Yesterday, I printed the first half of my votes for this yr’s Fielding Bible awards, which have now been launched. This morning, I’m going to cowl my ballots for the three outfield positions, pitchers, multi-positional defenders, and defensive participant of the yr. In the event you’re curious concerning the methodology I used, you’ll be able to learn all about it in yesterday’s article, however right here’s a bite-sized refresher:
I used a weighted mix of DRS, FRV, DRP, and UZR (the 4 flagship public defensive metrics), with the weights based mostly on how effectively every metric did at every place in relation to reliability and consistency. I used totally different weightings based mostly on current effectiveness at a number of place groupings: first base, non-first-base infield, catcher, and outfield. That gave me an preliminary tough order. From there, I used my very own experience, each by way of deeper statistical dives on particular person gamers and the copious quantities of baseball I watched this yr, to assemble my last rankings. I deferred to superior metrics when the gaps had been large – Patrick Bailey is the very best defensive catcher by a mile, for instance – however for shut calls, I leaned closely by myself judgment.
That’s the broad strokes of how I constructed a technique for evaluation, which is hopefully no less than considerably attention-grabbing. Extra attention-grabbing than that? The precise gamers who performed the protection and received the awards. So let’s get proper to my final six ballots. The award winners are famous with an asterisk after their title within the balloting part
Left Subject
1. Colton Cowser
2. Riley Greene*
3. Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
4. Steven Kwan
5. Jackson Chourio
6. Alex Verdugo
7. Wyatt Langford
8. Ian Happ
9. Brandon Marsh
10. Taylor Ward
I assumed that Cowser and Greene had been the 2 straightforward selections for this award. They each performed elite protection, with each metric above common and some elite markers. (Greene was the very best left fielder by DRS, Cowser by FRV.) They each exemplify what I’m on the lookout for in a left fielder – specifically, somebody adequate that their crew retains taking part in them in middle. In reality, if both had been a lot better defensively, they won’t qualify for this award; you must play the plurality of your innings at a place to qualify, and so they each performed tons of of innings in middle.
Chourio and Kwan match that mildew too. In reality, the principle holdout from the “These Guys Are Middle Fielders Taking part in Left As a result of They Have Even Higher Defensive Teammates” group is Gurriel, who has quietly gone from defensive legal responsibility to asset over the past two years. He certainly advantages from taking part in in an outfield with two spectacular defenders more often than not, however he’s now actively including to the equation as an alternative of getting carried by them. One very spectacular and measurable change: his outfield bounce. From 2019 by 2022, he posted below-average jumps yearly. In 2023, he was lifeless common. This yr, he was 1.5 toes above common. That marginal enchancment turns robust performs into straightforward ones and inconceivable balls into ones he can no less than try and catch.
Lastly, Ian Happ was robust for me to rank. His defensive metrics had been far and wide, and I had him all over the place from third to ninth as I attempted to work by my down-ballot votes. FRV does a very good job within the outfield and has constantly thought of Happ’s protection center of the street. DRS and DRP favored his work this yr however have been up and down on him prior to now. I made a decision that I ought to apply some regression towards the imply. I feel he’s a superb defender, and this is likely one of the rankings I’m least certain of, however there was numerous confusion within the metrics right here.
Middle Subject
1. Jacob Younger
2. Brenton Doyle*
3. Pete Crow-Armstrong
4. Jake Meyers
5. Blake Perkins
6. Daulton Varsho
7. Julio Rodríguez
8. Jose Siri
9. Michael Siani
10. Jackson Merrill
Jacob Younger is outrageous. For my cash, he was the very best outfielder within the recreation this yr. Younger’s routes aren’t all the time excellent, however he’s simply so ridiculously quick out of the gate that it usually doesn’t matter, and his fast choice making provides him extra possibilities to make spectacular performs than anybody else. A few of that exuberance prices him – he led middle fielders in errors this yr – however most of these errors had been on balls that nobody else would’ve even touched. That’s what you get once you mix the very best first step in baseball with one of many quickest runners. His arm is the one actual adverse, but it surely was a small one. If that improves, he is likely to be a perennial contender for defensive awards.
