Mark Buehrle and Albert Pujols are the two position leaders in our 2013 projections whom we also projected to lead their positions a year ago. In 2012, Buehrle did just that, saving his team 12 runs defensively on his way to his fourth consecutive Fielding Bible Award. Jake Westbrook was right behind Buehrle with 11. Pujols ended the season with 8 Runs Saved, well behind Mark Teixeira and Adrian Gonzalez, who had 17 Runs Saved and 16 Runs Saved, respectively. If not for his injury, Pujols might have been right there with them in 2012. For 2013 we project Teixeira and Gonzalez tied for second with 7 Runs Saved apiece.
The rest of the infield is full of fresh faces. Darwin Barney has just two seasons as the full-time starter in Chicago, Brett Lawrie has just one in Toronto, but Andrelton Simmons, with only half a season in the big leagues, may be the best of all of them. Simmons saved 19 runs in 426 innings in 2012 and should triple his playing time if he remains healthy this year. We project him to lead all players with 20 Runs Saved in 2013, but that may still be conservative.
Alex Gordon and Michael Bourn have been mainstays at the top of the Defensive Runs Saved charts over the last few seasons, but Josh Reddick came out of nowhere to lead right fielders with 22 Runs Saved in his first season of full playing time in Oakland. He and Fielding Bible Award winner Jason Heyward should provide us with a tremendous defensive duel over the next decade.
Here are the top five teams in our 2013 Defensive Projections:
It is no surprise to see the Rays at the top of the list. They will hope to have a healthy Evan Longoria for a full season, in which we project him to save 13 runs. The Angels locked in a major upgrade in their defensive outfield with their recent trade of Vernon Wells, making Mike Trout, Peter Bourjos, and newcomer Josh Hamilton the best outfield in baseball. The top-five is rounded out by the Royals, Reds, and Diamondbacks.