Have the Twins Improved Defensively in 2023?

Defensive metrics have come a long way over the last decade. With Statcast tracking every batted ball, the amount of information available to fans is at an all-time high. One metric the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) developed is the SABR Defensive Index (SDI). 

According to SABR's website, the SDI "draws on and aggregates two types of existing defensive metrics: those derived from batted ball location-based data and those collected from play-by-play accounts." Since 2013, SDI has been used as part of the process for selecting Gold Glove winners. The rankings below are through games played on June 4, 2023. 

Pitcher (AL Ranking): Pablo Lopez 0.7 SDI (11th), Sonny Gray 0.0 SDI (21st), Joe Ryan -0.1 SDI (28th) 
Pitcher defense can be tough to evaluate because of the limited number of plays the position must field. Lopez is the top Twin on the leaderboard, but Zack Greinke (1.6 SDI) is at the top with more than double Lopez's SDI score. Multiple former Twins populate the rankings, including Lance Lynn (1.4 SDI), Tyler Wells (0.8 SDI), Kyle Gibson (0.6 SDI), Martin Perez (0.5 SDI), and Jose Berrios (0.1 SDI). Pitchers can move up and down the leaderboard more easily during the season, so it will be interesting to see how the top Twins pitchers fare by the season's end.  

Catcher (AL Ranking): Christian Vazquez 1.1 SDI (8th), Ryan Jeffers 0.7 SDI (10th)
Vazquez was known for his defensive abilities when the Twins signed him during the offseason. Last season, he ranked fifth in the AL with a 5.3 SDI and continues to rank well at the start of the 2023 campaign. Since joining the Twins, his framing has improved from the 55th percentile to the 63rd percentile. Jeffers has been known for his pitch-framing ability, but he's struggled to control the run game. Last season, he ranked in the 64th percentile for framing, while his pop time to second base was in the 44th percentile. His framing dropped to the 40th percentile in 2023, but his pop time improved to the 51st percentile. 

First Base (AL Ranking): Joey Gallo -0.2 SDI (6th)
Gallo has never been a regular at first base, but the Twins had a need at the position to begin the year. Alex Kirilloff has been getting more regular reps at first since he returned from injury, so Gallo will likely fall off this leaderboard in future updates. According to FanGraphs, Kirilloff has been worth -4 Defensive Runs Saved in 155 innings at first base. Only five AL first basemen have posted a positive SDI, with Nathaniel Lowe (2.6 SDI) and Anthony Rizzo (2.6 SDI) at the top. 

Second Base (AL Ranking): No Twins Players Qualify
Injuries have impacted regular playing time for any players at second base, with Jorge Polanco and Edouard Julien getting most of the playing time. Last season, Polanco ranked 13th among AL second basemen with a -2.7 SDI. Only three players ranked below him, including Nicky Lopez, Rougned Odor, and Jose Altuve. The Twins continue to use Julien only at second base, and his defense is not strong at the position. He's been worth -3 defensive runs saved in his first 140 defensive innings at the big league level. Monitoring how Polanco looks defensively when he returns from his hamstring injury will be interesting. 

Third Base (AL Ranking): No Twins Players Qualify
The Twins hoped Jose Miranda would thrive at third base in 2023, but that plan didn't come to fruition. Even if Miranda were at third, his defense would likely struggle. In nearly 280 innings at third, FanGraphs valued him at -3.9 DEF, which was worse than his pace last year when he had a -9.3 DEF. Royce Lewis is playing third base regularly for the first time in his career, so it will be interesting to see how the defensive metrics view him at the hot corner. In nine starts, he has been worth one defensive run saved at third, but it's a small sample size. 

Shortstop (AL Ranking): Carlos Correa -0.6 SDI (10th)
Correa dominated the SDI rankings in his final season in Houston, but the Twins have not seen that player over the last two seasons. He started last season slowly and posted a negative SDI through the first portion of the season. Luckily, his defense improved in the second half, and he finished with a 1.6 SDI, ranking ninth in the AL. Correa hasn't started the season as badly, so fans will have to watch if his plantar fasciitis impacts his defense throughout the season.

Left Field (AL Ranking): Trevor Larnach -1.0 SDI (9th)
Chicago's Andrew Benintendi is the lone qualified AL left fielder with a lower SDI than Larnach. Other defensive metrics also place Larnach near the bottom of the league. He ranks in the eighth percentile for outfield jump, 34th percentile for arm strength, and 45th percentile for outs above average. His arm strength was in the 67th percentile last season, so that area should improve throughout the season. In 2022, Nick Gordon finished fifth among AL left fielders in SDI, but he won't be back on the field until later this season after fracturing his right shin. 

Center Field (AL Ranking): Michael A. Taylor 0.7 SDI (7th)
Some Twins fans would rather have Byron Buxton manning center field, but Taylor came to the Twins with a solid defensive reputation. In his age-32 season, Taylor ranks in the 88th percentile for Outs Above Average, and his arm strength is in the 83rd percentile. His outfield jump has taken the biggest hit this year, dropping from the 74th percentile in 2022 to the 50th percentile in 2023. Fans will continue to clamor for Buxton to take over regular center field duties, but that seems unlikely to happen with his injury history.

Right Field (AL Ranking): No Twins Players Qualify
Max Kepler finished the 2022 season as a finalist for the Gold Glove in right field before losing out to Kyle Tucker. He posted a 6.3 SDI, which ranked second in the AL behind Tucker (7.1 SDI). He was elite in the outfield, with an Outs Above Average in the 97th percentile. In 2023, Kepler ranks in the 67th percentile for Outs Above Average and in the 73rd percentile for arm strength. Most of Kepler's value comes on the defensive side of the ball, so he should jump onto the leaderboard when he qualifies later this season. 

Are you surprised by any of these defensive rankings? Who will rank highest by the season's end? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.