There’s a reason people don’t write about baseball defense much this time of the season: the sample size is too small.
It’s a tough predicament to be in. We’re two months in, there are numbers to look at, yet nothing can be considered reliable ... at least not yet.
So it’s with much trepidation that I bring up the topic that has always fascinated me: Eric Hosmer’s defense. The Royals first baseman has won three Gold Glove awards, yet advanced metrics have never considered him more than an average fielder, as our Rustin Dodd did a good job of examining last season.