Which Diamondbacks Have the Best Chance to Win a Gold Glove?
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Last week four players who played for the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2022 season were named as finalists for a Rawlings Gold Glove award at five different categories. Christian Walker, David Peralta, Alek Thomas, and Daulton Varsho qualified at first base, left field, center field, right field, and the recently-added utility position. Varsho qualified for two spots, both right field and utility.
From MLB.com, the voting breakdown for the Gold Glove awards is 75% coaches and 25% from a SABR Defensive Index. From Rawlings, the sponsor of the award, every team's manager plus a pool of up to six coaches are restricted to voting for only players in their respective leagues and cannot pick their own players. The winners will be announced on a special Baseball Tonight episode on November 1st at 5:00 PM ET.
Here's where I think each finalist stands at their respective positions.
First Baseman: Christian Walker
Walker should be the overwhelming favorite to win the award at first, given all the defensive metrics have him lapping the entire field at the position. His +14 outs above average and 11 runs saved according to Baseball Savant's Statcast leaderboard has him more than 10 outs better than the next first baseman. The Fielding Bible agrees with Statcast, with Walker's 17 defensive runs saved being well ahead of Matt Olson's mark of six runs saved.
His defensive value to the D-backs is worth noting, as he was able to close the hole on the right side of the infield. Statcast graded him as +12 OAA moving to his right, which allowed the team to be more aggressive on their shifts against right-handed batters. According to Fangraphs, the D-backs ranked fifth in Major League Baseball for preventing runs with shifts at 38 runs saved. While overshifts will become illegal in 2023, having a first baseman who can close the right side of the infield is still very valuable to have.
Not only does Walker have terrific range at first, he also has a quick glove that allows him to snare hard-hit balls from left-handed hitters. One such notable example came on August 29th, when he made a terrific catch on a Kyle Schwarber line drive that was hit 111.7 MPH.
With Walker likely to win his first career Gold Glove at first, it will give Arizona four at the position in the last 10 seasons.
Left Fielder: David Peralta
Peralta previously won a Gold Glove with the D-backs in 2019, which likely factored into his finalist spot at a position where defense comes second. In his nine years with Arizona, his defense had dramatically improved and it looked like he was on his way towards a second Gold Glove in 2022. Since he played most of his innings with Arizona, he was nominated in the National League despite getting traded to an American League club on July 30th.
The defensive metrics show a mixed bag on Peralta's defense, with Statcast ranking him third amongst MLB left fielders at +5 OAA while the Fielding Bible has him at -5 DRS in 927 innings. Unlike Walker, Peralta has decent competition with Cubs outfielder Ian Happ grading out strongly in DRS at +13 vs. a OAA of +1. Handicapping the odds, I would say that Happ probably wins the Gold Glove in left field, with Peralta likely finishing second in the voting.
Center Fielder: Alek Thomas
Alek Thomas had a good year defensively, even though he's going to be a distant third from Trent Grisham and Victor Robles. In 907 innings, Thomas graded out at +6 DRS and +6 OAA, ranking 4th and 7th respectively amongst National League outfielders in each metric with a minimum of 900 innings. While his jumps are merely average according to Statcast, Thomas has plenty of speed to cover the deep gaps at Chase Field and his defense looks smooth and effortless.
The last rookie to win a Gold Glove award was Nolan Arenado with the Colorado Rockies in 2013. Walker was the last D-backs rookie to finish as a finalist back in 2019. If his bat can get more consistent, he'll be the D-backs everyday center fielder for the foreseeable future despite playing in a very talented outfield. Given the number of opportunities he'll get playing in some of the biggest outfields in MLB, this won't be the last time that Thomas will be a finalist for a Gold Glove in center field either.
Right Fielder/Utility: Daulton Varsho
Varsho is the one D-back that got nominated at two separate categories. He started the year as the everyday center fielder until an injury to catcher Carson Kelly forced him to go behind the plate for a month. After Kelly came back, Varsho ended up settling in right field to close the season. Varsho played Gold Glove caliber defense at both outfield positions.
Despite not playing all the year at the position, which could hurt him in the voting, Varsho graded out as one of the best right fielders in baseball. With just 541 innings, he posted +14 DRS and +10 OAA. That puts him in a tight race with the Dodgers' Mookie Betts, who also had a strong year defensively at +15 DRS and +5 OAA. It's worth noting how close those two numbers are, since Betts has played more than twice as many innings at the position. It's going to be a close race, but I think Varsho could edge out Betts due to having better numbers despite the big innings gap.
Since Varsho played at catcher, center field, and right field, he also qualified under the utility designation. His main competition for the award is the Cardinals' Tommy Edman, who split time primarily at second base and shortstop. Like Varsho, Edman graded well at his top two positions. How the voting shakes out at second base may determine the winner of the utility position, although I'd say that Edman will narrowly edge out Varsho for utility if the latter doesn't win in right field.
