{"id":56630,"date":"2022-09-20T14:51:08","date_gmt":"2022-09-20T18:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=56630"},"modified":"2022-09-20T14:51:08","modified_gmt":"2022-09-20T18:51:08","slug":"zach-davies-zac-gallen-fielding-diamondbacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2022\/09\/20\/zach-davies-zac-gallen-fielding-diamondbacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Zach Davies and Zac Gallen Form a Dynamic Fielding Duo in the Arizona Diamondbacks Pitching Rotation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zach Davies<\/strong> and Zac Gallen<\/strong>: Dynamic Fielding Duo in Diamondbacks Pitching Rotation<\/h2>\n

The Arizona Diamondbacks have Zac Gallen has set the league on fire with his recent performance. Since August 2, he has only given up runs in two innings<\/em> out of the 52 2\/3 he has pitched. This has thrust him into the conversation for the National League Cy Young Award. Zach Davies has a deceptive record due to the strict pitch limit set when he returned from injury. He has not factored in a decision since his August 1 return; however, the team has gone 6\u20133 in his starts over that span.<\/p>\n

But lost in the shuffle is the defensive play of Davies and Gallen. That\u2019s common with pitchers, since their priority is, well, pitching. But they both rank high in the NL in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), which does a far better job than fielding percentage at measuring defensive performance. Davies is third, with five, and Gallen is tied for fifth, with three.<\/p>\n

Saving Runs by Adding Outs<\/h3>\n

DRS takes range and difficulty of a play into account. Fielding percentage does not \u2014 it only measures how often a defender fields, throws, or catches a ball without making an error. But to paraphrase the late Tommy Lasorda, longtime Hall of Fame manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a>, a player doesn\u2019t get an error on a ball he can\u2019t reach.<\/p>\n

DRS compares a player\u2019s defensive ability to the average defender in the league at his position. It tells how many fewer runs a team gives up by having this player instead. A negative DRS means the team gave up more <\/em>runs by having him there.<\/p>\n

Diamondbacks players and coaches were unaware that Davies and Gallen ranked so high in the league in DRS, but that was only because they don\u2019t look at the leaderboard. When told that the two rank so high, no one was surprised, and they certainly were proud. First baseman Christian Walker, an elite defender<\/a> who takes immense pride in his defensive play, beamed like a proud parent when he heard the news. \u201cThat\u2019s cool,\u201d he said with a hint of excitement. \u201cThat\u2019s great,\u201d echoed pitching coach Brent Strom. \u201cAny time a pitcher can field their position is pretty awesome,\u201d smiled catcher Carson Kelly.<\/p>\n

What Zach Davies and Zac Gallen Add with Their Gloves<\/h3>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>