Article in the Omaha paper today:
http://m.omaha.com/article/20140325/...late=mobileart
Kansas City may not have added an impact bat to the lineup or a power arm to the pitching rotation.
But the Royals can still play some defense. Really, really good defense.
Whether that's enough to contend for an American League Central title or a wild card spot remains to be seen over a 162-game schedule, but — whether by strategy or good fortune — in assembling a team aiming for its first postseason berth since 1985, the Royals have perhaps baseball's best defensive unit.
Left fielder Alex Gordon, catcher Salvador Perez and first baseman Eric Hosmer won Gold Gloves last year for their fielding excellence, representing that they are the best at their position in the American League in an award sponsored by Rawlings, a glove company. Another glove company, Wilson, named outfielder Lorenzo Cain the Royals' defensive player of the year.
So yes, the Royals truly can pick it.
The team's major offseason acquisitions — offensive table-setters Norichika Aoki and Omar Infante — are both solid to above average defensively. The club lost starting pitcher Ervin Santana to free agency and signed Jason Vargas — but the finesse pitcher's overall effectiveness could benefit from the Royals' ability to go get it behind him.
A newer statistic called ultimate zone rating sheds light on the Royals' defensive excellence. The formula for determining the rating is complicated. But according to fangraphs.com, it “puts a run value to defense, attempting to quantify how many runs a player saved or gave up through their fielding prowess.”
Last year Alcides Escobar led all American League shortstops with a UZR of 10.9 (10.9 runs saved over the course of a season).
Many believe Mike Moustakas living up to his offensive potential will be the missing link for the Royals, but his glove is already where it needs to be — he was fourth among AL third basemen with a 10.0 UZR.
Winning Gold Gloves isn't necessarily about statistics. Hosmer was only sixth in the AL with a UZR of 2.5.
Cain was second among American League outfielders and fifth overall among outfielders with a UZR of 20.0. Gordon was 10th among AL outfielders and 19th overall at 8.6. Jarrod Dyson, among outfielders who played a minimum of 500 innings, ranked 10th in the AL and 18th overall at 10.4.
As for the newcomers: Aoki, playing with Milwaukee last season, was 29th among outfielders at 3.2, while Infante was fourth among AL second basemen at 2.4. (Former Kansas City starter Chris Getz didn't play enough innings to qualify, but was slightly better at 3.0).
Perhaps the best defensive statistic for catchers is defensive runs saved above average. Perez led the AL and was fourth best overall at 11.
Want to try to grasp just why the Omaha Storm Chasers' 2011 outfield seemed impenetrable? Consider that the outfielders were Cain, Dyson and David Lough — who, of those playing a minimum 500 innings, was fourth among AL outfielders and ninth overall with a UZR of 10.4.
With so many terrific defensive outfielders on hand, Lough was traded to Baltimore in the offseason. And it's probably not surprising he wound up there — the Orioles also like their defense, with three Gold Glove winners (third baseman Manny Machado, shortstop J.J. Hardy and outfielder Adam Jones).
Baltimore and Kansas City shared 2013 AL Defensive Team of the Year, an award handed out by Wilson. Kansas City ranked just eighth in fielding percentage, despite posting a franchise-record .986 mark. Baltimore set a major league record with just 54 errors while compiling a fielding percentage of .991.
A playoff team in 2012, Baltimore went 85-77 in 2013 and fell six games short of repeating.
So how much can defense determine a team's playoff fate? It's still pretty hard to measure. But if Kansas City makes the postseason in 2014, it will be a major reason why.