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Category: John Dewan’s Stat of the Week

  • Stat of the Week: The Rangers Did It With Defense

    Stat of the Week: The Rangers Did It With Defense

    A slightly belated tip of the hat to the Rangers’ infield defense for their dominant work against ground balls and bunts this postseason.

    The Rangers faced 207 grounders and bunts in the playoffs and World Series— more than any other team this postseason— and got at least one out on 77% of them, the highest rate of any team this postseason. All four of their infield regulars deserve recognition for their play in 2023.

    First baseman Nathaniel Lowe went from -9 Defensive Runs Saved in 2022 to 3 in 2023. He won the AL Gold Glove at first base and finished 6th in the Fielding Bible Awards voting at the position (highest among AL first basemen). With the Rangers protecting a 3-2 lead against the Astros in the 7th inning of Game 6 of the ALCS, Lowe had a big stretch and scoop of a throw to complete a double play. The Rangers won that game and then Game 7 the next day.

    Second baseman Marcus Semien has finished tied for 2nd, 4th, and 2nd in Runs Saved at the position the last 3 seasons. But because of that consistency he leads all second basemen in Runs Saved in those 3 years. He likely saved 2 runs with a diving stop in Game 5 of the ALCS against the Astros, 1 of 4 Good Fielding Plays he made in the postseason.

    Shortstop Corey Seager had 5 Runs Saved this season, a respectable total but one that didn’t rank in the Top 10 at the position this season.

    However, Seager tied for the MLB lead among shortstops in Double Play Runs Saved with 3. Seager converted 74% of double play opportunities in the regular season, the 2nd-highest rate among the 35 shortstops with the most opportunities in 2023. Seager was 100% when it mattered most, spearing Ketel Marte’s bid for a hit in the 8th inning and turning it into an inning-ending double play. That helped preserve a 3-1 Rangers win in Game 3 of the World Series.

    Third baseman Josh Jung finished the regular season with 0 Runs Saved but tied for the MLB regular season lead in Good Fielding Plays at the position with 21. Jung rated among the best third basemen in baseball at making plays on balls hit to his right, not surprising given his great arm. He had a pair of Good Fielding Plays on balls hit down the line in the postseason (this one and this one).

    The Rangers’ outfield may not have ranked No. 1 at turning balls hit in the air into outs but they made some terrific plays. Right fielder Adolis Garcia threw Christian Walker out at the plate in a key moment in Game 3 of the World Series. Garcia also won a Gold Glove and finished 2nd to Fernando Tatis Jr. in the Fielding Bible Award voting in right field. Center fielder Leody Taveras robbed Yordan Alvarez of a home run in the ALCS. Left fielder Evan Carter had 3 Good Fielding Plays, all impressive catches.

    In fact, you could say that Carter’s diving catch in the 1st inning of Game 1 of the Wild Card Round against the Rays was the tone setter for what was to come the rest of the postseason. Highly impressive for a rookie to start a highly impressive run for the Rangers, the 2023 World Series winners.

  • Stat of the Week: Fielding Bible Awards Runners-Up

    Stat of the Week: Fielding Bible Awards Runners-Up

    Last week we honored so many great defensive players in our announcement of The Fielding Bible Awards.

    But in doing so, we were limiting our selection to one per position. We don’t want to forget about some of the other great players who didn’t win an Award.

    So today is for the runner-ups, the players who finished second for each of the Fielding Bible Awards in 2023.

    First Base – Carlos Santana of the Brewers led all first basemen in Defensive Runs Saved (11) and ranked 2nd in Good Fielding Plays (41). The 11 Runs Saved were a career high. Santana, not known for his defense, has finished with a positive Runs Saved in 7 of the last 8 years.

    Second Base – Marcus Semien of the Rangers leads all second basemen in Runs Saved over the last 3 seasons, one better than the 2023 Fielding Bible Award winner, Andrés Giménez, though Giménez beat him out for the lead in 2023. 

    Third Base – Ryan McMahon of the Rockies had the misfortune of going up against the Defensive Player of the Year winner, Ke’Bryan Hayes. McMahon holds up well against every other third baseman in the sport. He ranks 2nd to Hayes in Runs Saved at the position over the last 3 seasons and ranked 2nd in 2023 too. Yes, that means he’s ahead of former Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado.

    Shortstop – It was a crowded field of players battling for the No. 2 spot behind unanimous winner Dansby Swanson, and it was Swanson’s division rival, Willy Adames of the Brewers, who ended up there. Adames ranked tied for 7th at the position in Runs Saved but was 4th in the component of Runs Saved that comes from turning batted balls into outs.

