Martinez, Kris Bryant, Giancarlo Stanton, Ketel Marte, Christian Yelich, Bryan Reynolds, Cody Bellinger, Mitch Haniger, Kyle Schwarber, Franmil Reyes, Jesse Winker, Seiya Suzuki. He is a plus defender, mashed 34 homers last season and finished 19th in FanGraphs' baserunning metric. The 20 Best Defensive Outfielders in Recent MLB History. 0.67 Gm and Chances/Team Game (fielding), Runs saved by middle infielders based on their conversion rates as both the lead man and pivot man on double play opportunities. While Judge has not been able to replicate his 2017 coming-out party that featured 52 homers and an fWAR of 8.3, last season was clearly the next best campaign for the 30-year-old who launched 39 HR and a 5.5 fWAR. time of a pitcher's first movement or pitch release. Grisham narrowly edged Siri for the most Outs Above Average among regular center fielders. The 27-year-old is miscast as a center fielder (-14 DRS, -3.2 UZR/150) and that undercut his overall value a bit. Only Mookie Betts has been better in right field. The most important aspect of outfield defense is reaction time. velocity and launch angle. According to advanced metrics, is Ender Inciarte one of the players whose gloves are truly . For a pitcher it is the average of his softest 50% of batted balls allowed. All rights reserved. . Isolates the catcher's contribution to limiting the opposition's run game. attempt. He was especially good at plays going to his left, with half of his OAA coming from those. The first part of the 2022 season could be crucial in determining whether Gallo is a fit for the market or, like Sonny Gray, might be more comfortable elsewhere. Kris Bryant plays everywhere, but hes going to play mostly outfield for the Rockies this season. From that, we can say how likely it is (or isn't) that other outfielders make the play given the same opportunity. All types of analysis went into these rankings. outfield. A Bolt is any run where the Sprint Speed (defined as You'll find Nicky Lopez down in the utility section. For example, a fielder who catches a 25% Out Probability play gets +.75; one . Today, we take a look at the best defensive players in the league so far using UZR or Ultimate Zone Rating. At 26 years old, he's an elite offensive player and drawing trade interest from rival clubs watching the Pirates go through a rebuild. Lets make one thing clear -- with the depth of the position, you can build a competitive fantasy outfield without spending big on elite options. Since there are three times as many outfielders as there are other positions on the diamond, it made sense to add an honorable mention list of 25 guys onto our top 25 list. Hes a five-tool player thats one of if not the most fun to watch. With Corey Seager gone, Chris Taylor perhaps destined for more time in the infield and the Dodgers in need of more lineup firepower, it'll be interesting to see if Dave Roberts relies more on Pollock this year. 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. Perhaps most important of all, he played in a career-high 151 games, proving he can stay healthy for a full season after injuries had significantly limited him in 2019 (69 games) and 2021 (92 games). Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. His 6.4 WAR marked the sixth time in nine MLB seasons that he's been a 6-WAR player, and he finished fifth in NL MVP voting, one spot behind teammate Freddie Freeman. A 2021 Gold Glover at second base, Edman was the best defensive utility player in the Majors in 2022, with his +19 OAA making him the No. One of the MLB's best defensive outfielders, Jackie Bradley Jr. made his comeback to the Boston Red Sox this year after a short stint with the Milwaukee Brewers. He is truly the one player in baseball with zero holes. When Trout went down with a calf injury, he was off to the best start of what is already an exceptional career. Hes been in the league since 2015 but has played above 95 games just once back in 2017. Sortable, downloadable MLB player stats for the 2022 season. and, on certain types of batted balls, Sprint Speed. Even though he was only called up at the end of August, Carroll racked up +5 OAA, best among NL left fielders for the season. He is a combination of patience (.394 OBP) and power (.556 slugging percentage). 2/MLB No. Tier 2: Yordan Alvarez, Aaron Judge, Starling Marte, Teoscar Hernndez, Cedric Mullins, Tyler O'Neill, George Springer, Nick Castellanos, Eloy Jimnez. Acua is the first player since DiMaggio, ESPN's Paul Hembekides reports, to score at least 300 runs and hit at least 100 homers through his first 400 career games. How fast, in miles per hour, a ball was hit by a batter. 27. Find out more. The 2021 NL MVP checks in at number four, thats Bryce Harper of the Phillies. 0.2 SB att/Team Game (catchers), and In his teenage rookie campaign, Soto put up the same wRC+ as Matt Olson did last year with the As at 146. 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. At a time when it feels that management and players seem completely at odds in assessing value -- re: the collective bargaining agreement talks -- the Twins and Buxton threaded a very fine needle collaboratively in working out a long-term deal that both accounts for his extraordinary talent and extensive injury history. What NBA Finals runs from LeBron, Giannis can teach Jayson Tatum, Top draft prospect Carter charged in fatal crash, Trade Lamar? Underneath the deep disappointment that the 2021 Mets represented, Nimmo had an excellent season, posting a .401 on-base percentage. 1)Rutschman's all-around offensive brilliance was the major reason why he went No. So let's limit ourselves to only outfielders who had at least 100 chances and check out each of the three positions. The two-time All-Star has the second-best OPS of his career (.865) through 112 games. He slashed his strikeout rate from 33% in 2019 to 24.9% last season, and look, anyone with even decent power hitting behind Toronto's group of George Springer, Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is going to put up a lot of numbers. Do you have a sports website? Current Players. It can measure an outfielder's starting position and the opportunity time of the ball from pitch release, allowing us to look at how far he had to go and how much time he had to do it in. Right field: Daulton Varsho, D-backs+17 Outs Above Average. An All-Star for the second time, he posted a 144 OPS+ and led the Giants with 23 home runs, and that earned him a qualifying offer which he accepted. Kyle Schwarber, free agent. Injuries limited him to 68 games last year, but even in that relatively small sample, he demonstrated what a superstar he is likely to be -- Robert posted a slash line of .338/.378/.567, with an OPS+ of 155. Do we really need to say much beyond the name? In 2020 he shot up as one of the best players in the league. To qualify for inclusion, a player simply had to have at least 200 plate appearances. Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) measures a player's defense in "runs" above or below average using nine major methodologies . Scores from any date in Major League history, Minor, Foreign, College, & Black Baseball, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball, Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE. The 2022 AL Platinum Glove winner was by far the best pitch framer in the Majors this season, saving the Yankees 17 runs from getting extra strikes. With 305 total bases he was one of just 12 players to break the 300 mark during the 2022 season, joining Aaron Judge (391) as the only outfielders on that exclusive list. Although Acua is not expected back until early May, his fantasy upside keeps him in the first-round conversation. order to rank the player, the necessary number of hitless at bats were #5 Declan Rice - West Ham United Declan Rice plays for West . These are some of the biggest names in the sport, and its going to be tempting to grab one or more of them in the early stages of your drafts. The 25-year-old hit .306/.406/.613 for a gaudy 187 OPS+ that trailed only Aaron Judge among all players, tallying 29 doubles, 37 home runs, 97 RBI and 95 runs scored in 135 games for a 6.8-WAR season. LF. In a down season by his own lofty standards, Juan Soto was still one of the most productive offensive players in the game. thrown with. Mullins and ONeill will enter 2022 looking to validate their out-of-nowhere breakouts, much like Hernndez did last season after taking a huge step forward during the shortened 2020 campaign. Mullins didn't quite match the out-of-nowhere 30/30 season he put together in 2021, but he was still one of the game's better everyday center fielders. For catchers, we'll use pitch framing runs -- the amount of runs a catcher saves his team by getting extra called strikes on borderline pitches. "How come Kiermaier isn't higher?" Third base: Ke'Bryan Hayes, Pirates+18 Outs Above Average. Turning down a $230 million extension from the Yankees before Opening Day, Aaron Judge is betting on the league viewing him as a top-five outfielder in free agency and by every metric, he is. 1/MLB No. Athletics shortstop Nick Allen and Royals first baseman Nick Pratto repeat on the first team, which Allen also cracked in 2020, while Rays second baseman Vidal Brujn and Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong appeared on the second team a year ago. Kepler was just as good whether he was facing a lefty hook or a righty slice in right field, as he posted a +6 OAA vs. right-handed hitters and +5 OAA vs. left-handed hitters. No position is quite as stacked as right field in MLB these days, and Acua and Soto are at the top of the heap. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. With three-plus years of service time, Soto is now likely three years away from free agency. Springer has been banged up since signing his six-year, $150 million deal with the Blue Jays prior to the 2021 season, but looks fine and well to start 2022 with already two home runs in the first four games. Its been a rough go for both players in the past two years, but it wasnt long ago that each was going in the first round of fantasy drafts. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. 1 spot on this list for years to come. He may regress slightly this year, but even with some regression hes a well above-average outfielder and deserves to be spoken about with the best in baseball. 3 fielder overall in baseball. Closing out the first tier is a pair of ascending stars in Tucker and Robert, both of whom made major strides last season. 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. Only seven other big leaguers had at least 30 homers, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored in 2021. The 25-year-old posted a 128 OPS+ with 28 doubles, 30 home runs, 107 RBI and 25 steals in 29 attempts. . Well, they gave up one of their jewels when they ceded Avisail Garcia to the Miami Marlins this season. An All-Star and Gold Glove winner for the first time, Happ hit .271/.342/.440 for a 119 OPS+ with 42 doubles, 17 home runs, 72 RBI, 72 runs scored and 4.4 WAR in 158 games. Now let's take it a step further. Rates a player's success at turning batted balls into outs based on where he is positioned and his ability to track down balls in play. When Mike Trout is healthy, no one is better at baseball. Needless to say, he is one of the best defensive players so far this season with an RngR of 1.4 and a UZR of 3.7. . Joc Pederson, San Francisco Giants. 7 since 2020, meaning the Twins secured three of MLB's top 10 defensive outfielders, all with elite arms. Be the first one to comment on this story. One of the games best power/speed threats finished just three stolen bases shy of MLBs first 40/40 season since 2006. Center field: Jose Siri, Rays+16 Outs Above Average. 1 in the Majors at any position and more than twice as good as the next-best AL second baseman, Andrs Gimnez at +13 OAA. Brandon Nimmo was a 5-WAR player for the first time in his career in 2022, just in time to test the free agency waters. He just floats to wherever the ball is going to land with perfect timing, makes an effortless catch and looks so calm while hes doing it. Between him, Marte, Nimmo and Pete Alonso, the Mets will have a nice collection of hitters who will work deep into ball-strike counts. Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) measures a player's defense in "runs" above or below average using nine major methodologies detailed in DRS Breakdown. Oaa coming from those with zero holes Jayson Tatum, Top draft prospect Carter charged fatal. Lopez down in the league a center fielder ( -14 DRS, -3.2 UZR/150 and... Jewels when they ceded Avisail Garcia to the Miami Marlins this season runs, 107 and. Combination of patience (.394 OBP ) and power (.556 slugging percentage ) and check each! Down in the league Giannis can teach Jayson Tatum, Top draft prospect Carter charged in fatal crash, Lamar! Since 2015 but has played Above 95 games just once best defensive outfielders 2022 in 2017 OPS of his softest 50 % batted! 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