Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Kinsler Above Average Defensively According To Advanced Metrics


In previous posts, I looked at the Revised Zone Rating (RZR) and Out-of-Zone Plays (OOZ) metrics listed at FanGraphs.  Links to these posts are provided below:
Now, I'm going to to do the above conversion for second basemen.  Table 1 below contains the following information for 24 MLB second basemen 800 or more innings in 2013:
  • Inn = Innings
  • RZR = Revised Zone Rating
  • OOZ = Out-of-Zone Plays
  • PIZAA =  Plays in Zone Above Average
  • OOZAA = Out-of-Zone Plays Above Average
  • PMAA = Total Plays Above Average
  • RSAA = Runs Saved Above Average
The MLB Runs Saved Above Average leader was Mariners second baseman Nick Franklin (+24) followed by Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox (+18).   The worst was Dan Uggla of the Braves (-23). 

New Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler ranked 7th in MLB with +7 RSAA.  Kinsler was especially good at turning balls hit into the second base zone into outs finishing 11 plays better than average.  He was 2 plays above average outside the zone.  He was better on out-of-zone plays than in-zone plays in 2012, but the final result was similar (+6 RSAA). Other advanced statistics support his being a strong fielder in 2013 as he was +11 on Defensive Runs Saved, +13 on Baseball Prospectus' Fielding Runs Above Average and +10 on Total Zone.

While Kinsler appears to be an above average defender, he may not be an upgrade over Omar Infante who checked in at +10.  This is not a position where they necessarily had to have an upgrade though.  They needed a suitable replacement for the departing free agent and Kinsler should be just fine. 

Table 1: Runs Saved by MLB Second Basemen According to RZR, OOZ, 2013

Player
Team
Inn
RZR
OOZ
PIZ AA
OOZ AA
PMAA
RSAA
Nick Franklin
SEA
828
.791
62
-3
34
32
24
Dustin Pedroia
BOS
1,398
.823
63
8
16
24
18
Neil Walker
PIT
1,144
.781
67
-6
29
22
17
Brian Dozier
MIN
1,255
.832
43
12
1
14
10
Omar Infante
DET
1,025
.846
33
14
-1
13
10
Eric Sogard
OAK
865
.816
35
3
6
9
7
Ian Kinsler
TEX
1,095
.836
34
11
-2
9
7
Ben Zobrist
TBR
1,017
.803
41
1
7
8
6
Jason Kipnis
CLE
1,292
.825
42
9
-1
7
6
Robinson Cano
NYY
1,350
.802
50
0
5
6
4
Matt Carpenter
STL
1,108
.814
38
4
1
5
4
Mark Ellis
LAD
950
.839
27
10
-5
5
4
Donovan Solano
MIA
806
.844
20
12
-7
5
4
Brandon Phillips
CIN
1,347
.828
35
11
-10
1
1
Howie Kendrick
LAA
1,043
.787
36
-4
1
-3
-2
Chase Utley
PHI
1,071
.836
22
10
-14
-4
-3
Darwin Barney
CHC
1,237
.810
32
3
-9
-6
-5
Jedd Gyorko
SDP
1,008
.822
20
6
-14
-7
-5
Gordon Beckham
CHW
884
.790
23
-2
-6
-9
-7
Marco Scutaro
SFG
1,033
.808
19
2
-15
-13
-10
Daniel Murphy
NYM
1,334
.787
36
-5
-8
-14
-10
Jose Altuve
HOU
1,261
.741
49
-23
7
-16
-12
Rickie Weeks
MIL
815
.756
19
-11
-8
-20
-15
Dan Uggla
ATL
1,161
.765
20
-11
-19
-30
-23
  Data source: FanGraphs.com

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