Who are the Best and Worst Defensive Teams So Far?

With a bit more than a month of the season behind us, the best and worst defensive teams have started to take shape. On the positive side of the ledger, there is a mixture of familiar faces and a few teams who look like they have made big improvements since last season.

The Royals saved an estimated 123 runs with their defense between 2013 and 2014, which was the highest total in baseball. As such, it’s little surprise to see them on top of the 2015 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) leaderboard with the same core of players including Lorenzo Cain, Alex Gordon, Jarrod Dyson, and Salvador Perez. Their division rival Tigers are much more of a surprise. Last season, their defense cost the team 61 runs, which was the second-worst total in baseball. The offseason additions of Yoenis Cespedes and Anthony Gose as well as the healthy return of shortstop Jose Iglesias have fueled their defensive turnaround. In addition, third baseman Nick Castellanos has improved from the worst defensive player in baseball (-30 DRS in 2014) to a positive contributor (3 DRS) so far this season.

The Houston Astros have a four-game lead in the AL West, and their defense has been a major reason why. Their commitment to the defensive shift has saved them nine runs so far this season and is the greatest individual piece of their 20 DRS in total. The Rays (335) and Astros (313) have the most and second-most shifts in baseball this season and are both in the top five of Shift Runs Saved.

The defensive trailers feature several of the biggest early-season disappointments.

If Houston can point to its defense as a major reason that it’s exceeded expectations so far this season, then Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, and Washington can all point to their defense as a reason they’ve fallen short of expectations. For Chicago, rookie Micah Johnson has struggled to handle second base and has cost the team eight runs there. Center fielder Adam Eaton has also shown a big decline from 11 DRS in 2014 to -6 DRS so far in 2015 due to a big increase in defensive misplays. Cleveland was the third-worst defensive team in 2014, but their expected turnaround this season has been sabotaged by extremely poor pitcher defense, specifically on groundballs and bunts.

In Boston, Hanley Ramirez has produced offensively but his transition from shortstop to left field has not been as helpful to his defensive numbers as they would have hoped. He has already cost the team six runs there. The Nationals can blame much of their early-season defensive woes on injuries. With Denard Span out several weeks, rookie Michael Taylor cost the team five runs in center field, and Yunel Escobar has cost the team six runs at third base in Anthony Rendon’s absence.