Shortstops at this level will be missing a few elements of the top shortstop, but they still make plays and contribute in the line-up. Gomez's range factor was actually higher than the MLB average, 4.63 to 4.58, and his fielding percentage was fine, so I'm not quite sure why he rates so poorly. Data. Tulo's UZR, range and fielding percentage could have him vying for runner-up on this list, but unlike Hardy, his durability is a blaring issue. The quickness of the exchange on his relays and DP turns are as good as I have ever seen, and have been instrumental in saving a number of games. Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. While Escobar's RF of 4.11 is only 13th-best, he's tied for fifth place in DPR with a 0.9 rating. 7. They make the plays, but don't have the best range. It is important to consider the position when calculating a good fielding percentage. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Monday, May 1, 12:21AM. Key NCAA Rule Change for Recruiting Communications. Infield Velocity: Low 80s and above from SS. Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. Theres little question he was one of the top available prospects with the bat, but it will be interesting to see how his glove measures up in the pros. This was because originally, the shortstop was the fourth outfielder. The composite metrics are the most comprehensive (and wildly complicated) statistics, so I weighed them more than the rest when making my choices. Bortnick is barely a dozen games into his professional career, but Tampa Bay has put him back at shortstop in the New York-Penn League. Totals are Below. For pitcher fielding the minimums are reduced . I didnt include 07 stats in this calculation because most of these players didnt get the requisite playing time in their freshman year. Full Site Menu. While it's true that his offensive statistics are mediocre at best, that label doesn't carry over when it comes to his fielding. Sabermetric types don't like this measurement, for several reasons. Top middle infielders will also be able to hit at a high level. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Left-handed catchers are seen occasionally in college softball but its rare. All orgs will receive a full list. He's above Tulo due to a talent-infused blend of composite and component metrics, but there's still no contest between himor the rest of those who rankand the No. I cried all the way home." 4. His dWAR is just a hair below the Escobars' while his UZR bests the two by a greater margin, but it's his fielding percentage and RF that definitively solidify his higher ranking. But remember that the guy only recently turned 23. What's even scarier is his age: Simmons is only 23. Sometimes its simply because the coach is more familiar with the player abilities and skills etc but sometimes unfortunately its seems to be pure favoritism. Everth Cabrera has a UZR of 3.7, good enough for 10th of all qualifying shortstops in the majors. Top middle infielders are evaluated first from a defensive standpoint, and then from an hitting standpoint. Baseball Info Solutions categorizes plays as good fielding plays and defensive misplays and Castellanos' total of GFP minus DM + errors ranked second worst among third basemen in 2014. 13 May 2022 In the field, Alcantara has six errors in 89 chances (.933 fielding percentage) at shortstop. Defensive skills are the focus for shortstops, with offensive skills being a bonus. Whichever way you look at it, Escobar's defense is solid in terms of this category. The position numbers go in order, starting with the pitcher as #1, however the shortstop is out of order and is labeled #6 instead of #5 all other positions go naturally in order from pitcher to catcher, around the infield, then into the outfield. Segura's RF is an outstanding 4.78, which has him siting in fourth in that cateogry. Kozma's UZR of 6.3 is the third-best among qualifying shortstops in the majors, while his dWAR of 0.8 (three-way tie for ninth) and DRS of four (four-way tie for seventh) are just above-average. First, lets recap a bit of what I wrote in the Mendonca article. Shortstops with career .271/.340/.493 lines don't grow on trees, and we're projecting him to be better than that this year. Play-by-play data prior to 2002 was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted St. Louis' first-round draft pick from 2007 wasn't expected to play much this year as the Cardinals initially had both Rafael Furcal and Ronny Cedeno on their roster, but Furcal's decision to have Tommy John surgery and St. Louis' eventual release of Cedeno provided an opening for Kozma at short. Ryan Braun, 3B, 2007 Brewers (minus-32). Fast legs are strong legs. Grant Green was the only college shortstop selected in the top 100 picks of this years draft. and play-by-play data provided by Sports Info Solutions. The Padres were third-to-last in the majors in defensive