Pillar and Dickey Named Gold Glove Finalists

By Sean Herman Oct 27, 2016, 4:45pm EDT

MLB: ALCS-Cleveland Indians at Toronto Blue Jays

Rawlings has announced their 2016 Gold Glove finalists. In total, 54 MLB players were named in consideration of the award which aims to reward the best of the best defensively. No matter what individual feelings I have about the award and its merits, there is no denying that it is a nice feather in the cap for recipients.

Two of our own Toronto Blue Jays were named finalists for American League Gold Gloves, Kevin Pillar and R.A. Dickey.

Pillar continued to impress and amaze in center field after breaking out defensively during an outstanding 2015 season. In 2016, Pillar led all of baseball in Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR/150) at 26.3 and was ~~3rd~~ 4th in the American League in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) with 21. Kevin’s competition for the CF Gold Glove will come from Boston’s Jackie Bradley Jr. and Tampa Bay’s Kevin Kiermaier. Bradley’s UZR/150 was 5.1 and DRS was 11 in 2016, while Kiermaier scored a 24.2 UZR/150 with 25 DRS. Ordinarily, Kiermaier would be pretty tough to dethrone but he was limited to 105 games in 2016 which I think opens the door for Pillar to win his first Gold Glove.

R.A. Dickey continues to field his position well. The 2013 ~~National~~ American League Gold Glove winner for pitchers was named a finalist this year alongside Houston’s Dallas Keuchel and Detroit’s Justin Verlander. Dickey was 3rd in the American League among pitchers in DRS with 6. Keuchel and Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees each had 7, while Verlander followed Dickey with 5. The other statistic that is somewhat meaningful for pitchers is Stolen Base Runs Saved, or rSB. This measures a combination of the pitcher and the catcher to keep the opponent’s running game in check. In 2016, Dickey was one of nine pitchers that led the AL in rSB with 2. Keuchel also had a rSB of 2 while Verlander had 1. Keuchel has won the Gold Glove award in back-to-back seasons (2014 and 2015).

Congratulations to Kevin Pillar and R.A. Dickey in being named finalists for the award. The winners will be announced on Tuesday, November 8.

Possible Blue Jays snubs would include Troy Tulowitzki (3rd among AL short stops in DRS and 5th in UZR/150) and Josh Donaldson (5th in DRS and 4th in UZR/150 among AL third basemen).

Full list of Rawlings Gold Glove Finalists:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

PITCHER

R.A. Dickey, Blue Jays
Dallas Keuchel, Astros
Justin Verlander, Tigers

CATCHER

James McCann, Tigers
Carlos Perez, Angels
Salvador Perez, Royals

FIRST BASE

Chris Davis, Orioles
Eric Hosmer, Royals
Mitch Moreland, Rangers

SECOND BASE

Robinson Cano, Mariners
Ian Kinsler, Tigers
Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox

THIRD BASE

Adrian Beltre, Rangers
Manny Machado, Orioles
Kyle Seager, Mariners

SHORTSTOP

Jose Iglesias, Tigers
Francisco Lindor, Indians
Andrelton Simmons, Angels

LEFT FIELD

Brett Gardner, Yankees
Alex Gordon, Royals
Colby Rasmus, Astros

CENTER FIELD

Jackie Bradley Jr., Red Sox
Kevin Pillar, Blue Jays
Kevin Kiermaier, Rays

RIGHT FIELD

Mookie Betts, Red Sox
Adam Eaton, White Sox
George Springer, Astros

NATIONAL LEAGUE