    Left Field – Daulton Varsho of the Blue Jays was the runner-up to Steven Kwan, but just noting that would be an injustice to Varsho, who led all players with 29 Runs Saved in 2023  Unfortunately for him, he ended up with no Fielding Bible Awards to show for it because he split time between left field (where he finished 3rd in Runs Saved) and center field. He qualified for the Award in left field because he played more there but lost to Kwan in the voting. Varsho did finish 4th in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

    Center Field – Brenton Doyle of the Rockies just missed beating out Kevin Kiermaier for the Award. Doyle did beat out Kiermaier for the MLB lead in Runs Saved at the position with 19. That’s remarkable given that the most Runs Saved by a Rockies center fielder in a season prior to that was 6.

    Right Field – Rangers postseason star Adolis García is a defensive star too. He was the runner-up to Fernando Tatis Jr. in right field. García and Tatis tied for the MLB lead in Outfield Arm Runs Saved at the position. García leads all outfielders in that stat over the last 3 seasons.

    Catcher – Patrick Bailey stepped into a big role as a rookie for the Giants and matched up well with Award winner Gabriel Moreno. Bailey tied for the MLB lead in our pitch-framing metric, Strike Zone Runs Saved.

    Pitcher – Jesús Luzardo of the Marlins led all pitchers in Runs Saved in 2023 and finished No. 1 in Runs Saved from turning batted balls into outs. He also ranks 3rd in Runs Saved at the position in the last 3 seasons.

    Multi-Position – Jon Berti of the Marlins didn’t quite match up to winner Mookie Betts but Berti was highly versatile. He played at least 15 games at 4 positions – shortstop (64), third base (41), left field (18), and second base (15) – and finished the season with 5 Runs Saved.

    Full voting results for The Fielding Bible Awards can be found in The Bill James Handbook, Walk-Off Edition, which is available for pre-order at ACTA Sports, and on the Sports Info Solutions website.

  • 2023 Fielding Bible Award Winners

    2023 Fielding Bible Award Winners

    SIS is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 Fielding Bible Awards. This marks the 18th 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 inaugural Defensive Player of the Year award.

    This year’s winners are:

    Position Name Team
    Player of the Year Ke’Bryan Hayes Pirates
    1B Christian Walker Diamondbacks
    2B Andrés Giménez Guardians
    3B Ke’Bryan Hayes Pirates
    SS Dansby Swanson Cubs
    LF Steven Kwan Guardians
    CF Kevin Kiermaier Blue Jays
    RF Fernando Tatis Jr. Padres
    C Gabriel Moreno Diamondbacks
    P Zack Greinke Royals
    Multi-Position Mookie Betts Dodgers

    Defensive Player of the Year

    Ke’Bryan Hayes is our inaugural Defensive Player of the Year. He led 3rd basemen in Defensive Runs Saved this season and easily leads all 3rd basemen in Runs Saved since his debut season, 2020.

    “Ke’Bryan Hayes had another outstanding season defensively,” said SIS VP Baseball, Bobby Scales. “Since the day he entered the Major Leagues he has displayed a level of defensive excellence that few young players exhibit at this early stage of their careers. This year was truly a special one for him.”

    Individual Positions

    1B – Christian Walker won his 2nd straight Fielding Bible Award. He finished 2nd among 1st basemen with 9 Defensive Runs Saved in 2023. He joins Albert Pujols and Matt Olson as the only 1B to win in consecutive years. Walker cut back on his Misplays & Errors from 19 in 2022 to 11 in 2023 in nearly the same number of innings.

    Walker and Paul Goldschmidt are the only Diamondbacks players to win a Fielding Bible Award at 1st base.

    2B – Andrés Giménez won his 1st Fielding Bible Award. Gimenez led all 2nd basemen with 23 Defensive Runs Saved in 2023. He was our Co-Defensive Player of the Month in September. Giménez was the only infielder to be at least 10 Plays Saved above average on balls hit to both his left and his right in 2023.

    He’s the only Guardians player to win the Award at 2nd base.

    3B – Ke’Bryan Hayes won his 2nd Fielding Bible Award (previously won in 2021) to go along with Defensive Player of the Year honors. He led all third basemen with 21 Defensive Runs Saved. Hayes cut back on his mistakes in 2023. He finished with 13 Defensive Misplays & Errors, down from 25 in 2022. He was also the only third baseman to have at least 10 plays saved on balls hit to his right.

    He’s the only Pirates player to win the award at 3rd base.

    SS – Dansby Swanson won his 1st Fielding Bible Award. He was the only unanimous selection among 2023 winners. Swanson led all shortstops with 18 Defensive Runs Saved. He was +14 Plays Saved on balls hit to his right, the most of any player at the position. Balls hit to that area (the shortstop-third base hole) have been a weakness for Swanson in past seasons but in 2022 and 2023, he’s improved considerably.

    Swanson is the second Cubs player to win a Fielding Bible Award at shortstop, joining Javier Báez (2020).