efficiency (percentage of balls in play turned into outs), so a lot of Padres defenders ended up with poor ratings in 1997. Because the catcher must control and corral the pitcher, he has to be physically and mentally quick. This was Braun's rookie season when he came up as a third baseman and he was such a disaster there the Brewers moved him to left field in 2008. Florimon out of the bunch is seemingly worthless on offense (he has a lifetime .220 average), but he makes up for it by covering ground in the middle infield like no one else can. His +26 is just percentage points below the top performance of the last two years, which belonged to another D II product, UC San Diegos Vance Albitz. Some defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023. *Many detailed statistics are based on play-by-play accounts accumulated by Retrosheet. [1] The statistic is premised on the notion that the total number of outs in which a player participates is more relevant in evaluating that player's defensive play than the percentage of cleanly handled chances as calculated by the conventional statistic fielding percentage. Andrus' has a shockingly low RF of 3.78, which puts him at 24th (26 qualify). The AL East is setting up as a race for the ages, Albert Pujols' push for 3,000 powered by dominant decade, 'Ich-i-ro! We present them here for purely educational purposes. Here are some of the top 2009 picks who were above the 800 BIP threshold in each of the last two college seasons: The +/- column gives plays above or below average for the combination of the last two seasons per 2400 balls in play (approximately 100 games). In other words, when aluminum is involved, hard hit balls turn every infielder into a third baseman. Required fields are marked *. F inal. Heading into the top five, we start to encounter those that encompass the best of the flashy, durable and reliable. So all the metrics agreed that he just didn't have much range in this year. The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. If the key measurables arent there, it doesnt matter how big you are - they will be taking a pass. Second baseman in softball are typically great defensive players but often lack a strong throwing arm. The 25-year-old has a RF of 4.66 which has him sitting in fifth place, while his DPR of -0.1 (16th) is below-average to middling. The longest games in Major League history (both leagues) with no chances offered to a . All UZR (ultimate zone rating) calculations are provided courtesy of Mitchel Lichtman. The 2008-09 correlation was a bit weaker, but still above 0.25. Sports averred that "he manages the defensive wizardry of a player three inches and 20 pounds smaller." As for his range, BIS graded him particularly weak going to his right. Component advanced metrics: Range Factor (RF) and Double Play Runs above average (DPR), 3. What level of play? We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. All Rights Reserved by Baseball Almanac, Inc.Hosted by Hosting 4 Less. College pitching coacheswhat do they actually do? Coaches at the top levels will look for middle infielders that display outstanding defensive ability in all of these categories. Sis Bates from the University of Washington, shown below, is an outstanding shortstop and epitomizes what they have to be able to do. He always has been. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. College softball coaches evaluate a player's athleticism based on arm strength and accuracy, speed, fielding range and the ability to hit for . Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. In May, Mike Bauman of MLB.com predicted that Escobar would eventually win a Gold Glove. Since 2002, the site uses defensive runs saved; prior to that, it uses total zone. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. I couldn't tell you why the discrepancy exists between UZR and dWAR in this case, seeing as they're usually fairly congruent, but here lies the occasional perils of advanced metrics. In 2011, he won his second Gold Glove of his career. Ryan doesn't make the cut for several reasons, the first being that his UZR is unforgivable. Sandwiched around this all-time bad season are two Gold Glove honors in 2009 and 2011. Make a guess now (Note: Baseball-Reference uses fielding runs below average, which can be drawn from two different sources depending on the year. Sometimes, it seems like Elvis Andrus has been a longtime Texas Ranger, but he's only 24. Defensive metrics aren't as foolproof as some other numbers, so let's dig deeper into what may have caused these poor ratings. About Sharing Tools. No-hitter the latest feat in James Paxton's rise, Deal ends Matt Harvey's roller-coaster ride with Mets, Sizing up potential trade fits for Manny Machado, Real or Not? Chances Records for Shortstops by Baseball Almanac. