Padres Amongst MLB Best in Defensive Runs Saved
Credit: AP Photo
Defensive Runs Saved, by definition, is a baseball statistic that measures the number of runs a player saved or cost his team on defense relative to an average player.
Surprisingly, even though they were one of the worst teams in baseball, the San Diego Padres were amongst the Major League leaders in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS).
As a team, according to the statistic, the Padres saved 49 runs, which was the fourth best in all of baseball. This was a massive upgrade from 2017, when the Padres finished 17th best in all of baseball with zero defensive runs saved.
The additions of Eric Hosmer and Freddy Galvis certainly had something to do with the success the Padres had on defense this season.
Last season, the Padres saved a combined four runs from both their first baseman and shortstop. This year, the duo of Hosmer and Galvis saved a combined 15 runs and improved the infield defense of the Padres tremendously. Both Hosmer (8 DRS) and Galvis (7 DRS) were top ten at their respective positions for Defensive Runs Saved. Galvis, a defensive wizard, may even be on his way to winning his first career Gold Glove award while Hosmer already has four to his name.
Other than Hosmer and Galvis, the team’s two leaders in Defensive Runs Saved were Austin Hedges and Manuel Margot.
Hedges, who saved 20 runs in 2017, was the team’s leader with 12 and finished the year with the second most DRS, only behind Jeff Mathis of the Arizona Diamondbacks. While he did regress, from a DRS standpoint, Hedges is still amongst the league’s best catchers and provides the Padres with an elite defensive player at the most important position on the diamond. Manuel Margot saved nine runs, the 11th most amongst center fielders, and continued to flash his gold glove talent in the outfield. The likely center fielder of the future, Margot could be one of the best defenders in all of baseball within a few seasons.
The Padres, for the first time in a while, have a solid defensive core to build on for their future. Add into the mix Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Urias, both defensive studs, as well as any potential free agents that the team signs, and the Padres are shaping up to be an elite defensive team for years to come.
Diego works at Prep Baseball Report as an Area Scout in Illinois and Missouri. He graduated this spring with a Bachelor Degree in Communications and played four years of college baseball, logging nearly 50 innings of work in a relief role. Diego hopes to work in an MLB front office one day and has been a Padres fan since he was six years old.