    LF – Steven Kwan won his 2nd Fielding Bible Award. He’s the first player to win a Fielding Bible Award in each of his first 2 MLB seasons. He led all left fielders in both Defensive Runs Saved (16) and Good Fielding Plays (24) in 2023. He’s the only Guardians player to win the Award for left field.

    CF – Kevin Kiermaier won his 3rd Fielding Bible Award. He finished 2nd among center fielders with 18 Defensive Runs Saved, his most since recording 20 in 2017. Kiermaier made 92 catches on 110 opportunities on balls classified as deep, 11 more than the average center fielder would have made. Kiermaier joins Kevin Pillar as the only Blue Jays to win the Award for center field.

    RF – Fernando Tatis Jr. won his 1st Fielding Bible Award and became the 1st Padres player to win the Award. Every team now has at least one Fielding Bible Award winner. Tatis was the runaway leader with 29 Defensive Runs Saved in right field. He led all right fielders in Plays Saved on medium and deep-hit balls and led the position in Outfield Arm Runs Saved. Tatis’ 29 Runs Saved were the most for any player at any position in 2023. The 20-run gap between Tatis and the next-best right fielder was the largest gap between No. 1 and No. 2 for right field since Runs Saved was first tracked in 2003.

    C – Gabriel Moreno won his 1st Fielding Bible Award. Moreno threw out 21 would-be basestealers in 56 attempts, which equated to an MLB-best 7 Stolen Base Runs Saved. He also earned 5 Runs Saved for pitch blocking, 2nd in MLB to Nick Fortes. Diamondbacks pitchers had a 3.94 regular season ERA when Moreno caught. When he didn’t, their ERA was 5.25. Moreno joins Jeff Mathis as the only Diamondbacks catchers to win a Fielding Bible Award.

    P – Zack Greinke won his 3rd Fielding Bible Award, his first with the Royals (other ones: 2018, 2019). He finished 2nd among pitchers with 6 Defensive Runs Saved this season. In the 21-year history of the stat, Greinke ranks first at the position with 93 Runs Saved. Greinke allowed only 2 stolen bases all season. He picked off 5 baserunners, 1 more than he had in the previous 8 seasons combined. Greinke is the only Royals pitcher to win a Fielding Bible Award.

    Multi-Position – Mookie Betts won his 6th Fielding Bible Award, tying Andrelton Simmons and Yadier Molina for the most in the 18-year history of the Award. It’s the first time that Betts won for multi-position excellence. The other 5 came as a right fielder. Betts saved 6 Runs at 2nd base and 3 runs in right field. He’d never played more than 14 games at 2nd base prior to 2023, when he played 70. He also played 16 games at shortstop, the first time he’d played the position in the major leagues. Betts is the 3rd Dodgers player to win the Multi-Position award joining Cody Bellinger (2019) and Kiké Hernández (2020).

    —

    The 2023 awards were determined by a panel of 16 voters, who ranked the top 10 players at each defensive position (including a spot for multi-position players) at the conclusion of the regular season. A first-place vote gets 10 points, second-place gets nine points, third-place gets eight points, etc. Total up the points for each player, and the player with the most points wins the award. A perfect score is 160 points.

    Our voting panel consisted of SIS co-founder John Dewan and baseball stat pioneer Bill James, along with Daniel Álvarez-Montes (El Extra Base), Chris Dial (sabermetrician), Alyson Footer (MLB.com), Peter Gammons (The Athletic), Tyler Kepner (The Athletic), Bill Ladson (MLB.com), Eduardo Pérez (ESPN), Hal Richman (Strat-O-Matic), Travis Sawchik (The Score), Bobby Scales (SIS), Joe Sheehan (longtime writer), Mark Simon (SIS), Dani Wexelman (MLB Network Radio), and an aggregate vote from the SIS Video Scout staff.

    A complete list of ballots and the history of the Fielding Bible Awards (which began in 2006) can be found online at FieldingBible.com and in The Bill James Handbook: Walk-Off Edition, which is available at ACTASports.com.

     

  • Fielding Bible Awards Preview (Part II)

    Fielding Bible Awards Preview (Part II)

     Photo: Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire

    This is the second part of our two-part preview that will focus on the top candidates for The Fielding Bible Awards, which will be announced next Thursday, October 26.

    This week, Part II of our preview looks at outfielders, pitchers, our multi-position award, and something new this year – our inaugural Defensive Player of the Year Award.

    The Defensive Player of the Year will go to the player that our voting panel believes was the top defensive performer in 2023.

    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. Similarly, the Defensive Player of the Year is only given to one player, whereas the Platinum Glove Award is given to one in each league.

