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

The Gold Glove, a coveted award bestowed since 1957 to players deemed to be the best at their positions, is something fans of the KC Royals should be quite familiar with. Many Royals have dominated Golf Glove nominations over the years, the two most notable being second baseman Frank White and left fielder Alex Gordon, both of whom are tied for the team lead with eight Gold Gloves apiece. Current KC catcher Salvador Perez is closing in on them with five.

Now, with little more than a month left in the 2021 season, there have been many ups and downs for this KC Royals team. Through it all, some players who haven’t quite shined at the plate have made up for it on the field, making spectacular catches and throws.

But which Royals are most worthy of the prestigious Gold Glove award? Let’s find out who the club’s top candidates are.

(ESPN was the source for players’ comparative position and DWAR statistics, and BaseballSavant the source for OAA, OAA percentile rankings, jump and defensive success rate statistics, for this story).

The KC Royals should never count out Salvador Perez as a Gold Glove winner.

Think of great contemporary catchers, and Salvador Perez should be atop the list with Yadier Molina, Buster Posey, and a few others.

Perez has had a fantastic 2021, probably his best ever. He’s slashing .277/.315/.544 with an .859 OPS, 94 RBIS and 38 home runs, including the two grand slams he hit in the recent Seattle series. But for all of the talk about his bat, Perez deserves the same praise for his defense.

His .998 fielding percentage ranks third in all the majors and second in the American League. He’s recorded 837 putouts while only committing two errors. His 40.6% caught stealing rate leads the American League and is second in the majors only to Molina’s 41.5%.

Perez is also tied with the Cubs’ Wilson Contreras for the major league lead with 52 assists. He’s turned the most double plays at his position with 10, and has a 1.0 DWAR.

Perez has already won five Gold Gloves in his career, his most recent one having come in 2018 (he missed the entire 2019 season with an injury and played 34 games as catcher in 2020). What a better way to cap off his great 2021 season than with Gold Glove No. 6?

Nicky Lopez’s glove stands out atop his amazing year for the KC Royals.

Nicky Lopez has been quite a Kansas City surprise this season. A poor spring training at the plate followed a bad 2020, but Lopez has since come into his own. His .292 average ranks first for the KC Royals and he’s hit .397 over his last 15 games. But for all of his offensive progress, Lopez’s defense has remained superb.

Not that there was ever a question about Lopez’s defense. He was a fantastic second baseman who had a .991 fielding percentage in 2020 and was even nominated for a Gold Glove. This season, Lopez looks to seal up that Gold Glove not as a second baseman, but as a shortstop.

Ever since Adalberto Mondesi’s oblique injuries sidelined him over the course of the season, Lopez has stepped up to the plate and made a name for himself. And being good on defense is one thing, but fielding as well as he has at a position he wasn’t thinking of playing in 2021 is something else.

Lopez leads American League shortstops with a .985 fielding percentage. He’s had 116 putouts and his 285 assists rank fourth in the AL. He has a range factor of 3.76, a DWAR of 1.2, and has helped turn 62 double plays on the year.

BaseballSavant gives him a 15 OAA at the shortstop position and ranks him in the 99th percentile. Though the American League is stacked at shortstop with names like Carlos Correa and Tim Anderson, Lopez just might be able to earn the first Gold Glove of his major league career.

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.