House That Hank Built
Fansided

Defense figures to be a strength for Atlanta Braves once again

By Daniel Rasmussen

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - MARCH 03: Ozzie Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves turns a double play past Rosell Herrera #5 of the Miami Marlins in the first inning during the Grapefruit League spring training game at Champion Stadium on March 03, 2019 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - MARCH 03: Ozzie Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves turns a double play past Rosell Herrera #5 of the Miami Marlins in the first inning during the Grapefruit League spring training game at Champion Stadium on March 03, 2019 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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PHOENIX, AZ – SEPTEMBER 06: Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves turns the double play over Chris Owings #16 of the Arizona Diamondbacks during the seventh inning of the MLB game at Chase Field on September 6, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ – SEPTEMBER 06: Dansby Swanson #7 of the Atlanta Braves turns the double play over Chris Owings #16 of the Arizona Diamondbacks during the seventh inning of the MLB game at Chase Field on September 6, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

Up the Middle Duo

The Braves employed a more analytical-based approach to team defense following the 2017 season, and perhaps nobody reaped the benefits of the change in philosophy more so than Dansby Swanson.

The Atlanta shortstop elevated his glove game to levels far beyond what anyone expected – well, anyone other than Ron Washington, maybe.

The Braves’ third base coach and respected infield instructor believed in Swanson when many others had begun to lose faith after Swanson’s subpar defensive performance in 2017. Some tweaks to the Braves’ infield positioning, along with hard work put in by Swanson under Washington’s tutelage, resulted in significant improvement.

Swanson’s DRS (defensive runs saved) shot up from -7 in 2017 to +10 in 2018, which was good enough for sixth best among all shortstops in MLB.

His UZR (ultimate zone rating) reflected the improvement as well, going from -2.7 in 2017 to +5.3 in 2018.

Baseball Prospectus’ FRAA (fielding runs above average) also had Dansby Swanson at +5.4 on the year, firmly entrenched in the “great” range and good enough for ninth best among all MLB shortstops.

Swanson wasn’t the only Braves’ middle infielder to see positive results from the new defensive philosophy in Atlanta.

While he’s got a long ways to go to catch the Wizard of Oz, the Braves’ Ozzie Albies, who spent most of his minor league career manning the shortstop position, took his range to the other side of the second base bag as he reached the big leagues to complement Dansby. Like his fellow middle infielder, Ozzie hasn’t disappointed with the glove.

His above-average range for a second baseman was reflected in the numbers he put together in 2018. BaseballReference shows that Ozzie ranked first in MLB in assists for a second baseman (389) and second in putouts (248).

Advanced stats love Ozzie as well, as the 5-foot-9 infield wonder showed giant gains in DRS (from +1 in 2017 to +8 in 2018) and UZR (3.7 to 6.7).

Braves fans have already long gotten used to the dynamic double-play combo up the middle, and this should once again be a strength in 2019.

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