    (Defensive Runs Saved totals in parentheses)

    Left Field

    Fielding Bible Award Favorites: Steven Kwan (16), Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (14)

    NL Gold Glove Favorite: David Peralta (7)

    AL Gold Glove Favorite: Kwan

    NL Top Contender: Nolan Jones (9)

    AL Top Contender: Daulton Varsho (11)

     Kwan will be looking to win his 2nd straight Fielding Bible Award after leading his position in Defensive Runs Saved for the 2nd straight season. Gurriel Jr. is a pretty good challenger. He ranked 16th among left fielders in innings played but finished 2nd in Runs Saved. Jones, who led all left fielders in Outfield Arm Runs Saved, is also formidable.

     One note here: Peralta is listed as the NL Gold Glove favorite. Based on previously published eligibility requirements, neither Gurriel nor Jones are eligible for a Gold Glove this year.

    Center Field

    Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Brenton Doyle (19), Kevin Kiermaier (18)

    NL Gold Glove Favorite: Doyle

    AL Gold Glove Favorite: Kiermaier

    NL Top Contenders: Johan Rojas (15), Alek Thomas (5)

    AL Top Contenders: Kyle Isbel (13), Cedric Mullins (7)

    This is one of the most fun positional races to discuss. Doyle had an incredible season. He led all center fielders in Runs Saved as a rookie playing regularly in the toughest outfield to play in the majors, Coors Field. No other Rockies center fielder has ever saved more than 6 runs in a season. Meanwhile, Kiermaier was great from start to finish. He led all center fielders in the Range component of Runs Saved despite ranking 10th in innings played.

    Right Field

    Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Fernando Tatis Jr. (29)

    NL Gold Glove Favorite: Tatis Jr.

    AL Gold Glove Favorites: Alex Verdugo (9), Adolis García (7)

    NL Top Contenders: Jason Heyward (5), Mookie Betts (3)

    AL Top Contender: Kyle Tucker (1)

    Statistically, this one is a runaway. In his first year playing the position, Tatis led all right fielders in Runs Saved, with the next-closest player 20 runs behind. He left some of the game’s top defensive right fielders in the dust. The suspense here is in which player wins the AL Gold Glove, which figures to be a close vote between Verdugo and Garcia, with perhaps last year’s Gold Glove winner, Tucker, snagging some votes too.

     Pitcher

    Fielding Bible Award Favorites: Jesús Luzardo (7), Zack Greinke (6)

    NL Gold Glove Favorite: Luzardo

    AL Gold Glove Favorite:  José Berríos (5)

    NL Top Contenders: Taijuan Walker (5), Zack Wheeler (4)

    AL Top Contender: Sonny Gray (4), Pablo López (4)

    Luzardo edged out Greinke by 1 run for the Runs Saved lead for pitchers this year. He also led in the Range component of Runs Saved but Greinke edged him out by a run in another component, Stolen Base Runs Saved. Greinke also has a strong defensive history. He’s previously won 2 Fielding Bible Awards and 6 Gold Glove Awards. However, he’s only eligible for a Fielding Bible Award due to Gold Glove eligibility requirements.

    Walker also deserves a mention. He finished 2 Runs Saved off the MLB lead for pitchers this year. He’s yet to win any defensive awards but is the position’s Runs Saved leader over the last 3 seasons.

    Multi-Position

    Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Mookie Betts (9)

    NL Utility Player Gold Glove Favorite: Betts

    AL Utility Player Gold Glove Favorites: Taylor Walls (10)

    NL Top Contenders: Jon Berti (5), Tommy Edman (3)

    AL Top Contender: Mauricio Dubón (5) Zach McKinstry (1)

    Betts has won 5 Fielding Bible Awards previously, all in right field, but this season he split time between right field, second base and shortstop. Of those, he actually fared best statistically at 2nd base, saving 6 runs.

    Betts’ competition includes a mix of players who moved around the diamond a little more than he did but didn’t quite match Betts in Runs Saved, like Dubón and Castro. There’s also McKinstry, who played at least 90 innings at 5 different positions.

    The Fielding Bible Awards panel votes for this award based on a list of 15 players generated from a Defensive Versatility Score formula created by Bill James to measure a combination of defensive versatility and value. The stat rewards players who usually play many positions in a season, might move from position to position, and have demonstrated the ability to handle high-leverage positions when the team needs them to.

    Rawlings’ criteria for the definition of a utility player for the Gold Glove Award have not been shared publicly.

    Defensive Player of the Year

    Fielding Bible Award Favorites: Daulton Varsho (29), Fernando Tatis Jr. (27)

    NL Platinum Glove Favorites: Tatis, Ke’Bryan Hayes (21), Brenton Doyle (19)

    AL Platinum Glove Favorite: Varsho, Andrés Giménez (23), Kevin Kiermaier (18)

    NL Top Contenders: Gabriel Moreno (20), Dansby Swanson (18)

    AL Top Contenders: Marcus Semien (16)

    Our inaugural award could go to any number of players. Varsho led the majors in Runs Saved, with 18 in center field and 11 in left field (he was eligible to win only in left field). Tatis had the most Runs Saved of any player at any position. Swanson, Doyle, and Moreno play premium positions. Giménez and Hayes have repeatedly put up great numbers at their respective positions.

