things are the umpires with the most hitter-friendly strike zones in baseball. Alfonso Márquez has been known to have a smaller strike zone than most of his peers for years. The spread among the five umpires listed above with the most hitter-friendly zones isn’t as vast as the gap between Eddings, Miller, and their fellow umpires.

    One other note about Eddings, Miller, and Márquez is that though these numbers indicate they favor either the pitcher or hitter more than any other umpires, this does not seem to have impacted how they are viewed by the MLB office. They each been given prominent postseason assignments the last few years. Miller and Márquez worked the 2023 World Series. Eddings was on the World Series crew in 2024.

  • 2025 NL Team Defensive Storylines  

    2025 NL Team Defensive Storylines  

     Photo: Cliff Welch (left) and Larry Radloff (right)/Icon Sportswire 

    Over on our website, we spent two weeks looking at the defensive strengths and weaknesses of all 30 MLB teams heading into 2025. That makes our look at the top defensive storyline for each team heading into the season easier to do. 

    We did the American League last week and now this week, we’ll touch on the National League. Click the links to read the article for each team (some things may be slightly outdated).

    Braves – The Braves are pretty good to very good at the corner infield spots and center field. The questions will be at the corner outfield spots where Jurickson Profar (-19 Runs Saved in left the last two seasons) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (-11 Runs Saved in right field the last three seasons) are going to be challenged.

    Brewers – This should be one of the best defensive teams in the NL. They can put three standout outfielders on the field at any time. Joey Ortiz, a good defender, moves from third base to shortstop to replace Willy Adames, who ranked last in the majors in Runs Saved at the position last season.

    Cardinals – A couple of concerns: Willson Contreras moves to first base, where he’s played 11 MLB games in his career and hasn’t played since 2019. The full-time catcher, Ivan Herrera, threw out 2-of-57 would be basestealers last season.

    Cubs – You could make a case for the Cubs having MLB’s best defense this season. One intriguing thing could be how Kyle Tucker handles the wind playing right field at Wrigley Field. Tucker’s Runs Saved the last few seasons have been boosted by home run robberies at Minute Maid Park. He won’t be able to do that at Wrigley.

    Diamondbacks – The Diamondbacks are good up the middle but weaker at the corners. Josh Naylor replacing Christian Walker at first base represents a 13-run defensive downgrade (Walker had 7 Runs Saved in 2024, Naylor had -6). Third baseman Eugenio Suárez, though never terrible at third base, has not finished a season with positive Runs Saved in the last seven years.

    Dodgers – The biggest question would be how much this team’s defense gets bitten by the aging curve. Their projected starting lineup on FanGraphs features six position players 30 or older and another starter who’s about to be (Tommy Edman). Plus everyone on the bench is over 30 too. We’ll see how the team’s positioning masterminds handle potentially declining skills.

    Giants – How does shortstop Willy Adames handle the pressure of a big contract and recover from a 2024 season in which he ranked last among shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved? That and Jung-Hoo Lee in center field are the two big things to watch.

    Marlins – This is a hard team to get a full read on because they don’t have a projected starting position player with even three years of MLB service time. The Marlins finished 27th in Runs Saved in 2024, so we don’t have much optimism. If you’re looking for one guy to watch, it’s second baseman Otto Lopez who has 9 Runs Saved in 103 career games there.

    Mets – The Mets paid a ton for right fielder Juan Soto’s bat but they also get his glove, which has not rated impressively the last few seasons. Soto’s range with the Yankees left something to be desired (-6 Range Runs Saved in 2024) though his arm made up for some of that.

    Nationals – Washington has a pair of young and exciting corner outfielders in James Wood and Dylan Crews. Wood had trouble in left field during his time in MLB last season (-7 Runs Saved) but Crews fared alright in right field, and on The SIS Baseball Podcast, Washington Post national baseball writer Chelsea Janes said he looked good in spring training too. He looks like he could be a complete major league player.

    Padres – Can Fernando Tatis Jr. bounce back from the stress fracture that cost him considerable time last season? Tatis had 29 Runs Saved in right field in 2023 but dropped to 0 in 2024.

