Today, the Baseball Savant website introduced Fielding Run Value as an overall defensive metric. The description they added is:
"Fielding Run Value is Statcast’s metric for capturing a player’s measurable defensive performance by converting all of Statcast’s individual defensive metrics from different scales onto the same run-based scale, which can then be read as a player being worth X runs above or Y runs below average. Currently, the conversions for those metrics are as follows. (Unless otherwise noted, all metrics are available since 2016.)
Outs Above Average (range): 1 out = .9 run (OF) // 1 out = .75 run (IF)
Fielder Throwing Runs: 1 run = 1 run
Catcher Blocking: 1 block saved= .25 run (available 2018-pres).
Catcher Framing: 1 strike saved = .125 run
Catcher Throwing: 1 SB prevented = .65 run"
So, obviously we had to break this down for our Astros in the dynastic period. Here are the key players over the years and how they scored in this metric from 2017 to 2023 season to date. For the 2023 data, I ratioed to the games played.
As a normal heat map red is good and blue is bad. The 2023 Astros ARE NOT a good defensive team by this metric.
Positive
Bregman is trending to his best defensive season of his career.
Meyers and McCormick are Very Good/ Elite fielders.
Julks is having a better defensive year in LF than any of the other players in this period.
Diaz is having a good defensive year in a backup role.
Dubon is having a great year defensively.
Negative
Madonado has completely tanked defensively in 2023.
Altuve is having a rough year defensively.
Pena has been below average in 2023.
Tucker is inexplicably bad in RF this year.
Some interesting trends for some of the key dynasty Astros.
You can see how the core of the dynasty has performed according to this metric during this period.
So, what have you learned about the Astros based on this Fielding Run Value data?
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