    Voters on our panel could vote for any player who was eligible for The Fielding Bible Awards for Defensive Player of the Year.

    The Platinum Glove is selected by fan voting among the Gold Glove winners and thus Varsho, who faces tough competition in left field, might not end up in the mix, which opens the door for Kiermaier to be a strong contender.

     

  • Fielding Bible Awards Preview: Part I

    Fielding Bible Awards Preview: Part I

     Photo: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire

    Our next two Stat of the Weeks will focus on the top candidates for The 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.

    (Defensive Runs Saved totals in parentheses)

    Catcher

    Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Gabriel Moreno (20)

    NL Gold Glove Favorite: Moreno 

    AL Gold Glove Favorite: Alejandro Kirk (17)

    NL Top Contenders: Patrick Bailey (13), Will Smith (12), Sean Murphy (8)

    AL Top Contender: Jonah Heim (6)

    Moreno pulled away from a tight field late in the season. His MLB-leading Defensive Runs Saved total was partly a product of being one of the few catchers who could throw out basestealers at a high rate this season, and his pitch blocking was excellent.

    The vote might be close because Moreno had a weakness: pitch framing. Kirk was basically a match for Moreno in pitch blocking and rated considerably better in our framing metric, Strike Zone Runs Saved.

    First Baseman

    Fielding Bible Award Favorites: Carlos Santana (11), Christian Walker (9), Matt Olson (8)

    NL Gold Glove Favorite: Walker

    AL Gold Glove Favorites: Anthony Rizzo (3), Nathaniel Lowe (3)

    NL Top Contender: Pete Alonso (6), Dominic Smith (5), Paul Goldschmidt (3) 

    AL Top Contender: Ryan Mountcastle (2)

    We list three favorites here because we’re expecting a close vote between this trio. Santana is the surprise of the group. His defense has improved with age. This is his fourth straight season with positive Runs Saved and the 11 Runs Saved is a career high. Walker and Olson have the benefit of reputation. Walker won the Award last season. Olson has won three times previously.

    In the AL, Lowe winning a Gold Glove would be notable. He was one of MLB’s most-improved defenders, going from -9 Runs Saved last season to 3 Runs Saved in 2023. His most formidable competition is Rizzo, whose season was halted in August by injury.

    Second Baseman

    Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Andrés Giménez (23)

    NL Gold Glove Favorites: Nico Hoerner (12), Brice Turang (12)

    AL Favorite: Giménez

    NL Top Contender: Ha-Seong Kim (10)

    AL Top Contender: Marcus Semien (16)

    Giménez was our co-Defensive Player of the Month for September and was another player who pulled away from the rest of the field for the positional lead in Defensive Runs Saved. He has a good chance to win a year after finishing second in the Fielding Bible voting to Brendan Rodgers. Semien is good competition. He leads all second basemen in Runs Saved over the last 3 seasons.

    In the NL, Hoerner made the transition from full-time shortstop last season to second base in 2023 to accommodate the Cubs’ acquisition of Dansby Swanson. He’s in a tight race for the Gold Glove with an impressive rookie, Turang, and Kim, who has put up very strong defensive numbers wherever he’s played since joining the Padres in 2021.

    Shortstop

    Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Dansby Swanson (18)

    NL Gold Glove Favorite: Swanson

    AL Gold Glove Favorite: Anthony Volpe (15)

    NL Top Contenders: Ezequiel Tovar (13), Miguel Rojas (12)

    AL Top Contender: Jeremy Peña (7)

    Swanson gave the Cubs exactly what they were looking for in his first year with the team. There are a lot of good candidates here, including a pair of rookies. Anthony Volpe didn’t hit much for the Yankees but put up strong overall defensive numbers. The Gold Glove Award may come down to him and last year’s winner, Peña.

    Third Baseman

    Fielding Bible Award Favorite: Ke’Bryan Hayes (21)

    NL Gold Glove Favorite: Hayes

    AL Gold Glove Favorite: Matt Chapman (12)

    NL Top Contender: Ryan McMahon (17)

    AL Top Contender: Alex Bregman (5)

    Even with a midseason injury, Hayes was easily the leader in Runs Saved among third basemen. Hayes came in 2nd to Nolan Arenado in last year’s Fielding Bible Awards, but this season, Hayes has him beat in Runs Saved, 21-1. It’s actually McMahon who might be Hayes’ most formidable competitor for both Fielding Bible and Gold Glove wins this season.

    In the AL, Chapman looked something like his 2-time Fielding Bible Award-winning self this season. There aren’t any other Gold Glove Award-eligible 3rd basemen close to his Runs Saved total. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll win, but he has a good chance.

