KC Royals: Who are the club’s top Gold Glove candidates?

Michael A. Taylor has put on a defensive show in his first KC Royals season.

When center fielder Michael A. Taylor signed as a free agent in the offseason, his defensive prowess was well-known. There was no question, in fact, that his glove was definitely better than his bat—his career average coming into this season was .237, but his career fielding percentage was .990.

Taylor, however, has amped up his defensive play for his new club.

Taylor has a career-best-matching .990 fielding percentage, which ranks fourth in the majors among qualified center fielders, and he’s committed only three errors in 298 chances. He’s third with 285 total putouts and he leads the majors with 10 assists on the year. He also has the best center field DWAR (2.1), which isn’t surprising considering plays like these:

BaseballSavant grades his 11 OAA in the 98th percentile and his outfield jump in the 80th percentile; his defensive success rate is 89%.

Although Taylor has more than proven his defense prowess, it’s somewhat surprising that he hasn’t ever won a Gold Glove since entering the majors. That, however, could change this year.

Whether Taylor re-signs with Kansas City for 2022 (or perhaps beyond) remains to be seen, but his defense won’t hurt the club if he does return.