Dodgers: Three Players Who Could Win a Gold Glove

Yasiel Puig

First off we will begin with the obvious selection for this award, Yasiel Puig. The Wild Horse has been an elite defender his entire career, but for some reason, people are just beginning to take notice. Everyone has always known about his bazooka of an arm but not all-around defensive ability.

He is built like an NFL running back and is probably just as quick out in Right Field. According to FanGraphs, Yasiel leads all NL Right Fielders in Defensive Runs Saved. Another stat that Puig leads NL Right Fielder’s in is a stat we will be talking about for the other two Dodgers. This is called DEF. Essentially what this measures is the overall defensive value and Yasiel leads in that as well.

Puig often gets criticized for his nonchalant way of catching fly balls. Giving old-school fans heart-attacks as they watch him catch a routine fly ball as deep into his body as possible. Often leading commentators to say “It’s all fun and games until he drops the ball,” he hasn’t done so yet (*knock on wood) and it is fun and games because he hasn’t.

Puig can change the course of an entire game by just being out in right field. His outfield assist numbers are very low, but that’s not because he isn’t executing, it is because coaches and players are afraid to run on him. Even on deep fly balls to right field, you will see runners pretend to tag but don’t actually have the guts to test his arm. He saves runs without even having to make a play. His presence along with his ability should make him a shoe in for the NL Gold Glove award.