Gold Glove Finalists Revealed

It's that time of year again.  It's almost time for Major League Baseball to begin announcing award winners from the regular season.  On Thursday afternoon, Rawlings announced the finalists for the Rawlings Gold Gloves for each position.

For American League pitchers, R.A. Dickey of the Toronto Blue Jays, Dallas Keuchel of the Houston Astros, and Justin Verlander are nominated.  R.A. Dickey won the award in 2013.  Dallas Keuchel is the two-time defending champion, winning the award in both 2014 and 2015.

For pitchers of the National League, Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs, Zack Greinke of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals are all nominated.  Grienke and Wainwright are both two-time winners of the Gold Glove.  Grienke has won it the past two seasons in 2014 and 2015, while Wainwright won in 2009 and 2013.

American League catchers feature Carlos Perez of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, James McCann of the Tigers, and Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals.  Salvador Perez has won the American League catchers Gold Glove each of the past 3 seasons (2013, 2014, 2015).

Buster Posey of the San Fransisco Giants, Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals, and Jonathan Lucroy of the Texas Rangers.  Since Lucroy was traded from the Milwaukee Brewers (National League) to the Texas Rangers (American League) mid-season, he is still eligible to win the National League Gold Glove.  Yadier Molina has won the award for the National League every single season since 2008.  He looks to add his 9th consecutive Gold Glove.  Molina is also a four-time Platinum Glove winner (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015).  The Platinum Glove is given to the best overall defensive player in each league.

Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles, Eric Hosmer of the Kansas City Royals, and Mitch Moreland of the Texas Rangers are the nominations for the American League at first base.  Hosmer has taken home the hardware in 2013, 2014, and 2015.  He looks to bring another Gold Golve back to Kansas City.

Wil Myers of the San Diego Padres, Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs will take the votes for the National League first basemen.  Paul Goldschmidt is a two-time National League Gold Glove winner (2013, 2015).

From the American League at second base: Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners, Ian Kinsler of the Tigers, and Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox.  Dustin Pedroia has won the award four times (2008, 2011, 2013, 2014) while Cano has won it twice (2010, 2012).

DJ LeMahieu of the Colorado Rockies, Joe Panik of the San Fransisco Giants, and Jean Segura of the Arizona Diamondbacks are nominated to take home the trophy for the second basemen of the National League.  LeMahieu is the only previous winner in this group after winning in 2014.

American League third basemen finalists include Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles, Kyle Seager of the Seattle Mariners, and Adrian Beltre of the Texas Rangers.  To me, this is one of the most interesting groupings with all three finalists previously winning a Gold Glove award.  Machado already has two Gold Gloves at home after winning the award in 2013 and 2015.  Kyle Seager won a Gold Glove in 2014 and Adrian Beltre has won the award four times (2007, 2008, 2011, 2012).  Manny Machado and Adrian Beltre have both won the Platinum Glove in the past as well.  Beltre was a Platinum Glove winnner in 2011 and 2012, while Machado won the award in 2013.

Representing the National League at third base includes Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies, Anthony Rendon of the Washington Nationals, and Justin Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Nolan Arenado looks to continue his winning streak and take home his fourth consecutive Gold Glove. 

Jose Iglesias of the Detroit Tigers, Andrelton Simmons of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Fransisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians are the top three American League shortstops.  Andrelton Simmons has two Gold Gloves already, both coming while he was Atlanta Braves.  Simmons also won the Platinum Glove in 2013 while he was with the Braves.

Freddie Galvis of the Philadelphia Phillies, Brandon Crawford of the San Fransisco Giants, and Addison Russell of the Chicago Cubs are competing for votes to take home the National League shortstop award.  Brandon Crawford is the only previous winner from this group.  Crawford took home the award last season.

Representing the American League in left field: Brett Gardner of the New York Yankees, Alex Gordon of the Kansas City Royals, and Colby Rasmus of the Houston Astros.  Alex Gordon is a four-time Gold Glove winner after winning each year from 2011 until 2014.  Gordon also won the 2014 Platinum Glove for the American League.

For the National League, Christian Yelich of the Miami Marlins, Adam Duvall of the Cincinnati Reds, and Starling Marte of the Pittsburgh Pirates will compete for votes in left field.  Yelich and Marte has both previously won the National League Gold Glove (Yelich 2014, Marte 2015).

In center field for the American League, Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Boston Red Sox, Kevin Pillar of the Toronto Blue Jays, and Kevin Kiermaier of the Tampa Bay Rays are all nominated.  This is another very interesting grouping to me.  Personally, I believe Kevin Pillar and Kevin Kiermaier may be the two best defensive outfielders in all of baseball.  Kevin Kiermaier won the Gold Glove in center field for the American League last year, as well as being named the Platinum Glove.  

Representing the National League:  Billy Hamilton of the Cincinatti Odubel Herrera of the Philadelphia Phillies, and Ender Inciarte of the Atlanta Braves are nominated for the Gold Glove in center field.  None of these players have won the Gold Glove award before.

Adam Eaton of the Chicago White Sox, Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox, and George Springer of the Houston Astros are all nominated for the American League Gold Glove award in right field.  Once again, none of these players have ever won the Gold Glove.

Representing the National League in right field: Nick Markakis of the Atlanta Braves, Carlos Gonzalez, and Jason Heyward of the Chicago Cubs.  Heyward has won the National League Gold Glove three times (2012, 2014, 2015) while Markakis has won the Gold Glove in the American League twice (2011, 2014).