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Starling Marte and Russell Martin Named Gold Glove Finalists

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Rawlings has announced their Gold Glove finalists, naming three players at each position in the AL and NL. The Pittsburgh Pirates had two finalists, with Starling Marte and Russell Martin being named finalists at their respective positions. This is the second year in a row that Marte and Martin were named as finalists. Last year Andrew McCutchen was also named a finalist, although he didn’t make the cut this year in center field.

Russell Martin was a finalist at catcher, along with Yadier Molina of the Cardinals, and Jonathan Lucroy of the Brewers. Molina wins this award almost every year, although this year he’s the clear number three option. Martin and Lucroy finished one and two, respectively, in Defensive Runs Saved this year, with Molina finishing third. Lucroy finished first in pitch framing in the NL, while Martin finished third, about 4.5 runs behind. You could make a case for Lucroy being the winner over Martin. Those are pretty much the only two finalists, as Molina shouldn’t be a contender this year.

Starling Marte is a finalist in left field, going up against Justin Upton of the Braves and Christian Yelich of the Marlins. Yelich was by far the number one defender this year, and it would be difficult for Marte to win the award. If you go by DRS, it is a bit closer, but Yelich still beats Marte 13 to 10.

The Pirates were shut out last year. It wouldn’t be a surprise if that happened again this year. I think Martin has the best chance of winning, but could see arguments in favor of Lucroy and Yelich winning at each position.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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