February 23rd, 2022. Soto and Acua look as if they are going to be the Mays and Aaron, the Williams and DiMaggio of their age group -- all-time great talents who take turns dominating baseball's landscape. There were three players with an OPS over .900 and a K-rate under 16% last year: Vlad Jr, Juan Soto, Kyle Tucker. And ever since Pache reached full-season ball, he has been a mainstay on the team. 3B. Perhaps one of the most underrated aspects of Judges game is his athleticism. Top 10 at each outfield spot: It's still Trout in center, but who leads in right -- baseball's most stacked position? Defensive Stat Glossary. 13-ranked prospect. Another year, another pile of accolades for Mookie Betts who won his fifth Silver Slugger, sixth Gold Glove and made his sixth trip to the All-Star Game in the third season of a 12-year, $365 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. First base: Owen Miller, Guardians+6 Outs Above Average. Right field: Max Kepler, Twins+11 Outs Above Average. LF. His 10.6 WAR led all of baseball, as did his ridiculous 211 OPS+ meaning he was more than twice as productive as the average hitter. How quickly, in seconds, a catcher can get the ball out He once again tallied more walks (135) than strikeouts (96) while hitting .242/.401/.452 with 25 doubles, 27 home runs, 62 RBI and 93 runs scored. indicates the player had fewer than the required number of at bats or His overall catch rate of 94 percent was the highest of any of our outfielders, it's true. Tier 3: Randy Arozarena, Byron Buxton, J.D. 1 spot -- or one of the bottom three spots -- Aaron Boone could rescue him from having to bat with runners in scoring position early in games, moments that fueled the boos he heard. Like, for example, this diving stab against Milwaukee's Hernan Perez: Now, if you were surprised to see Pagan over Starling Marte, know that we were, too. Signed to a four-year, $78 million deal as part of the Mets' spending spree last offseason, Marte hit .292/.347/.468 with 45 extra-base hits, 18 steals and 3.8 WAR in 118 games. # Player OVR; 1. Acuna Jr. has hit since the day he stepped foot in the big leagues as a 20-year-old. 2020: 0.81 They use their tactical skills to link the defence and midfield to get wins. 1 spot in 2023? The 29-year-old hit .274/.367/.433 with 30 doubles, seven triples, 16 home runs, 64 RBI and 102 runs scored as the table-setter atop the Mets' lineup, and he once again played a roughly league-average center field. +8 Brett Gardner, Yankees One of the games best power/speed threats finished just three stolen bases shy of MLBs first 40/40 season since 2006. After injuries limited him to just 78 games in his first season with the Blue Jays, Springer bounced back with a 131 OPS+ in 133 games while earning his fourth career All-Star selection. He'll be one of the biggest targets for teams seeking offense when baseball resumes following the best year of his career -- a .309/.362/.576 slash line. In When healthy, Judge has done nothing but mash. Signed for a mere $15,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2014, he's best suited for second base and has seen most of his professional action there. We already know who won the 2022 Gold Glove Awards. Edman was in a similar situation to Lopez, playing both second base and shortstop for the Cardinals (and a little third base and a little outfield). Last season, the baseball world came to a halt when Ronald Acuna Jr. fell to the ground in agonizing pain. Hayes was even better by Outs Above Average than NL Platinum Glove winner Nolan Arenado (Arenado was the second-best third baseman at +15), as well as Gold Glove finalist Ryan McMahon and Manny Machado (+9 each at third). If he can just stay on the field, hell be in the best player in baseball discussion, I really believe it. All rights reserved. Kevin Kiermaier, Tampa Bay Rays. The funny part is that might not even be his best season. minimums are reduced by a third. He was tapped by the Brewers to for defensive purposes alongside the aforementioned Renfroe and Garcia in 2021 for a World Series push but it didn't pan out. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. His second-base eligibility (he started five games there in 2021) is a bonus. How hard, in miles per hour, a pitch is thrown. 3)Though Allen is just 5-foot-8 and 166 pounds, he's so dynamic at shortstop that he commanded an over-slot $2 million bonus as a third-round choice from a California high school in 2017. All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs. Ravens GM says he covets QBs, Judge OK's some Flores claims vs. NFL for court, Colts GM pins moving up to 'guy worthy of it', McCarthy: 'New voice' calling plays will help Dak, Senators pick up Chychrun for postseason push, Survey: Vikes, Fins, Raiders top FA report cards, More PGA Tour changes: No cuts, smaller fields, The triumph of Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors in Creed III. +6 Angel Pagan, Giants The 28-year-old is capable of making a greater impact in half a season than most players can in a full 162 games, and he racked up 4.0 WAR and 44 extra-base hits in 92 games this year while earning his first All-Star selection. The 24-year-old is followed by Harper, Betts and Trout, who have combined for six MVP Awards. It'd be like Superman vs. Batman: The Yankees, chasing Soto as they move into the last years of Giancarlo Stanton's contract and as Aaron Judge edges into his mid-30s, frothing at the possible addition of a left-handed-hitting superstar for Yankee Stadium against the Mets, fronted by the richest owner in baseball, Steve Cohen, who, in three years, may or may not have reached his goal of winning a championship. However, he'll likely get most of his plate appearances at DH wherever he signs. player has saved over his peers. When Mike Trout is healthy, no one is better at baseball. Soto is represented by Scott Boras, who almost always takes his clients into free agency. 