Atlanta Braves place five in top-ten SDI ranking

Five Atlanta Braves rank in the top ten at their position in the mid-year release of SDI standings, and one leads his group.

The Atlanta Braves have mixed results in SABR’s June 19 release of SDI numbers; one result, in particular, will generate a lot of unhappy comments.

SABR’s SDI (SABR Defensive Index) combines five metrics to create a composite statistic showing a player’s value at his primary position expressed as runs saved. The measures used fall into two categories batted ball and play-by-play.

Batted ball metrics used include The Fielding Bible’s Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), Fangraphs’ Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), and Runs Effectively Defended (RED).

RED was developed by Chris Dial, but you won’t find it on any site available to the public. No, I don’t know why, but my guess is that someone’s making money off it.

RED relies upon fielder zones, integrated with and adjusted by raw data from STATS, Inc. to update the idea behind a stat we don’t hear about today, Defensive Average.

Play-by-play data includes Defensive Regression Analysis (DRA) and Total Zone Rating (TZ).

Qualified Atlanta Braves

To qualify for consideration at a position, everyday players must play 67% of a team’s total innings, while a Pitcher must have one inning pitched for every game played after game 141.

If a player appears in multiple positions, he’s evaluated at the position where he played the most innings. Six Braves qualified as everyday players; Travis d’Arnaud, Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson, Austin Riley, and Adam Duvall.

Four pitchers make the list as well; Ian Anderson, Max Fried, Charlie Morton, and Kyle Wright.