Top 10 defensively by position for 2014

[gregrey972]

Sorry just read that the Jeter comparison had already been made. The irony of the Hosmer argument is that he will see less time at 1st this season as the Royals are reportedly wanting to get Butler more time there. I would assume to DH Hosmer and give him 1/2 days off.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Sorry just read that the Jeter comparison had already been made. The irony of the Hosmer argument is that he will see less time at 1st this season as the Royals are reportedly wanting to get Butler more time there. I would assume to DH Hosmer and give him 1/2 days off.

Probably. I doubt it will be as significant as many people try to make it out to be. A matter of 10 games we are probably talking about.

 

[Ryanballa]

Its a joke that you have Brandon Phillips number 3 on that list,He is the best defensive 2nd baseman in the game. It isn't even close.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Its a joke that you have Brandon Phillips number 3 on that list,He is the best defensive 2nd baseman in the game. It isn't even close.

Same type of schtick that was just discussed with Hosmer not being on the list. Eye test he looks great; Metrics? Not so much.


Phillips had a DRS of 1 in 2013. Barely above average according to that.

UZR/150 likes him more with the 8.5 score which is ... 4th among qualified 2B's; not far removed from his #3 ranking on the list.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Asdrubral Cabrera is a top 5 defensive shortstop at least. Kipnis is pretty damn good too.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Asdrubral Cabrera is a top 5 defensive shortstop at least. Kipnis is pretty damn good too.

Kipnis is below average defensively by the metrics actually. Has a negative DRS, UZR, and UZR/150. Same reason why Hosmer and Phillips are not were they might be had the OP used the eyetest (Except they were actually above average at their respective positions per the metrics used).

Adrubal was awful if we go by the defensive metrics. -16 DRS, -12.8 UZR, and a -16.8 UZR/150. I wouldn't even put him in the conversation until proven otherwise, imo.

 

[Ryanballa]

Brandon Phillips was hurt for the most part last year. Played with basically one hand. I never miss a Reds game,and just about everytime BP swung a bat he would make a grim face in pain.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Brandon Phillips was hurt for the most part last year. Played with basically one hand. I never miss a Reds game,and just about everytime BP swung a bat he would make a grim face in pain.

That is true, but when you make the claim he is the best and it isn't even close, you are held to a higher standard. Even when we go back to 2012, he had a DRS of 11. Just for reference, Pedroia led 2B's in DRS with 15 in 2013.

 

[Ryanballa]

Yeah but to put Barney in front of him,in my opinion is crazy man.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Yeah but to put Barney in front of him,in my opinion is crazy man.

It really isn't if you go by those metrics which appears to be what the OP loosely bases it on. That's about the only reason he is still around on a club, imo. If you want to see what I am looking at, here it is.

Major League Leaderboards » 2013 » Second Basemen » Fielding Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball




Barney: http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=2430&position=2B


Scroll down to advanced fielding and you will see why many people hold him in high regards when it comes to the glove.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Cabrera's fielding percentage was .982, I know that isn't the only stat but is tied for 5th.

He also didn't get as many chances, why is PO's and assists were down.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Cabrera's fielding percentage was .982, I know that isn't the only stat but is tied for 5th.

He also didn't get as many chances, why is PO's and assists were down.

Well, in the chances he did get, he wasn't very good.

 

[Darkstone42]

Yeah but to put Barney in front of him,in my opinion is crazy man.

Barney's only skill is defense, and he's exceptional at it. He covers a lot of ground, doesn't make errors, and generates a lot of outs most to all other second basemen would fail to generate.

Barney is a Major League starter (albeit on a bad team) despite being a black hole offensively. The reason for that is being elite defensively.

Phillips is flashy, and he has had seasons where he's been very good defensively, but he has never generated the most outs. One hand or not, last year he was defensively average. He's on the list at all because of previous seasons. And regression is always to be expected for players over 30. I don't think there's any problem with where he is on the list.

 

[DragonfromTO]

Cabrera's fielding percentage was .982, I know that isn't the only stat but is tied for 5th.

He also didn't get as many chances, why is PO's and assists were down.

Chances on defense aren't the same as at bats on offense though, a player's totals are influenced by his defensive skill in the first place. Being a good defensive player helps to increase the number of chances one logs defensively, it's not entirely a function of the pitcher's tendencies and random luck.

 

[StanMarsh51]

Its a joke that you have Brandon Phillips number 3 on that list,He is the best defensive 2nd baseman in the game. It isn't even close.

Nothing homerish about this post.

 

[StanMarsh51]

Yeah but to put Barney in front of him,in my opinion is crazy man.

Why? Because he's not on your favorite team?


Barney's FRAA the past 2 seasons are +29 and +11. Phillips by comparison's only topped a +11 FRAA only once in his career, and that was back in 2008 when he was +13.

If you also compare their defense the last 2 years, Barney's 'defensive runs saved' is more than 3x higher than Phillips (39 to 12), and UZR is 60% higher than Phillips.



So it's not close between them the past 2 years, but it's Barney who's been the much better defender.

 

[Mistaken4193]

No Freeman at first? He plays great defense,and he can really stretch out and basically do a splitz to get bad throws

 

[Fountain City Blues]

No Freeman at first? He plays great defense,and he can really stretch out and basically do a splitz to get bad throws

Definitely has an argument for it beyond the eye test. Has trended upwards each year too which is good to see.

Freddie Freeman among qualified 1B's

5th in DRS
11th in UZR
10th in UZR/150