Royals Defense is Really...Catching On
It's only four games, but the defense might be starting to become their identity.
Let’s get it out of the way before we get very deep into this. Four games is not enough to make any statistical judgments about much of anything, particularly defense. That said, the Royals have played clean baseball in their first four games of the season, and it’s something that should continue, given the cast and crew they have out there on a daily basis.
On paper, this looks like a solid defense, but there are some questions in a lot of spots. Look around the diamond. There are theoretically good defenders in most positions on most nights. Carlos Santana had six defensive runs saved at first last year and eight over the last three years. Whit Merrifield had three defensive runs saved the last time he played second base somewhat regularly in 2019. Normally Adalberto Mondesi will man shortstop and had nine defensive runs saved the last two years. His replacement while he’s out, Nicky Lopez, was arguably the best defensive second baseman in the American League last year and while he isn’t Mondesi can really play defense up the middle no matter where you put him.
The outfield is manned by Andrew Benintendi, Michael A. Taylor and Kyle Isbel, an entirely new group. While Benintendi isn’t Alex Gordon, he had a combined 23 defensive runs saved in 2017 and 2018 and he looks like he’s moving as well as he did in those seasons. He also has a very good arm. Taylor has already shown off his arm this season, and he too has a good history, though, not the last couple years. Of course, he only played 233.1 innings in center between 2019 and 2020. In 2017 and 2018, he combined for a whopping 26 defensive runs saved. He already has three this year in four games. And while we don’t have great defensive numbers for Isbel in the minors, it’s clear that with the way he moves and his instincts that he is a very good defender as well. Plus, the scouts love him out there.
The one that’s potentially the most intriguing to me is Salvador Perez. I mentioned this on Twitter the other day, but prior to last season, Perez had rated poorly to purely awful when it comes to framing. His arm has always been a strength, he’s generally a good pitch blocker when he’s focused, but the framing has been a big issue for him throughout his career. Then suddenly, Perez framed well in 2020. Was it the short season? Maybe. It’s too early this season to know much, but I’ll be very curious to see if that can continue this season.
The only obvious weak link defensively is Hunter Dozier, and it’s worth noting that he’s a very weak link. Between 2018 and 2019, he played 1,165.2 innings at third and was at -17 defensive runs saved. So yes, that’s an issue, but you can see how this team has a chance to be solid to very good defensively.
And so far, they have. This is from before Monday’s game, but is very impressive.
As we get past early season intrigue, we’ll start to see an identity for this team settle in, and so far, the defense has stood out to me even in the tiniest of samples. Opening Day was a great example. Benintendi made an ill-advised dive on a sinking blooper that ended up as a three-run double, so that wasn’t great, but I’m not sure Brad Keller gets out of the first with his leaping catch against the wall in foul territory or Taylor’s first assist at home of the game.
Look at Monday’s game when the Royals shut out the Indians. The double play started by Santana was arguably a game saver. Hahn was struggling to find it and he made a fantastic play not only to get to the ball, but to throw a perfect strike to second to start the 3-6-1 double play that turned the entire inning around.
Out of three wins, the defense has arguably been a huge part of two of them. Honestly, you could argue that it had a huge hand in all three of them as Benintendi made a fantastic diving catch in the top of the sixth when the score was still 4-3 Rangers.
We think so fondly of the Royals defense from the championship years, and while it’s difficult to imagine that this team could be better, I think there’s a chance it can at least be relatively close. Some might argue with this, but I’m fully on board with the fact that Mondesi is better defensively than Escobar. He’s not as available, but that’s another story. Merrifield has a chance to be better than either Omar Infante or Ben Zobrist. There’s a downgrade at third and probably in left (though I’m not convinced Benintendi can’t have a great defensive season), but the team was actually bad in right field in both 2014 and 2015. Isbel is almost certainly a huge upgrade.
I think they’ll have a hard time matching center field, no matter how good Taylor is as he would have to compete with both Lorenzo Cain and Jarrod Dyson late in many games, but his defensive upside is at least somewhat close. And while Hosmer was overrated defensively, he probably is better than what Santana provides now.
Even so, it’s easy to see how this defense can become one of the identities of the 2021 Royals. It’s really just nice to see a team that isn’t going to kick the ball around and will make some plays out there. It’s not quite the recent glory days, but it at least hearkens back some memories of them. And hey, if you squint just a little, you can see a team with a very good defense and a heck of a bullpen and dream just a bit.
I didn't realize Santana moves as well as he does for a pudgy ex catcher with some age on him, both on the basepaths and at 1B. Same with Hanser Alberto. I kind of had in mind an Alberto Callaspo type of hit first player, but Hanser is also more athletic and a better fielder than I realized.