5)The best defensive outfielder in the 2020 Draft, Crow-Armstrong went 19th overall to the Mets and moved to the Cubs last summer in a trade for Javier Bez and Trevor Williams. Just like the regular-season rankings, past production and future expectations played no part in deciding the orderthis is simply a rundown of the best and brightest of 2022. His combination of plus speed and quality reads and routes allows him to cover plenty of ground in center, and he also owns solid arm strength. It was a huge defensive year for Swanson, who was the second-best fielder in all of baseball by Outs Above Average and the No. He has a 140 career wRC+ and 105 home runs in 395 games. Listed as a center fielder but can also play as a catcher, Varsho also boasts a 1.5 RngR this season. The Dodgers worked out a one-year, $17 million deal with Bellinger for 2022. Few rookies in recent memory have had a greater impact on the culture of their team than Julio Rodrguez, who played a pivotal role in helping the Seattle Mariners reach the postseason for the first time since Ichiro Suzuki's rookie season in 2001. He's similar to Pache, albeit with plus rather than plus-plus speed and arm strength, and likely will shift to right field if they play in the same Atlanta outfield. Does Statcast agree with the Gold Glove winners? The deal to acquire him from the St. Louis Cardinals prior to the 2020 season in exchange for prospect Matthew Liberatore looks like a major win. Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. He is considered one of the best defensive midfielders in the world and of his . He has a 135 wRC+ since 2019, the same as Xander Bogaerts. In 2021, a hip injury limited him to just 68 games, but the man hit .338 with a .945 OPS and 13 bombs. . Mookie Betts is the sixth-best outfielder in baseball, and it feels wrong to rank him this low, but wait until you see the top five. . Loading Pitcher Defensive Stats. raw numbers and as a measurement against average. Utility: Tommy Edman, Cardinals+19 Outs Above Average. MLB Wins Above Replacement - 2022. Hes one of the best base runners in the game, routinely putting up 20 steals and ranks fourth in BSR since 2017. Once the No. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Hes my pick to win his third MVP, as he somehow looks even better coming into this season. Fantasy managers looking to load up on speed early in drafts would be wise to consider Marte, who now shares a city with Judge after signing with the Mets in December. He has batted .300 or better in four consecutive seasons, pushing his career average to .298. He hit .320 with a .387 on-base percentage in 93 games with the Royals before he was traded to the Yankees at the deadline, and while he battled injury down the stretch, his combination of contact ability and defense still made him a 3.2-WAR player in 2022. He still outperformed that, because he's great, but he also had barely one-third of the Five-Star opportunities that, say, Michael Trout did.Besides, Kiermaier is also a great example of "amazing plays that don't require a dive," like this robbery of Jacoby Ellsbury. A Bolt is any run where the Sprint Speed (defined as For example, here's Byron Buxton making an absolutely fantastic play, one that had a Catch Probability of a mere 7 percent, meaning that more than 90 percent of the time, outfielders given this opportunity do not make the play. Women's Champ Week predictions: Which teams will win the auto bids in all 32 conferences? He made six five-star catches, more than any other outfielder. Juan Soto is the second-best player in baseball and checks in at number two on our outfield list because of some dude named after a fish. How hard, in miles per hour, a fielder throws the ball. Bryan Reynolds is our first honorable mention. The 6-foot-7, 280-pound outfielder owns a career slash line of .276/.385/.552 with a 150 wRC+. In a down season by his own lofty standards, Juan Soto was still one of the most productive offensive players in the game. As Sarah Langs noted, Yelich's underlying data suggests that he's still hitting the ball hard -- but there are other issues. A .230/.305/.388 career hitter in 534 plate appearances entering the 2022 season, Ward was one of the year's biggest surprises. 2021 Stats: 36 G, .333/.466/.624, .835 OPS, 190 wRC+, 8 HR, 18 RBI, 2 SB, 18.5% BB, 28.1% K, 2.3 fWAR, -4 DRS, 1 OAA. His power has dipped in recent years, but the Mets paid him for his ability to get on base, his tough plate appearances, and his clubhouse leadership. How far off the mound, in feet, a pitcher releases the Its just that simple. Today, we take a look at the best defensive players in the league so far using UZR or Ultimate Zone Rating. Limited to two games before undergoing season-ending surgery on both knees in 2020, Alvarez returned to produce 33 homers and 104 RBIs, score 92 runs and post an .877 OPS last year. We present them here for purely educational purposes. From that, we can say how likely it is (or isn't) that other outfielders make the play given the same opportunity. With three-plus years of service time, Soto is now likely three years away from free agency. Soto is the more refined hitter, leading the league in walks last season with 145; only two other players even got to 100. Steven Kwan put together a 5.5-WAR debut season with an old school game built on contact ability, speed and defense. The 25-year-old posted a 128 OPS+ with 28 doubles, 30 home runs, 107 RBI and 25 steals in 29 attempts. Betts isn't just the top right fielder here, he's also the third-best outfielder in our metric overall, a good reminder that he a superstar in every facet of the game. 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