Large shout out to Brenton Doyle, who would have been a simple selection for primary if not for Younger. Doyle isn’t fairly Younger’s equal by way of sheer vary, however he nonetheless covers a ton of floor – and he has to in spacious Coors Subject. He additionally has among the finest throwing arms within the sport, which feels virtually unfair when stapled to defensive middle fielder. He’s received numerous Kevin Kiermaier to him, and I almost voted for Kiermaier this yr, even in a half-season, as a result of he’s simply that good. Doyle’s the subsequent technology’s mannequin, and Colorado is a good place to indicate off his expertise.
The opposite attention-grabbing title on this record is Varsho. The opposite attention-grabbing title off this record is Jarren Duran. They’re each DRS darlings, and I’ll have extra to say about them within the multi-positional defender class. Varsho was spectacular when he performed middle; he was about nearly as good per inning as Younger in my blended common. However he performed solely 672 innings there, which held him again for me. It’s onerous to be the very best middle fielder should you aren’t taking part in it full time. Duran is the same case, solely he didn’t carry out fairly as effectively on a fee foundation, and the programs weren’t fairly as universally bullish. He’s clearly an ideal defender, I simply don’t assume he matches this class.
Proper Subject
1. Wilyer Abreu*
2. Sal Frelick
3. Mike Yastrzemski
4. Jo Adell
5. Max Kepler
6. Wenceel Pérez
7. Fernando Tatis Jr.
8. Lawrence Butler
9. Seiya Suzuki
10. Jesús Sánchez
Nobody aside from Abreu and Frelick has any enterprise successful this yr’s proper discipline award. They’re first and second in DRS, FRV, and DRP, and first and third in UZR. They cross the attention check. They didn’t put up embarrassingly low innings totals. I used innings as a tiebreaker and put Abreu first, but it surely was a toss-up.
Just a few different fast nods: Nice work, Jo Adell, whom I used to be shocked to see as a solidly plus defender on three of the 4 programs I used. Yastrzemski match the same sample. The one vote right here I didn’t really feel superb about was Sánchez at tenth. My blended common metrics assume he’s barely under common, in actual fact. However there simply weren’t many choices, and one participant I undoubtedly would have voted for, Corbin Carroll, wasn’t eligible as a result of he performed 17 extra innings in middle than proper. This was only a robust place, and I feel the outcomes will in all probability present that.
Pitcher
1. Shota Imanaga
2. Spencer Schwellenbach
3. Michael King
4. Paul Skenes
5. Tanner Bibee*
6. Seth Lugo
7. Chris Flexen
8. Aaron Civale
9. Michael Wacha
10. Charlie Morton
I’m blissful to confess once I’m not sure, and that is one spot the place I used to be very not sure. I don’t spend numerous time ranking pitcher protection, and a lot of the statistical fashions don’t both. DRS does, and Statcast charges pitchers on controlling the operating recreation, so I used these as my information, however I’ve a a lot decrease degree of confidence right here than on the different positions. I put Imanaga first due to his spectacular potential to restrict steals. Solely 4 had been tried towards him all yr, the very best fee for anybody with a full starter’s workload. Half of these makes an attempt had been unsuccessful. That’s a lot of pitcher fielding that I felt good penciling him in for the highest spot.
The opposite attention-grabbing title right here, for me no less than, is King. DRS thinks he’s fielder, and Statcast thinks he’s fairly stable at stopping stolen bases. That’s an ideal mixture, and I thought of him for the highest spot for a bit. In the long run, a small-sample argument swayed me: He restricted stolen base makes an attempt, however runners went 5-for-6 towards him. It’s robust to disentangle baserunning, and I give him loads of credit score; I simply wasn’t snug placing him forward of Imanaga (or Schwellenbach, for that matter) due to that fee of profitable steals.
Multi-Place
1. Mauricio Dubón
2. Jarren Duran
3. Daulton Varsho*
4. Isiah Kiner-Falefa
5. Enrique Hernández
6. Mookie Betts
7. Richie Palacios
8. José Caballero
9. Kevin Newman
10. Tyrone Taylor
There’s an actual philosophical query right here. Is a multi-positional defender somebody who performs all over the place you might need them, and does it effectively, a la Ben Zobrist? Is it sufficient to be an outfielder who covers both nook or middle with equal aplomb? How a couple of shortstop/second base hybrid who moved positions partway by the yr? You possibly can persuade me that any of those most closely fits the definition, however I needed to determine what I assumed was finest to vote for these.