    Phillies – The Phillies have a decent defensive team, with a solid right side of the infield in Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott. How J.T. Realmuto holds up behind the plate as he ages could be a story after a knee injury limited him last year. The team already has two notable weaknesses in the field (Nick Castellanos and Trea Turner) and the defense would be hindered if Realmuto’s performance dips.

    Pirates – Oneil Cruz got his feet wet with 23 games in center field last season. He had -3 Runs Saved, but more notably 9 Misplays & Errors (a high total for a small span of games). Cruz replaces Michael A. Taylor, one of the better defensive center fielders in the game.

    Reds – Jose Trevino was added this offseason to improve the Reds backup catcher spot and now he’s the regular starter with Tyler Stephenson injured. Trevino’s 45 Runs Saved over the last 4 seasons lead all catchers and he’s an excellent pitch framer, so what he doesn’t have in his bat, he should make up for some with his glove.

    Rockies – The Rockies have three Gold Glove/Fielding Bible Award-caliber defenders in shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, third baseman Ryan McMahon, and center fielder Brenton Doyle. But how many games can the Rockies win with defense to make up for their deficiencies elsewhere?

  • Stat of the Week: 2025 AL Team Defensive Storylines

    Stat of the Week: 2025 AL Team Defensive Storylines

    Over on our website, we’re looking at the defensive strengths and weaknesses of all 30 MLB teams heading into 2025. That makes our look at the top defensive storyline for each team heading into the season easier to do.  

    We’ll do the American League this week and the National League next week. Click on the link for each team for a more detailed analysis.

    Angels – It’s been a little while coming but Mike Trout is finally moving to right field, flipping places with Jo Adell, who will start the season in center field. Past studies that we’ve done at SIS show that center fielders improve by about 8 Runs Saved per 1,000 innings when moving to a corner spot. Meanwhile, Adell was the team’s top defensive outfielder last season, finishing with 6 Runs Saved. Corners typically decline about 7 runs per 1,000 innings when moving to center field.

    Astros – Jose Altuve makes the move from second base to left field. This was another move that was some time in the making. Altuve totaled -41 Runs Saved over the last three seasons, the worst total for any second baseman.

    Athletics – It could be another rough year for the Athletics in the field. Their top-performing defensive player among their current projected starters is Gio Urshela, who had 0 Runs Saved last season.

    Blue Jays – The Blue Jays have been the top team in Defensive Runs Saved the last two seasons and they traded for the best defensive second baseman, Andrés Giménez, who is a wizard when it comes to making plays. He’s still in his prime at age 26 and is the runaway leader in Runs Saved at the position over the last three seasons. 

    Guardians – The Guardians are the team that gave up Giménez and they’ll need to find a way to replace him if they want to finish among the top teams in Defensive Runs Saved again. They’ve finished in the top four twice in the last three seasons, including second last year. 

    Mariners – The Mariners could have a very good outfield if Victor Robles plays like he did after joining the Mariners in the middle of last season and If Randy Arozarena has a season more like 2021 and 2023 (7 and 4 Runs Saved, respectively) than 2022 and 2024 (-6 and -8). 

    Orioles – The Orioles were a Top 10 defensive team in 2022 and 2023 before slipping to 19th in Runs Saved in 2024. They should be better in the outfield with newcomer Tyler O’Neill in left field and Colton Cowser moving to right field, replacing Anthony Santander. And they have the potential to be better at positions like catcher (Adley Rutschman) and shortstop (Gunnar Henderson). 

    Rangers – The Rangers placed 11th in Runs Saved last season but have the pieces to be better if Josh Jung and Evan Carter, who looked so good in the 2023 postseason but dealt with injuries in 2024, are good at third base and center field, respectively.

    Rays – The Rays’ best defensive players are in the minor leagues. Top prospect shortstop Carson Williams and first baseman Tre Morgan both have earned major props from scouts for their defense. Our metrics back that up. They’ve both notched positive Runs Saved totals in the minor leagues, which isn’t that easy to do.

    Red Sox – The Alex Bregman/Rafael Devers ‘who plays third base?’ drama may play out for a little while, but there’s no contest as to which one is the better defender. Bregman, coming off a Gold Glove, will man the spot to start the season. He had 6 Runs Saved at third base last season, 15 more than Devers.

