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ARLINGTON -- Boiling down defense to a specific metric remains one of baseball's great mysteries.
However you may choose to do it, though, know this: Delino DeShields, in what amounts to his first full season at the position, ranks among the best in the majors in center field.
You like the overall defensive index used by Fangraphs.com? He's third behind Lorenzo Cain and Leonys Martin.
You like the Defensive Runs Save (DRS) stat also used by Fangraphs? He's first with 15 runs saved from his willingness to leap into walls and dive into the grass.
Outs above average, which is part of the Statcast family of advanced metrics? First with 12.
For a team that stressed becoming better on defense, DeShields hasn't just taken steps forward, he's taken leaps and bounds.
"I feel like I've made a lot of strides to get to this point," DeShields said. "I'm not one to call myself elite, but I'm pretty good."
It has been a fairly remarkable transition. Especially when you consider this would be the first year, he'd be the Rangers' center fielder from start to finish. Four years ago, the Rangers plucked him in the Rule 5 draft from Houston, and decided they'd stash him on their roster while trying to transition him from second baseman to outfielder. He was to be a glorified version of Carlos Tocci. He ended up in center when Leonys Martin failed. He finished the season at -10 in the DRS stat, 27th of 31 center fielders with at least 500 innings.
He showed speed, but his routes were shaky and his arm was considered sub-par. The Rangers went to Ian Desmond for 2016. They went with Carlos Gomez in 2017. DeShields started a total of 72 games in center over those two seasons. When general manager Jon Daniels spoke of giving young players in the organization a chance this year, DeShields in center was at the top of the list.
The Rangers have kept their word.
On the defensive side, DeShields has made them look good for doing it.
"I love the way he is playing the outfield," manager Jeff Banister said. "We appreciate what he does. His maturity shows up in how he plays. He shows up for every pitch."
His routes have gotten more direct. He's become more confident playing shallow - an average of 312 feet from home plate, according to Statcast - which allows him to get to more soft fly balls. His foot speed, which ranks among the best in the majors, allows him to close well on deep fly balls. With 62 starts in center this year, he now has over 200 career starts at the position, giving him enough experience to understand where the wall without having to track steps. It allows him to go after balls fearlessly.
"I call it 'playing fetch'," DeShields said. "And I'm pretty good at it. I'm better at the anticipation. I'm constantly working on breaks on balls. Balls that are over my head, I know better now when I can take my eye off it and just sprint to a spot and when I can't. I'm just more confident going after balls and more comfortable.
"I've worked hard to become a pretty good outfielder," he added. "And I've got a lot more work to do to be better. I'm not going to settle."
The next step is on the offensive side. After a big step backwards, he appears to once again be moving forward.
DeShields broke the hamate bone in his left wrist on a swing in the second game of the season. Typically the injury, which requires surgery to remove the bone, leads to a six-week absence. DeShields vowed to be back in half that time. He was back in 22 days.
But in May, with the rest of the offense struggling, he perhaps tried to take on too big of a role. He got into a habit of swinging too early. He stopped bunting. His walk total fell. He was dropped from the top spot to No. 9 on June 2. Perhaps that alone relieved some of the stress and allowed him to return to form.
Since then, he's hit .273 with a .400 OBP. He has just three extra base hits, but with DeShields walks or singles are often as good as an extra base hit. He's 16 for 18 in steals this season and has taken 12 extra bases on tag-ups, balls in the dirt and other opportunities.
He puts his speed to maximum use on the bases.
And he's done that just as well in the field.
However you may choose to do it, though, know this: Delino DeShields, in what amounts to his first full season at the position, ranks among the best in the majors in center field.
You like the overall defensive index used by Fangraphs.com? He's third behind Lorenzo Cain and Leonys Martin.
You like the Defensive Runs Save (DRS) stat also used by Fangraphs? He's first with 15 runs saved from his willingness to leap into walls and dive into the grass.
Outs above average, which is part of the Statcast family of advanced metrics? First with 12.
For a team that stressed becoming better on defense, DeShields hasn't just taken steps forward, he's taken leaps and bounds.
"I feel like I've made a lot of strides to get to this point," DeShields said. "I'm not one to call myself elite, but I'm pretty good."
It has been a fairly remarkable transition. Especially when you consider this would be the first year, he'd be the Rangers' center fielder from start to finish. Four years ago, the Rangers plucked him in the Rule 5 draft from Houston, and decided they'd stash him on their roster while trying to transition him from second baseman to outfielder. He was to be a glorified version of Carlos Tocci. He ended up in center when Leonys Martin failed. He finished the season at -10 in the DRS stat, 27th of 31 center fielders with at least 500 innings.
He showed speed, but his routes were shaky and his arm was considered sub-par. The Rangers went to Ian Desmond for 2016. They went with Carlos Gomez in 2017. DeShields started a total of 72 games in center over those two seasons. When general manager Jon Daniels spoke of giving young players in the organization a chance this year, DeShields in center was at the top of the list.
The Rangers have kept their word.
On the defensive side, DeShields has made them look good for doing it.
"I love the way he is playing the outfield," manager Jeff Banister said. "We appreciate what he does. His maturity shows up in how he plays. He shows up for every pitch."
His routes have gotten more direct. He's become more confident playing shallow - an average of 312 feet from home plate, according to Statcast - which allows him to get to more soft fly balls. His foot speed, which ranks among the best in the majors, allows him to close well on deep fly balls. With 62 starts in center this year, he now has over 200 career starts at the position, giving him enough experience to understand where the wall without having to track steps. It allows him to go after balls fearlessly.
"I call it 'playing fetch'," DeShields said. "And I'm pretty good at it. I'm better at the anticipation. I'm constantly working on breaks on balls. Balls that are over my head, I know better now when I can take my eye off it and just sprint to a spot and when I can't. I'm just more confident going after balls and more comfortable.
"I've worked hard to become a pretty good outfielder," he added. "And I've got a lot more work to do to be better. I'm not going to settle."
The next step is on the offensive side. After a big step backwards, he appears to once again be moving forward.
DeShields broke the hamate bone in his left wrist on a swing in the second game of the season. Typically the injury, which requires surgery to remove the bone, leads to a six-week absence. DeShields vowed to be back in half that time. He was back in 22 days.
But in May, with the rest of the offense struggling, he perhaps tried to take on too big of a role. He got into a habit of swinging too early. He stopped bunting. His walk total fell. He was dropped from the top spot to No. 9 on June 2. Perhaps that alone relieved some of the stress and allowed him to return to form.
Since then, he's hit .273 with a .400 OBP. He has just three extra base hits, but with DeShields walks or singles are often as good as an extra base hit. He's 16 for 18 in steals this season and has taken 12 extra bases on tag-ups, balls in the dirt and other opportunities.
He puts his speed to maximum use on the bases.
And he's done that just as well in the field.
