Which MLB Playoff Contender Projects to Be the Toughest Postseason Test?
Defense
| Team | UZR | PPS |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Royals | 49.6 | 5 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 43.3 | 4 |
| Oakland Athletics | 25.9 | 3 |
| Atlanta Braves | 25.3 | 2 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 22.7 | 1 |
The Royals and Orioles stick to the mantra: defensive wins championships. Both squads have a ridiculous core of young fielders that can put the clamp down on opposing hitters.
Two games up on the Tigers in the AL Central, the Royals’ well-balanced defense gives them a legitimate shot at winning the division and making a deep run in October. Salvador Perez commands the team from behind the plate, while Alcides Escobar holds down the infield at short. Alex Gordon, Lorenzo Cain, and Jarod Dyson round out arguably the best defensive outfield in all of baseball, leaving the Tigers with nightmares of a one-game wild card playoff.
Even with Manny Machado on the shelf for the rest of the season, the Orioles have the talent to pick up the slack. Chris Davis has shifted across the diamond to third base, and in a short but sweet stint at the other corner, Steve Pearce has flashed some leather. Piggy-back that with the one-two punch of Jonathan Schoop and J.J. Hardy up the middle, and opposing lineups can only hope for better luck on balls to the outfield.