     

  • Stat of the Week: The Leading Minor League Shortstop Defenders

    Stat of the Week: The Leading Minor League Shortstop Defenders

    Minor league shortstop prospects Noah Miller (Twins) and Nasim Nuñez (Marlins) are as good at conversing about defense as they are at playing it. And they are both very good defensive players.

    The two of them were guests on the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast this week. Miller is the runaway minor league leader in Defensive Runs Saved by a shortstop with 16.

    The 16 Runs Saved are impressive both because he’s still in High-A with the Cedar Rapids Kernels and because he’s being judged by major league standards. In other words, a ball that’s a 60% out probability for Brandon Crawford (one of Miller’s favorites to watch) is a 60% out probability for Miller.

    Miller seems to have very good self-awareness for someone his age.

    “I’ve just always been very comfortable going to my left,” Miller said, which matches what our metrics show about his skills. “Keeping my eyes behind my glove. That’s the big thing for me. Being able to read the hop is easier going to your left than to your right.”

    He also knows what he wants to do to improve his game.

    “The biggest things are probably just increasing arm strength and increasing foot speed to increase my range and the angles that you can take,” Miller said.

    Said Twins minor league infield and catching coordinator Tucker Frawley: “I said this to Noah when I saw him last week. He’s the bar to which I hold our other infielders. He seems to be consistently raising the bar. He’s been nothing short of amazing for us.”

    Amazing is a good way to describe what Nuñez does in the field too, though in a little bit of a different way. Our VP of Baseball, former major leaguer Bobby Scales, described him as an “artisan” in the field. Judge for yourself.

    Nuñez ranks tied for 3rd among minor league shortstops with 7 Runs Saved. He talked about both situational awareness and self-awareness and knows what he needs working on too.

    “Slowing down the game,” Nuñez said. “Understanding my body, understanding how athletic I am, and some plays, I don’t have to be 110% or 100%. Some plays I can understand the runners (on base and at the plate), understand my arms, understand the direction of the ball, and go according to that.”

    Both Miller and Nuñez have other aspects of their game to work on. Miller is hitting .223. Nuñez is at .225 but also has 47 stolen bases, which should increase his value to the Marlins.

    “Their gloves are going to give them opportunity in big leagues,” Scales said. “What’s going to be the separator for both of them is: Are they going to be able to hit enough to stay? They’re going to play in the big leagues because they can defend and run prevention is a massive piece of what run offices use now to construct their roster.”

    Check out what they all had to say on the current episode of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast.

    Most Defensive Runs Saved – Minor League Shortstops

    Name Team (Level) Defensive Runs Saved
    Noah Miller Twins (High-A) 16
    Christian Koss Red Sox (Triple-A) 8
    Nasim Nuñez Marlins (Double-A) 7
    Gregory Barrios Brewers (Single-A) 7
    Ambioris Tavarez Braves (Single-A) 6
  • Stat of the Week: Defense, The NL Cy Young Race, and Blake Snell

    Stat of the Week: Defense, The NL Cy Young Race, and Blake Snell

    On May 19, Padres starter Blake Snell got clubbed for 6 runs in 4 innings in a loss to the Red Sox. His season ERA at that point was 5.40.

    But from that point forward, Snell has had the most remarkable run of pitching in 2023. He has a 1.31 ERA in his last 19 starts with nearly 2.5 times more strikeouts (153) as hits allowed (62) in that span.

    Snell’s season ERA is currently an MLB-best 2.50. This is remarkable given that he’s walked 89 batters, the most in the NL. That’s more than 5 walks per 9 innings, a rate that ranks 4th-highest in MLB.

    Snell’s ERA is an outlier among those with the most walks per 9 innings. His walks per 9 are an outlier among the pitchers with the lowest ERAs in MLB.

    So with all these crazy numbers floating around, where does Snell fit within the context of the NL Cy Young race, compared to pitchers like Justin Steele of the Cubs and Spencer Strider of the Braves?

    A Twitter follower presumably looking to answer that or a similar question asked us how much defensive support the different Cy Young contenders have received this season.

    The easiest way for us to answer that is to look at Defensive Runs Saved on batted balls by a team in support of a pitcher, something we did earlier this season in this article.

    Pitchers Receiving Most Defensive Support From Teams – 2023

    Name Team DRS
    José Berrios Blue Jays 16
    Blake Snell Padres 15
    Corbin Burnes Brewers 13
    Yusei Kikuchi Blue Jays 13
    Framber Valdez Astros 12
    Dean Kremer Orioles 12

    Snell and the Padres show up prominently on the leaderboard. That makes sense. In order to have an ERA that good with the walk rate that high, a pitcher is going to need help in some form.

    And now let’s look at this using the Top 5 NL Cy Young candidates as established by Tom Tango’s Cy Young Predictor tool (now available on FanGraphs).

