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Atlanta Braves’ Dansby Swanson is Gold Glove caliber

By Alex Burke

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 03: Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves throws out Brett Gardner of the New York Yankees in the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium on July 3, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 03: Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves throws out Brett Gardner of the New York Yankees in the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium on July 3, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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In his second full season as the Atlanta Braves’ shortstop, Dansby Swanson is establishing himself as one of the best defenders in the National League.

Dansby Swanson has been good at shortstop this year for the Atlanta Braves. Good enough, in fact, that he should arguably be the favorite to win the Gold Glove Award in the NL at this point in the season.

Unfortunately, like the Silver Slugger Award and other awards in baseball, the correct choice sometimes isn’t made in favor of a player who is more popular, on a better team, or – in the Gold Glove’s case – had a better offensive season.

Numbers That Matter

On a more positive note, however, here are some metrics that support Swanson’s case for being the best fielder at shortstop in the NL:

  • 8.2 UZR/150, NL Rank: 1st.

Swanson leads the NL in shortstop UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) while playing over 100 innings less than second-place Trea Turner. This stat is important because it takes into account every aspect of fielding (range, errors, double-play aptitude). Trea Turner has an UZR/150 of 6.6 and the winner of the last three Gold Gloves, Brandon Crawford, surprisingly has a negative UZR this year.

  • 11 DRS (Defensive Runs Saved), NL Rank: 2nd.

This stat is led by the Padres’ Freddy Galvis with 12, but Swanson is right with him at 11. This helps build Swanson’s case for the award tremendously right now as he is holding pace with the great Andrelton Simmons, who also has 11 DRS and leads the AL.

Swanson’s main competition for the Gold Glove Award in Trea Turner and Brandon Crawford have nine and six, respectively.

  • .982 Fielding Pct, NL Rank: 4th.

More from Tomahawk Take

This isn’t the best stat to use when judging who is the best defender of a position, but it’s notable for Swanson because of his vast improvement from last year. In 2017, Swanson was 8th (last) among qualified NL shortstops with a .965 fielding pct. Swanson’s new-and-improved mark is identical to Crawford’s from last year.

  • Errors

What was a weakness for Swanson last year has turned into a strength for him this year. Swanson and Orlando Arcia, the Brewers shortstop who was also playing his first full season in the majors last year, blew away the rest of the field with 20 errors each. This season, however, Swanson has been much more meticulous in the field and has limited himself to only five errors in over 640 innings.

Keeping the number of errors made as low as possible for the rest of the season will only serve to strengthen Swanson’s case. As of right now, Crawford has committed eight errors and Turner has committed nine.

The Improvement is Real

Whether it’s the infield drills with Ron Washington day after day, new analytics brought with a new General Manager, playing more freely this year or a combination of things, Swanson is having a breakout year defensively.

While he may be beaten out by someone else for the Gold Glove in part because they finish with better offensive numbers (or by voters who don’t look deep enough), it has been exciting to watch him blossom into one of the best fielders in the NL.

Next: Machado sweepstakes entering final phase?

And who knows? With Andrelton in the other league, anything is possible.

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