Who Should Win the NL Gold Glove Awards in 2024?

The value of a good defender is much harder to quantify than the value of a good hitter or pitcher. That means selecting the deserving Gold Glove winners can be a difficult task. Thankfully, it’s much easier once we know the three possible winners at each position.

Rawling announced the finalists for the 2024 Gold Glove Awards in October. And despite a few notable snubs, most of the game’s top defensive players were honored with a selection.

To be clear, a “finalist” isn’t the same thing as a “nominee,” at least not in this case. There will be no additional voting. The finalists are simply the top three vote-getters at each position in each league.

The winners have already been decided. They will be announced in a special edition of ESPN’s Baseball Tonight on November 3.

Until then, we have a couple more days to speculate and debate who will win and who should win the Gold Glove Awards this season.

Here are my picks for the most likely and most deserving winners in the National League.

Catcher

Finalists: Patrick Bailey, Giants; Gabriel Moreno, D-backs; Will Smith, Dodgers

In 2023, Bailey established himself as a phenomenal defensive catcher. In 2024, his first full season, he cemented himself as the best defensive catcher in the game.

Bailey led all NL catchers in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), Deserved Runs Prevented (DRP), and Fielding Run Value (FRV). Not only was he far and away the best pitch framer in the league, but he also did an exceptional job controlling the running game.

The fact that Bailey played almost 200 more innings than Moreno should also help him dethrone last year’s winner.

• Should win: Patrick Bailey
• Will win: Patrick Bailey

First Base

Finalists: Bryce Harper, Phillies; Matt Olson, Braves; Christian Walker, D-backs

Despite missing more than a month with a strained oblique, Walker led NL first basemen in Outs Above Average (OAA), FRV, and DRP. His .998 fielding percentage also ranked first out of the 11 NL first basemen who played at least 750 innings this season. He made just two errors (one fielding and one throwing) all year.

Harper is the shiny new toy at first base, and Olson has a solid case thanks to his trademark durability and league-leading 13 DRS. However, Walker’s status as the two-time reigning winner puts him in a great position to win his third NL Gold Glove in 2024.

• Should win: Christian Walker
• Will win: Christian Walker

Second Base

Finalists: Ketel Marte, D-backs; Bryson Stott, Phillies; Brice Turang, Brewers

Out of the three finalists, Marte is the deserving winner. He put up better numbers than Stott in every major category except for innings and fielding percentage, and he outproduced Turang in OAA, FRV, and DRP.

However, the second baseman who led the National League with an incredible 17 OAA and 13 FRV was Otto Lopez of the Marlins. He also finished first with 4.0 DRP despite playing just 850.1 innings at the keystone.

A lack of name recognition may have held him back this year, but Lopez is a glove to watch going forward.

• Should win: Otto Lopez
• Will win: Ketel Marte

Third Base

Finalists: Nolan Arenado, Cardinals; Matt Chapman, Giants; Ryan McMahon, Rockies

In 2023, Ke’Bryan Hayes of the Pirates dethroned Arenado, the long-time NL Gold Glove incumbent at third base.

Arenado bounced back defensively in 2024, but now that his 10-year Gold Glove win streak is over, it will be easier for another candidate to beat him once again. And who better than Chapman, a four-time Gold Glove winner and two-time Platinum Glove winner himself?

Chapman led NL third basemen in DRS and tied for the lead in OAA and FRV. Arenado edged him out in DRP, but Chapman wasn’t far behind. And while Arenado finished with more putouts and a higher fielding percentage, Chapman had more assists and started more double plays.

This will be a close one, but I think Chapman takes it – and deservedly so.

• Should win: Matt Chapman
• Will win: Matt Chapman

Shortstop

Finalists: Dansby Swanson, Cubs; Ezequiel Tovar, Rockies; Masyn Winn, Cardinals

This is a particularly interesting competition because each of these three shortstops led the league in at least one major defensive metric. Winn led NL shortstops in DRS, Swanson led in OAA and FRV, and Tovar led in DRP.

Tovar has my support because he’s the only NL shortstop who finished among the top three in all of those metrics, but Swanson’s league-leading fielding percentage, his All-Star reputation, and the Gold Gloves he already has on his mantle could give him the edge.

• Should win: Ezequiel Tovar
• Will win: Dansby Swanson

Left Field

Finalists: Lourdes Gurriel Jr., D-backs; Ian Happ, Cubs; Brandon Marsh, Phillies

Happ led NL left fielders in DRS and tied with Gurriel for the lead in DRP. The Statcast metrics were not impressed with his defensive range in the outfield, but then again, none of this year’s candidates graded out particularly well according to OAA or FRV.

It helps his case that Happ is also a strong candidate for more traditionally-minded voters. He led NL left fielders in innings, putouts, and assists, and he made just one error on the season. What’s more, he took home the NL Gold Glove in 2022 and ’23.

• Should win: Ian Happ
• Will win: Ian Happ

Center Field

Finalists: Brenton Doyle, Rockies; Blake Perkins, Brewers; Jacob Young, Nationals

With all due respect to Perkins, a strong defender in his own right, Doyle and Young are two of the best young outfielders in the game, and it almost feels unfair to have to pick just one of them.

Doyle is a more established name, which could give him the edge in this year’s voting. However, Young beat him out in DRS, OAA, FRV, and DRP. It’s a close enough contest that I think Doyle’s reputation will give him the edge, but all the numbers point to Young.

• Should win: Jacob Young
• Will win: Brenton Doyle

Right Field

Finalists: Sal Frelick, Brewers; Jake McCarthy, D-backs; Mike Yastrzemski, Giants

Frelick led all NL right fielders in DRS, FRV, and DRP, despite playing just 776 innings at the position.

Indeed, that lack of innings is just about the only knock against him, but the truth is, there was only one full-time right fielder in the NL this season (Nick Castellanos). It wouldn’t be fair to penalize Frelick for the fact that he also played a handful of games in center and left.

• Should win: Sal Frelick
• Will win: Sal Frelick

Pitcher

Finalists: Chris Sale, Braves; Luis Severino, Mets; Zack Wheeler, Phillies

Small sample sizes make this a difficult category, but Jake Irvin of the Nationals led NL pitchers in DRS and ranked fifth among NL starters in the Statcast Running Game metric. He also ranked among the top five in putouts and assists.

However, Irvin isn’t a finalist. Of the three pitchers who could actually win this thing, I think last year’s winner, Wheeler, is as good a bet as any to repeat. He led NL pitchers in putouts and did not make a single error in 2024.

• Should win: Jake Irvin
• Will win: Zack Wheeler

Utility

Finalists: Brendan Donovan, Cardinals; Enrique Hernández, Dodgers; Jared Triolo, Pirates

I wasn’t blown away with any of the finalists in this category, nor do I think anyone else was majorly snubbed.

Hernández was perhaps the truest utility player but he didn’t have particularly great numbers at any of the positions he played.

Triolo split his time between second and third base, while also appearing in a handful of games at first base and shortstop. His defensive metrics don’t jump off the page, but DRS liked him quite a bit at second base, and he was capable everywhere he played.

However, Donovan should be the clear winner once again. He finished with 6 OAA and 5.0 DRP while mostly splitting his time between left field and second base. He won the first-ever utility NL Gold Glove in 2022, and he should reclaim his crown in 2024.

• Should win: Brendan Donovan
• Will win: Brendan Donovan