    Royals – The Royals will try to find playing time for Freddy Fermin behind the plate. Salvador Perez has finished with negative Runs Saved at catcher for four straight seasons. Fermin finished 3rd in Runs Saved there in 2024 despite ranking 31st in innings caught.

    Tigers – The Tigers finished 5th in Runs Saved last season, though the team got more from defensive positioning than it did from skill. One thing to watch will be how last year’s youngsters, like shortstop Trey Sweeney and center fielder Parker Meadows, follow up on impressive performances in 2024.

    Twins – It’s said every year but keeping Byron Buxton on the field is vital for the Twins’ success. He had 2 Runs Saved in center field last season. Other Twins center fielders totaled -11 in nearly half of the available innings there.

    White Sox – It can’t be worse for the White Sox than last year, right? They should be better defensively, at least in the outfield where Michael A. Taylor seems the likeliest candidate to play center field. Taylor has the most Runs Saved among center fielders over the last four seasons.

    Yankees – Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm return to positions that have treated them well in the past. Judge has won a Fielding Bible Award for his play in right field. Chisholm has 6 Runs Saved in the equivalent of about a season’s worth of games at second base.

  • Stat of the Week: Which Teams Have The Best Defensive Reputations?

    Stat of the Week: Which Teams Have The Best Defensive Reputations?

    Photo: Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire

    We just started a series on our website in which we’ll be asking the question for all 30 teams: Is this a good defensive team heading into 2025?

    You can find the articles here.

    But which teams have the best defensive reputations?

    To answer that, we noted each team’s average rank in Defensive Runs Saved over the last four seasons.  

    Two teams tied for the best average ranking: The Brewers and the Dodgers.

    The Brewers are the only team to rank in the top 6 in Runs Saved in each of the last four seasons. They placed 6th in 2021 and 2022, 2nd in 2023, and 4th in 2024.

    They’re in strong position to do that again. The have four very good defensive outfielders (though Blake Perkins is hurt at the moment), and a Platinum Glove winner at second base in Brice Turang, who led the position in Runs Saved last season.

    The Dodgers have ranked in the top 10 in each of the last four seasons. They’ve finished 10th in 2021, 2nd in 2022, and 3rd in both 2023 and 2024.

    The Dodgers’ success last season was more rooted in the positioning of their players than defensive skill. One of their other biggest strengths is their defensive versatility, with several prominent players (Mookie Betts and Tommy Edman among them) able to play multiple positions.

    Rounding out the top 5 in average rank are the Blue Jays, Guardians, Cardinals, and Rangers, with the latter two teams tied for 5th.

    The Blue Jays are the two-time reigning season leaders in Runs Saved and though Daulton Varsho may play the field less often due to season-ending rotator cuff surgery last season, they added another Platinum Glove winner, second baseman Andrés Giménez.

    The Guardians ranked 3rd in Runs Saved in 2022 and 2nd in 2024, but lost Giménez. They still have a terrific left fielder, Steven Kwan, an impressive young shortstop, Brayan Rocchio, and an improving catcher, Bo Naylor. The Guardians take their defensive play seriously. Both their Triple-A and Double-A affiliates led their respective leagues in Runs Saved last season.

    The Cardinals ranked 1st in 2021 and 5th in 2022, but have slipped to 20th and 13th the last two seasons. The Rangers have three finishes in the top 11, including a 2nd-place standing in 2021.

    Five teams finished with an average rank of 25 or worse. They were the Phillies, Nationals, A’s, Reds, and White Sox.

    Below are the full team rankings:

    Average Rank in Defensive Runs Saved

    Last 4 MLB Seasons

    Team Avg Rank
    Brewers 5
    Dodgers 5
    Blue Jays 6
    Guardians 9
    Cardinals 10
    Rangers 10
    Braves 11
    Astros 11
    Rockies 12
    Yankees 13
    Cubs 13
    Diamondbacks 13
    Rays 13
    Mariners 14
    Orioles 14
    Tigers 15
    Twins 15
    Mets 16
    Padres 16
    Red Sox 18
    Royals 18
    Marlins 18
    Angels 19
    Pirates 21
    Giants 21
    Phillies 25
    Nationals 25
    Athletics 26
    Reds 27
    White Sox 28