The Royals are getting back to being an elite defensive team

Love their glove.

When the Royals rose to prominence a decade ago (has it been that long already? Sheesh!), they weren’t known for hitting home runs or having elite starting pitching. Instead, they prided themselves on having a high-contact lineup, a shutdown bullpen, and an elite defense.

The 2014-15 Royals had 95.6 Defensive Runs Above Average, 40 better than the next best team. Left fielder Alex Gordon gunned down runners and won a Platinum Glove. A popular adage at the time was that 70 percent of the world was covered by water, the rest was covered by centerfielder Lorenzo Cain. Alcides Escobar made incredible plays at shortstop. Third baseman Mike Moustakas dove into the dugout for pop flies. Eric Hosmer made his smooth scoops at first base. And Salvador Perez was gunning down baserunners behind the plate.

After the core of that team departed, the Royals’ defense declined. Gordo, Esky and Salvy stuck around for a bit, and they were able to find some good defenders like Michael A. Taylor. But overall, the team sank to the middle of the pack defensively.

Even going with younger players didn’t help much initially. Everyone knew phenom Bobby Witt Jr. had the tools to be an elite defender, but he struggled with the glove his rookie season. Vinnie Pasquantino made the big leagues with his bat, not his glove. Michael Massey had won a Gold Glove in the minors, but had mixed results with his defensive metrics initially. Even veteran Salvador Perez began to decline in throwing out baserunners (hampered by new rules limiting pickoff attempts) and his pitch framing metrics continued to be poor.

But that has all changed this year. The Royals are rising again to be one of the best defensive teams in baseball. They are currently third in Defensive Runs Above Average and fifth in Outs Above Average. And they are particularly strong up the middle. According to Sports Info Solutions, the Royals lead baseball in Defensive Runs Saved at the catcher, middle infield, and centerfield positions combined.

Bobby Witt Jr., with the help of coach José Alguacil, has become an elite defender. He is fourth out of all players in baseball in Outs Above Average and Defensive Runs Saved, and second in Defensive Runs Above Average. When you see plays like the one he made on a pop fly against the Angels last night, it’s not hard to see why.

And it’s not just Bobby. Maikel Garcia is second among third basemen in Defensive Runs Above Average. Kyle Isbel is tenth among all outfielders in Outs Above Average. Vinnie Pasquantino has worked to improve at first base, and with his patented splits, he is now fourth among all first basemen in Outs Above Average. MJ Melendez has improved significantly in the outfield, and leads all outfielders in Outfield Arm runs above average. He is now positive in Defensive Runs Saved after being one of the worst defenders in baseball last year.

And even an old dog can learn new tricks - Salvy has worked with coach Paul Hoover on his pitch framing, and is now sixth in baseball in Pitch Framing Runs, a metric he finished near the bottom of the league in last year.

There is still room for improvement. Nelson Velazquez and Hunter Renfroe have each been liabilities in the field. Michael Massey has great tools and highlight plays, but could show more consistency. And even Bobby could improve - the sky seems to be the limit with his abilities.

But the Royals are getting back to what made them successful all those years ago (seriously, has it been ten years????) They’re converting more balls into outs than almost any other team and finding that if they just hold serve, eventually their opponents will mess up and give them an opportunity. We shall see if these Royals have the same kind of success as Ned Yost’s bunch, but it certainly is refreshing to see a Royals team that can field the ball again.