    Pitchers Receiving Most Defensive Support From Teams

    Cy Young Candidates- 2023

    Name Team DRS
    Blake Snell Padres 15
    Zac Gallen Diamondbacks 5
    Justin Steele Cubs 2
    Spencer Strider Braves 1
    Zack Wheeler Phillies -1

    Admittedly if we considered other areas of defense, such as keeping runners from stealing, the Defensive Runs Saved numbers behind Snell would go down a bit. Snell has allowed 20 stolen bases in 21 attempts. But he would still be well ahead of any other serious Cy Young contender. The work of the Padres defense has been an important part in Snell’s ERA being the best in the game.

    So if Snell does win the Cy Young Award, we’d recommend him giving some complimentary gifts to the likes of Fernando Tatis Jr., Ha-Seong Kim, Xander Bogaerts, and others. As good as Snell’s been on the mound, they’ve been just as good for him.

  • August’s Defensive Players of the Month

    August’s Defensive Players of the Month

    This month the SIS/Fielding Bible Awards Defensive Player of the Month goes to two players who demonstrated defensive dominance in August: Phillies center fielder Johan Rojas and Pirates 3rd baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes.

    Rojas is getting it done at a premium position for a Phillies team that can use the defensive help. He saved 11 runs in August, the most of any player, and has 12 Defensive Runs Saved for the season. He ranks tied for 3rd in Runs Saved by a center fielder despite ranking 44th among them in innings played. Rojas was also the runaway leader in Runs Saved by a minor league center fielder with 15.

    Rojas also covers ground better than most. He ranks 5th in MLB’s Jumps stat, covering nearly 3 feet more than the average outfielder within the first 3 seconds of batted-ball contact. He ranks 3rd in the Statcast metric “Burst” – covering more ground than the average outfielder when the ball has been in the air from 1.5 to 3 seconds.

    Additionally, Rojas has a strong arm, one that has averaged about 92 MPH on the top 10% of his throws. That ranks Top 5 among center fielders this season. Also impressive is that he’s minimized his mistakes. He had only 1 Error and no Defensive Misplays the entire month.

    Rojas’ 11 Runs Saved for the month easily topped the next-closest center fielder. Daulton Varsho (6) of the Blue Jays was the only other player with more than 5 Runs Saved there in August.

    Hayes also easily led his position with 9 Runs Saved in August. The next-closest third baseman for the month was Austin Riley of the Braves with 5 Runs Saved.

    Hayes is a two-time winner of the award this season, having also taken the honor in April. This month marked a triumphant return from the lower back injury that caused him to miss all but one game in July. Hayes now has 20 Runs Saved this season and reclaimed the seasonal lead in Runs Saved at third base from Ryan McMahon of the Rockies, who has 17. No one else has more than 10 Runs Saved at that position this season. By the way, Hayes also hit .320 with 6 home runs, 20 RBI, and a .956 OPS in August.

    Other players under consideration for the award this month included Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan and second baseman Andrés Giménez, and Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. Each led his respective position in Runs Saved for the month.

    A reminder that Sports Info Solutions will announce the winners of The 2023 Fielding Bible Awards in late October. A panel of voters selects the top defensive player at each position, along with a multi-position honoree. This will be our 18th consecutive year presenting this honor.

  • Stat of the Week: Rookies Making Big Defensive Impacts For Contenders

    Stat of the Week: Rookies Making Big Defensive Impacts For Contenders

    Have you gotten to see the Phillies rookie center fielder Johan Rojas since his recall about a month ago?

    He’s been something to watch from Day 1.

    Rojas was the runaway leader in Defensive Runs Saved in center field in the minor leagues. And he’s racing up that leaderboard even after just 30 games in the major leagues. He’s already saved 10 runs and is within striking distance of the MLB leaders in Runs Saved in center field, Kevin Kiermaier and Daulton Varsho, who each have 13 for the Blue Jays.

    Player Team Runs Saved
    Kevin Kiermaier Blue Jays 13
    Daulton Varsho Blue Jays 13
    Johan Rojas Phillies 10
    Brenton Doyle Rockies 10
    Kyle Isbel Royals 10

    Rojas is a potential gamechanger for a Phillies team that has struggled defensively the last few seasons. The Phillies had -24 Runs Saved at the All-Star Break but have actually increased that total by 5 runs since then.

    But Rojas isn’t the only rookie to make a prominent impact defensively for a postseason contender.

    We’ve brought up a few in some of the articles we’ve written. Here’s a list of those who have been the most impressive for potential playoff teams.

    Giants catcher Patrick Bailey leads everyone at that position with 15 Runs Saved. He’s been great at both pitch framing and controlling the running game. He will be a strong contender for a Fielding Bible Award.

    Another catcher, Yainer Diaz of the Astros, has forced Houston’s hand a little bit, as his 4 Runs Saved are considerably better than pitching staff favorite Martín Maldonado’s -10.

