Taylor Walls’ glove has long been the reason the Rays keep running him out there at shortstop, and now that work has finally been rewarded with hardware.
Walls was named the American League Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner at shortstop after finishing as a finalist a year ago. For a player whose value has been built more on defense than offense, the recognition fits the profile - even if the voting didn’t come without questions.
The strongest case for Walls appears to have come from Defensive Runs Saved, where he posted a +21 mark. That tied him for third in all of MLB with Ceddanne Rafaela of the Boston Red Sox. Only Wilyer Abreu of the Red Sox at +28 and Brice Turang of the Milwaukee Brewers at +23 were better.
Still, the award has sparked debate because other defensive numbers don’t paint the same picture. Walls checked in at the 18th percentile in Outs Above Average at -3, ranked in the 32nd percentile in arm strength with an 82, and posted a Fielding Run Value of -2, which placed him in the 35th percentile.
That’s why some have pointed to Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals as the player who got left out. Witt was also a finalist, and his numbers are strong across the board. His Fielding Run Value of +17 sits in the 99th percentile, his +24 Outs Above Average is in the 100th percentile, and his arm strength of 87.4 lands in the 70th percentile.
Even his weakest mark still stands up. Witt’s Defensive Runs Saved total was +8, good for fifth among all shortstops in baseball.
For the Rays, the result means one of their own is bringing home a Gold Glove. For the broader conversation, it adds another layer to the debate over how defensive awards are judged when the available metrics don’t all point in the same direction.
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