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. In that same Abraham article, Boston Red Sox manager John Farell praised Drew for what he's brought to the team: Hes in many ways a very dependable defender. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Component metrics are significantly more specific, and so are less telling of a shortstop's overall ability, but they did factor into my decisions somewhat. I appreciate your content. Be willing to learn and play other positions it may keep you off the bench. It is also important to note that the . The Twins walked the fewest batters in the AL and were in the middle of the pack in strikeouts and home runs allowed but were 13th in hits allowed, so the team defense was pretty bad overall, with Puckett apparently playing a big role. Fielding percentage: .977 (four-way tie for 11th). Here's the rundown: Simmons is unparalleled here. One method in doing so is fielding percentage. Did he deserve those Gold Glove Awards? Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. The meaning of FIELDING PERCENTAGE is the average (as of a baseball fielder) determined by dividing the number of putouts and assists by the number of chances called also fielding average. He's a phenomenal defensive player. Left fielders typically have good speed and fielding skills and are expected to be good contributors at the plate. In fact, only sixteen (14.3%) played 50 or more games at shortstop as 28-year-olds-a combination of injury attrition, moving to other positions, or manning a backup/utility role that didn't. In 2009 while playing for an awful Nationals team that lost 103 games, Dunn started 83 games in the outfield and 66 at first base. Drew's numbers aren't outstanding, but they do speak to his point, as does the video above. At the end of May, Kevin Reynolds of the Yahoo! Do you have a sports website? Even though Bichette hit 34 home runs and knocked in 133 runs, the Rockies traded him after the season. What do college baseball scouts look for in a pitcher? Pingback: How Do You Size A Fastpitch Softball Glove: Beginner's Guide. Probably because shortstops field more balls, the shortstop ratings youre about to see are somewhat more valid than those I presented for third basemen in May. Below are some of the skills a pitcher needs: Pitchers need great workouts to stay healthy with as much pitching as they do if you need a great workout, try my online program below, called Early Work. Ryan's RF is 4.35, good enough for eighth among qualifying shortstops. Same goes for pinch hitters, who replace a hitter already in the game to bat for them. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Do you have a sports website? Baseball Almanac is pleased to present a record book of baseball milestones for chances by shorstops - including career chances marks at short, single season chances plateaus for shortstops, and game related chances records at shortstop. Plus, don't you want to read about the worst defender ever? Its the most demanding out field position with lots of ground to cover. Farewell to a Mariners legend. Statistic Description: Fielding Percentage (Putouts + Assists) / (Putouts + Assists + Errors) Note that seasons prior to 1876 are not included in single-season marks, but are included in career marks. 0. Buster Olney ranked his top 10 team defenses in his blog post Thursday, which got me thinking about bad defense. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. First, it is somewhat subjective. Kemp also had just three assists in 2010 compared to 14 in 2009 and 11 in 2011. completeness, 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. His reward? . Finally, you'll never receive email notifications about content they create or likes they designate for your content. What follows is a list of the top 10 shortstops in the MLB. You know what the Rangers thought of that Gold Glove? With all of the hype around the St. Louis Cardinals and their sizable crop of potential All-Stars, Pete Kozma either goes unnoticed or else is pegged as one of the weakest players on the team. Okay lets now discuss the body types, traits, skills and recruiting profiles of the nine positions in softball. Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. Check out 2023 Regular Season MLB Baseball ss Fielding Statistics on ESPN.com. Playing right field requires decent arm strength because of the long throw to third, but the right fielder is typically the least important player on the field. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. Research is complete through completion of the previous season and includes all the fielding average variations. Composite advanced metrics: Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), defensive Wins Above Replacement (dWAR) and Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), 2. Ryan's fielding percentage is also of notewhile it won't make or break a player in my rankings, it's clear that Ryan isn't in the top couple of tiers when it comes to reliability. Originally, in the early years of baseball, the shortstop was the fourth outfielder. But sound fundamentals and covering good ground are hallmarks of an elite shortstop, and in those areas, Andrus is still a work in progress. