Atlanta Braves: Why Ronald Acuna Jr. Can Win Gold Glove in 2020
By Seth Carter
Here’s why I think Acuna can win the 2020 Gold Glove in RF with the Atlanta Braves. We break down his stats and the competition standing in the way.
The Atlanta Braves will open the season with former Gold Glove winners in CF and LF (assuming Ozuna starts there instead of DH on Opening Day). Here’s why I think Ronald Acuna Jr. will bring home the Gold in 2020.
I will use statistics in this article like defensive runs saved (DRS) or you might see Rdrs, which simply means it’s pulled from Baseball-Reference. Our friends at Baseball-Reference have a way of averaging defensive runs per 1,200 innings and they call that stat Rdrs/year. So, I try to explain the rest as I go.
If you ever get lost, check out Fangraphs’ glossary page. They help to simplify these terms so that even I can understand them. Everything is difficult until you learn how to do it, right? They do a great job of breaking it all down.
**Disclaimer: This article was written before the announcement of the Yasiel Puig signing.
Atlanta Braves – Gold Glove Competition – Bryce Harper, PHI
According to Fangraphs, Bryce Harper earned the most defensive runs saved in the National League from RF with 10. He was one of only three players to earn double-digit DRS from RF. Keep in mind, that doesn’t mean he saved 10 runs with his defense. It means, according to the calculations they use to figure DRS, Harper saved 10 more runs than the average player in RF.
Not only did Harper show well in DRS but he finished first among right fielders in range runs (RngR). Range runs is basically a measurement of how far above or below average a player is at getting to balls. It’s his range compared to average.