SABR Defensive Index

SABR Defensive Index rankings released through July 17, 2022

JULY 22, 2022 — St. Louis third baseman Nolan Arenado and New York catcher Jose Trevino lead their respective leagues in the updated SABR Defensive Index™ rankings through the first half of the 2022 Major League Baseball season.

For the 10th consecutive season, the SABR Defensive Index will be used to help select the winners of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award® and Rawlings Platinum Glove Award™, presented by SABR.

The SDI draws on and aggregates two types of existing defensive metrics: those derived from batted ball location-based data and those collected from play-by-play accounts. SDI utilizes MLBAM’s Statcast, Sports Info Solutions data, and STATS Perform data as well as traditional statistics with advanced analysis.

The SABR Defensive Index accounts for approximately 25 percent of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award selection process that will be added to the votes from the managers and coaches.

Arenado’s SDI of 10.0 is the highest in the NL among all qualified defenders, ahead of Pittsburgh third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes (9.2) and Arizona first baseman Christian Walker (8.5). Milwaukee third baseman Jace Peterson (7.0) and Chicago shortstop Nico Hoerner (6.1) round out the top five.

Trevino’s SDI of 8.6 leads all fielders in the AL, followed by Cleveland left fielder Steven Kwan (7.2), Detroit second baseman Jonathan Schoop (6.5), Los Angeles shortstop Andrew Velazquez (6.2), and Boston second baseman Trevor Story (5.8).

The updated SDI results were released today by the Society for American Baseball Research.

The final SDI results will be released following the conclusion of the 2022 season at SABR.org. The SDI is compiled by the SABR Defensive Committee, which includes former SABR Board President Vince Gennaro; Sean Forman of Baseball-Reference.com; Mark Simon of Sports Info Solutions; Ben Jedlovec, MLB’s Senior Director, Baseball Data Platform Product; former SABR Director F.X. Flinn; author and defensive metrics expert Chris Dial; and author Michael Humphreys.

Here are the top 25 players in each League, through games of July 17, 2022:

 

NL leaders

Player Team Position SDI
Nolan Arenado STL 3B 10.0
Ke’Bryan Hayes PIT 3B 9.2
Christian Walker ARI 1B 8.5
Jace Peterson MIL 3B 7.0
Nico Hoerner CHC SS 6.1
Tommy Edman STL 2B 5.9
Mookie Betts LAD RF 5.8
Dansby Swanson ATL SS 5.1
Ha-Seong Kim SDP SS 5.0
Hunter Renfroe MIL RF 4.9
Brendan Rodgers COL 2B 4.6
J.T. Realmuto PHI C 4.1
Connor Joe COL LF 3.9
Miguel Rojas MIA SS 3.8
Alek Thomas ARI CF 3.4
Harrison Bader STL CF 3.0
Max Muncy LAD 3B 3.0
Víctor Robles WSN CF 2.9
Tyler Anderson LAD P 2.7
Daulton Varsho ARI CF 2.6
Taijuan Walker NYM P 2.4
Mike Yastrzemski SFG CF 2.4
Ryan McMahon COL 3B 2.3
David Peralta ARI LF 2.2
Luis Guillorme NYM 2B 2.2
Willy Adames MIL SS 2.2
C.J. Cron COL 1B 2.2

 

AL leaders

Player Team Position SDI
Jose Trevino NYY C 8.6
Steven Kwan CLE LF 7.2
Jonathan Schoop DET 2B 6.5
Andrew Velazquez LAA SS 6.2
Trevor Story BOS 2B 5.8
Brandon Marsh LAA LF 5.7
Ramón Urías BAL 3B 5.6
Myles Straw CLE CF 5.4
Kyle Tucker HOU RF 5.1
Jorge Mateo BAL SS 4.8
Jeremy Peña HOU SS 4.7
Max Kepler MIN RF 4.4
DJ LeMahieu NYY 3B 4.4
Cedric Mullins BAL CF 4.1
Alejandro Kirk TOR C 4.0
Cal Raleigh SEA C 3.8
Marcus Semien TEX 2B 3.6
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. TOR 1B 3.5
Reese McGuire CHW C 3.5
Julio Rodríguez SEA CF 3.5
Eugenio Suarez SEA 3B 3.0
Jackie Bradley Jr. BOS RF 2.9
Enrique Hernández BOS CF 2.8
Josh Harrison CHW 2B 2.6
Gleyber Torres NYY 2B 2.6
Chas McCormick HOU CF 2.6

 

 

About SABR

The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering research and disseminating the history and record of baseball. Founded in 1971, SABR has more than 7,000 members worldwide and has established itself as a vibrant baseball community and a premier distributor of ground-breaking baseball information. SABR features more than 80 regional chapters and more than 30 research committees, and produces three annual publications — two editions of The Baseball Research Journal and The National Pastime — in addition to other print and e-books. SABR also hosts two annual events: the National Convention each summer and the SABR Analytics Conference in March in Phoenix. For more information about SABR, visit SABR.org.

About the Rawlings Gold Glove Award®

The Rawlings Gold Glove Award® is a registered trademark owned by Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc. The award is correctly identified as the Rawlings Gold Glove Award. The name should not be shortened, abbreviated, or otherwise misused. Proper identification of this service mark using the registration symbol and the Rawlings name is important to protect the integrity of the program and perpetuate this worthy tradition. For more information, please visit www.Rawlings.com.

About Rawlings

Established in 1887, Rawlings is an innovative leading global brand and manufacturer of premium baseball and softball equipment, including gloves, balls, and protective headwear. Rawlings’ unparalleled quality, innovative engineering and expert craftsmanship are the fundamental reasons why more professional athletes, national governing bodies and sports leagues choose Rawlings. Rawlings is the Official Baseball, Helmet, Face Guard and Glove of Major League Baseball, the Official Baseball of Minor League Baseball and the Official Baseball and Softball of the NCAA and the NAIA.  The company is headquartered in St. Louis. For more information, please visit www.Rawlings.com.



Originally published: July 22, 2022. Last Updated: September 9, 2022.