    We just wrote about Mariners infielder José Caballero and outfielder Cade Marlowe in an article for our website this week. Caballero has 9 Runs Saved, most of anyone on the team. Marlowe has excelled for the Mariners, contributing 7 Runs Saved to an outfield that ranks 4th in the majors in that stat.

    There’s also Orioles infielders Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg. Henderson, barely rookie eligible after getting a long look last season, has 7 Runs Saved at shortstop and 2 at third base. Westburg has 6 Runs Saved at second base (and -2 at third base) since his recall two months ago.

    The NL Central is loaded with talented rookie fielders. The Brewers have Joey Wiemer and Brice Turang, as well as our June Defensive Player of the Month winner, Blake Perkins. Between the 3 of them, they have 23 of the Brewers’ 46 Runs Saved. Turang ranks tied for 5th at 2nd base with 8 Runs Saved. Perkins, out with an oblique injury, has played even less than Rojas but ranks tied for 4th among right fielders with 7 Runs Saved. Overall, the Brewers rank second to the Blue Jays in Runs Saved this season.

    And yes the Reds have Elly De La Cruz, but their best defender may be Matt McLain, who has split time between shortstop and second base and handled both without issue. He’s tied for the team lead with T.J. Friedl with 5 Runs Saved.

    There are some big moments ahead for these players in the next 5 weeks. They’ve played like seasoned veterans so far but their biggest tests have yet to come.

  • Stat of the Week:  The Surprise Defensive Runs Saved Leader

    Stat of the Week:  The Surprise Defensive Runs Saved Leader

    Photos: Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire

    Whenever I share the list of Defensive Runs Saved leaders by position, there’s one name that always elicits a strong reaction.

    People are surprised that not only is Carlos Santana of the Brewers the leading first baseman, he’s the leading first baseman by a healthy margin.  He has 9 Runs Saved, well ahead of Christian Walker (5 Runs Saved), Matt Olson (4), Anthony Rizzo (3), and Paul Goldschmidt (2), who have combined to win the last 8 Fielding Bible Awards. Santana has never won one.

    Santana doesn’t exactly look the part. His body type would best be described as “stout.” He’s listed at 5-foot-11, 210 pounds, and at that height he’s one of the shortest first basemen in MLB. At 37 years old, he’s also one of the oldest, which might make you think that his ideal position is DH.

    But Santana has played a good first base in the past. This will be his 4th consecutive season with positive Runs Saved there. Since a rough 2015 in which he cost his team 11 runs with his defense, Santana has had positive Runs Saved in every season but one, peaking at 8 in 2017. He ranks 4th in Defensive Runs Saved by a first baseman over the last 3 seasons.

    Most Defensive Runs Saved, 1B Since 2021

    Name Runs Saved
    Christian Walker 26
    Matt Olson 16
    Lewin Díaz 14
    Carlos Santana 13
    Paul Goldschmidt 13

    How Is He Doing It?

    So what’s driving Santana’s success?

    Amassing Runs Saved at first base largely comes down to how well you field balls and finish plays more than how you handle throws (being well positioned isn’t part of the calculation). It might surprise you: Santana is pretty good at fielding and finishing.

    Santana rates 13 Plays Saved better than the average first baseman (Plays Saved is similar conceptually to Statcast’s Outs Above Average). If you go to The Fielding Bible website, you’ll see that he’s an MLB-best 7 plays better than average on balls hit to his right, 4 plays better on balls hit to his left, and 2 plays better on balls hit at him.

    So how is Santana getting to all of these balls?

    In addition to charting batted ball locations and speeds, SIS also denotes what we call elements of descriptive defense, such as: Did the fielder slide, dive, or jump to make the play?

    Santana is playing 2023 all-out. He leads all players with 29 plays made via slides, dives, and jumps this season (click the hyperlinks to see examples).

    2023:      29 Diving, Sliding, Jumping plays in 852 innings

    2021-22: 28 Diving, Sliding, Jumping Plays in 1,822 innings

    He leads all first basemen with 53 such attempts. But his efforts are not wasted.

    Carlos Santana in 2023

    Type Plays Made-Attempts Success Rate (MLB avg)
    Dives 15-28 54% (37%)
    Slides 8-11 73% (71%)
    Jumps 6-14 43% (39%)

    Santana is succeeding at an average or better rate in sliding, diving, and jumping. Of his top 6 defensive plays made this season by Runs Saved value, 5 of them involved Santana diving, sliding, or jumping either to extend his range or to make sure he’d successfully corralled the ball.

    Santana got off to a slow start after being traded by the Pirates to the Brewers but Craig Counsell continues to play him. The Brewers have been rewarded twice this week with home runs. They’ve also gotten good defense. In 16 games with the Brewers, Santana has 3 Runs Saved.