I thought of three candidates severely for the highest spot: Dubón, Duran, and Varsho. Of the three, I feel Varsho is the very best defender. If he performed a full season in middle, he’d be proper on the very prime of the league in runs saved there. He was caught in left for a part of the season, what with Kiermaier being round, however ended the yr because the Blue Jays’ on a regular basis middle fielder. That simply doesn’t really feel multi-position to me, you understand? He’s an ideal outfielder who sometimes moved round when the crew wanted him to take action; however largely, he was a left fielder for a part of the yr earlier than sliding to middle full time.
Dubón is sort of the alternative. I feel he’s extra good than nice defensively at anyone place, however simply take a look at his recreation log. He performed each place aside from pitcher and catcher this yr for no less than 5 video games. He regarded stable in any respect of them, permitting for tiny pattern sizes. He performed infield and outfield in the identical recreation 16 totally different occasions. He’s a jack of all trades, and having him round papered over some shaky defensive rotations in Houston. This, to me, is what a multi-positional defender actually is: Somebody whom you’ll be able to plug in anyplace on the sector and be pleased with the outcomes.
I used to be snug putting Dubón first on condition that interpretation. That left me with Varsho in third and Duran in second. Certain, Duran can be an LF/CF break up man, however he moved round between the 2 throughout video games extra incessantly, and he additionally repeatedly switched in the course of the yr relying on what Boston wanted. Ceddanne Rafaela is a greater middle fielder, however he additionally performed the infield typically, and typically the Pink Sox would shuffle folks round inside a recreation, or pinch hit for Rafaela, and Duran would ably change between the 2. He’s displayed extra intra-game versatility than Varsho, which is why I voted him second.
The remainder of this record is me making an attempt to make sense of that dichotomy between swiss military knife sorts and good outfielders who moved round. I’m not assured that I had the steadiness proper in each spot. Nevertheless, I’m assured that Dubón most closely fits my understanding of this award, and that Duran and Varsho had been so dang good that additionally they merited consideration regardless of not being what I image once I hear “multi-position.”
Defensive Participant of the 12 months
1. Patrick Bailey
2. Jacob Younger
3. Matt Chapman
(Daulton Varsho gained Defensive Participant of the 12 months)
I didn’t got down to choose one catcher, one infielder, and one outfielder, however I did plan on voting for Bailey all alongside. He’s so a lot better than everybody else at an important defensive place that it simply felt apparent. It’s partially that he saved extra runs than everybody else – however I’m not precisely certain that’s what Defensive Participant of the 12 months means. I feel that standing out from the gang at your place issues quite a bit too.
I’m unsure Bailey will all the time be this far forward of each different catcher defensively, however we’re at a bizarre level the place there’s a low ebb in standout defensive catchers, in all probability as a result of groups are emphasizing receiving and throwing excess of they did a decade in the past. There’s a robust upward pull, as a result of unhealthy receivers are getting moved off the place now in a method they only didn’t earlier than. However even towards that greater median, Bailey stands out, similar to he did in his rookie yr final season. That is what it seems like when there’s one finest defensive participant in baseball, no less than to me.
I put Younger in second place as a result of I felt that his marauding middle discipline protection was one of many standout defensive performances I’ll keep in mind from this season. I can’t let you know what number of occasions I used to be watching a Nationals recreation and a low line drive was a catch that blew my thoughts. It doesn’t all the time work, however these lightning-fast reactions make for some spectacular performs. He’s no pure spotlight machine, both; these flashes complement an general stable recreation, and his error fee simply isn’t that regarding to me when you think about the bottom he covers.
Chapman might have been swapped for a number of different gamers: maybe Ezequiel Tovar, Andrés Giménez, and even Doyle – middle discipline was actually sturdy this yr. However in the long run, I let my intestine do a few of the work right here. I watched all of those defenders quite a bit this season, and Chapman’s aptitude for the spectacular stood out to me relative to the remainder of them. Everybody on this rarefied air has nice vary. Everybody makes the onerous performs look straightforward and the straightforward ones look easy. Chapman is on the hunt for additional outs, although. He goes after lead runners and turns unconventional double performs. His cannon arm lets him full performs from areas that may be inconceivable for many third basemen. Defensive Participant of the 12 months isn’t about vibes – however for my third place vote, I let vibes be the tiebreaker.