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? I would love to be on a softball team someday. Share & Export. The most important factors when evaluating an elite middle infielder defensively are speed, quickness, good hands, and arm strength. I dont know whether thats the case, though I can say that the year-to-year correlation is weaker for programs outside of D I. Again, only players above the BIP threshold are included; the numbers include two seasons worth of data, and are regressed based on playing time. Example If a fielder has completed 317 put outs, 541 assists, and 27 errors, then: 317 + 541 = 858 317 + 541 + 27 = 885 858 885 is 0.969 Therefore, the fielder's fielding percentage is 0.969. 24-year Diamondbacks primed to bury Dodgers, Losing Corey Seager leaves Dodgers' season on the brink, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. While only about 1.6% of high school softball players go on to play at the Division 1 level, the other division levels, NAIA schools, and junior colleges offer many opportunities for promising prospects. Drew has a RF of 4.32, good enough for 10th place. Data Provided By The tiebreak deciding where Hardy is on the continuum ranging from average to elite is a DRS of seven, which is also good enough for third-best. It's also interesting that all 10 seasons here occurred since 1990, which is a reflection of more data available to grade defense. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Before we get going, check out this video about throwing speed by age for fastpitch players. Third basemen dont have to move as much compared to the SS or 2B, so they can be bigger bodied. Become a Stathead today and run queries with our, Most Unique Players by Age by Similarity Scores, Most Games without a World Series Appearance, Most Games without a Postseason Appearance, Highest Career and Single-Season Salaries, 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. When weve got multiple full years of data for a shortstop, it would appear that we have something worth looking at. 2. Versions for all ages with a 14-Day Free Trial. Second baseman have to be very quick and agile defenders and have value on the bases. Between that limitation and small sample sizes, we cant expect too much out of any such college fielding stat. And we'd talk about it for days. In fastpitch and slowpitch, they are used in the scorebook to tell positions apart. Bichette was fast enough to play a little center field early in his career, but by 1999 was 35 and lumbering. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. From his simpler stats alone, it appears that he's deserving of his own slide. Andrus' Range Factor is surprising and unfortunate, seeing as the rest of his numbers are quite impressive. All major league baseball data including pitch type, velocity, batted ball location, Maybe fielding stats for aluminum-bat-league shortstops are at least partly telling us how good the guy will be at third base with wood bats. While he occasionally sacrifices accuracy in the name of pizzazz, he's considered by most measures to be one of the most elite shortstops in the game. Metrics from the days of yore: Fielding percentage. Twenty-eight of those 29 runs below average came as a center fielder, where he made 2.50 plays per nine innings compared to the MLB average of 2.76. Velocity from the INF: Upper 70s MPH from SS. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Monday, May 1, 12:21AM. Good reflexes and instincts are important, as line drives scream to first base. Its both important to be well-rounded AND strong at 1-2 positions, but here are some common mistakes made by softball families. He's certainly not a guy that you have to worry about, "All right, what's going to happen." 5. year and team summary of data When Andruw Jones first came to the big leagues (with the Atlanta Braves), he'd make plays in the outfield, and we'd go: "Oh, man, did you see that?" Thanks for coaching the coaches! Braun fielded just .895, making 26 errors in 112 games, and made .57 fewer plays per nine innings than the average third baseman. His fielding percent (a metric looking at putouts, assists, and errors) at shortstop is top of the league at 1.000. Freddy Peralta thrills family with dazzling debut, Real or Not? Sullivan of MLB.com, Texas manager Ron Washington had this to say about Andrus: He has been outstanding. 1. Puckett's defensive metrics don't match up to his reputation -- he won six Gold Gloves -- as Baseball-Reference grades him out as 14 runs below average for his career. This was Sheffield's final season as a third baseman and he made 34 errors while fielding .899.
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