The Tampa Bay Rays have deployed Taylor Walls as their starting shortstop in large part because of the positive impact that he makes defensively.
One of the most slick-fielding players in baseball, he has managed to measure out positively year in and year out, despite an underwhelming performance at the plate, because of his glove work.
That performance in the field was finally recognized this year, as he was named the American League Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner at shortstop after being a finalist last year . Well-regarded for his defensive abilities, it is easy to see why he received the award.
Most likely, the metric that voters focused on the most was Defensive Runs Saved. Walls shined in that metric with a +21 mark, which was tied for third in all of MLB with Ceddanne Rafaela of the Boston Red Sox. Only Wilyer Abreu, also of the Red Sox, with a +28 and Brice Turang of the Milwaukee Brewers with a +23 were better.
Sep 22, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) reaches for a throw at second base during the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Defensive metrics are sometimes tricky to truly measure. Improvements have been made in the Statcast era to determine just how impactful a player is at every position, but when expanding beyond DRS, it is easy to see why some people are perplexed by Walls being voted as the Gold Glove winner.
While he has an elite DRS number, other metrics aren't nearly as kind to him. The stat that covers range, Outs Above Average, Walls is in the 18th percentile with a -3. His arm strength isn't very good either, ranking in the 32nd percentile with an 82. His Fielding Run Value, per Baseball Savant, is -2, which is in the 35th percentile.
One of the players who were also a finalist for the award, Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals, has above-average numbers in all four of those metrics, which has people saying he was snubbed for the award.
Witt is as elite a defender as there is in baseball, with his Fielding Run Value of +17 being in the 99th percentile. There isn't a player at shortstop who exhibits better range than him, with his +24 Outs Above Average being in the 100th percentile.
His arm strength is excellent, with his 87.4 being in the 70th percentile. The biggest knock against him is that his Defensive Runs Saved is only +8, which still puts him at No. 5 among all shortstops in baseball, so he is no slouch there as well.
Rays fans will certainly be happy to see one of their players bringing home some hardware, knowing just how impactful Walls can be with his glove. But his victory does offer an overarching look at some issues there could be with the voting process, given how much Witt outperformed him in other defensive metrics that are available to voters.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/rays/onsi as Taylor Walls Is Surprising Recipient of Gold Glove Award .
