OC Register: The numbers agree: Mike Trout’s defense in center field improved in 2018

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — This time a year ago, the raw impression of Mike Trout’s defense did not agree with the numbers. For every gif-able catch above the wall, there was an advanced statistic to bring the Angels’ center fielder down a peg.

By Defensive Runs Saved, Trout ranked 25th out of 31 players with at least 500 innings in center field in 2017. By Ultimate Zone Rating, Trout ranked 26th. This became a point of emphasis for Trout in the offseason, then a talking point in spring training, when the two-time American League MVP said he wanted to add a Gold Glove Award to his trophy case.

Trout probably won’t win the award, but he’s at least moving in a different direction – literally and figuratively.

Through Sunday, Trout had not been charged with an error this season, something no other major league center fielder who’s played at least 120 games can claim. He led the majors in double plays started (four) and his seven assists ranked third in the American League.

As for the fancy stats, Trout’s plus-7 DRS (through Sunday) ranks fifth in the AL and his 1.3 UZR ranks 20th – closer to the top than the bottom at least. Some dismiss the validity of the publicly available advanced metrics. But DRS and UZR factor into the Gold Glove Award selection process and, not insignificantly, Trout pays attention to them.

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“The defensive runs saved is the biggest,” he said. “You take pride in defense to make all the plays, but saving as (many) runs as you can for your team, I think that’s the biggest stat.”

Trout said he considered arm strength and accuracy his biggest areas for improvement coming into the season. He incorporated more long toss sessions into his off-season and in-season training. Observers note that Trout has also been more aggressive charging balls hit in front of him compared to seasons past. While he might have sacrificed some ability to catch balls hit over his head as a result, the net effect seems to be positive.

Having extra forward momentum feeds into arm strength too, and all of this could help explain Trout’s increased assists and double play totals. Manager Mike Scioscia said those numbers only tell part of the story.

“There’s a lot of singles that go through the holes with guys on and what happens? Do you stop the guy from scoring? Do you stop the guy from going first to third? These are all things in team defense that get overlooked, but are very, very important,” Scioscia said.

While not listed publicly, these statistics are recorded internally by the Angels. Scioscia didn’t want to disclose exactly how Trout stacks up but said he’s improving “in a lot of aspects.”

In turn, Scioscia said Trout’s defensive improvements have allowed the Angels to position their corner outfielders differently, knowing Trout can cover a larger share of the outfield gaps.

The Gold Glove voting is out of his hands, but Trout believes he’s done what he set out to do at the start of the year.

“Obviously you want to improve and you want to see your numbers improve throughout the year,” he said. “There are some things you can get better, and I’m going to keep working hard. Like you said, (seven) runs (saved), maybe shoot for a bigger number next year.”

SCIOSCIA’S FUTURE

Scioscia told Angels radio station KLAA that he will speak to owner Arte Moreno and General Manager Billy Eppler this week and “come to a decision” about his future as a manager.

Scioscia’s contract expires at the end of this season. He has repeatedly denied reports claiming a decision about his future has already been made. On Monday, Scioscia told KLAA that he wants to continue managing.

“I think that if you love something, you ought to continue to keep doing it,” he said. “If you can, great. If you can’t, so be it, but I love the dugout.”

ALSO

An MRI on Andrelton Simmons’ right knee came back “clean,” Scioscia said, but the shortstop was given a day off. Simmons landed awkwardly on the knee in the bottom of the seventh inning Sunday in Houston and was removed from the game. He did not take part in pregame activities on the field Monday but Scioscia said it’s possible that Simmons would return to the lineup Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Angels (RHP Matt Shoemaker, 2-2, 5.48 ERA) vs. Rangers (RHP Yovani Gallardo, 8-6, 6.59 ERA), Tuesday, 7 p.m., Fox Sports West

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