Defensive grades

Defense is not a word that’s often used in baseball.

Insiders talk about pitching and fielding, as if they are totally separate elements. But the two factors are clearly interrelated, sharing the goal of preventing the other team from scoring.

My rankings of defensive performance in 2022 are anchored in pitching statistics, but fielding naturally had an important impact on each team’s score.

Nowhere was that more evident than in Los Angeles, where last year’s Dodgers yielded the fewest runs (earned and unearned) of any major-league club. They also achieved the highest score on my five-point defensive scale, a perfect average of 5.00.

I rated all 30 teams in five defensive categories, based on 2022 stats. (You can find a detailed explanation of the formula in Baseball’s Best (and Worst) 2023 Yearbook.) These are the categories:

Base prevention
Run prevention
Power prevention
Strikeout pitching
Control pitching

Each team’s defensive score is determined by the average of its five ratings, starting with the Dodgers and their gaudy 5.00 — and ending with the pitching-poor Washington Nationals at 1.00, the worst score possible.

Breakdowns for all 30 clubs can be found below, listed in order of their average scores.

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Los Angeles Dodgers (5.00 average)

Base prevention: 5 stars
Run prevention: 5 stars
Power prevention: 5 stars
Strikeout pitching: 5 stars
Control pitching: 5 stars

New York Yankees (4.80 average)

Base prevention: 5 stars
Run prevention: 5 stars
Power prevention: 5 stars
Strikeout pitching: 5 stars
Control pitching: 4 stars

Atlanta Braves (4.60 average)

Base prevention: 5 stars
Run prevention: 5 stars
Power prevention: 5 stars
Strikeout pitching: 5 stars
Control pitching: 3 stars

Houston Astros (4.60 average)

Base prevention: 5 stars
Run prevention: 5 stars
Power prevention: 5 stars
Strikeout pitching: 5 stars
Control pitching: 3 stars

Cleveland Guardians (4.40 average)

Base prevention: 5 stars
Run prevention: 5 stars
Power prevention: 4 stars
Strikeout pitching: 3 stars
Control pitching: 5 stars

New York Mets (4.40 average)

Base prevention: 4 stars
Run prevention: 4 stars
Power prevention: 4 stars
Strikeout pitching: 5 stars
Control pitching: 5 stars

Tampa Bay Rays (4.40 average)

Base prevention: 5 stars
Run prevention: 5 stars
Power prevention: 4 stars
Strikeout pitching: 3 stars
Control pitching: 5 stars

San Diego Padres (4.00 average)

Base prevention: 4 stars
Run prevention: 4 stars
Power prevention: 4 stars
Strikeout pitching: 4 stars
Control pitching: 4 stars

Seattle Mariners (4.00 average)

Base prevention: 4 stars
Run prevention: 4 stars
Power prevention: 3 stars
Strikeout pitching: 4 stars
Control pitching: 5 stars

Philadelphia Phillies (3.80 average)

Base prevention: 4 stars
Run prevention: 3 stars
Power prevention: 4 stars
Strikeout pitching: 4 stars
Control pitching: 4 stars

San Francisco Giants (3.80 average)

Base prevention: 3 stars
Run prevention: 3 stars
Power prevention: 5 stars
Strikeout pitching: 3 stars
Control pitching: 5 stars

Los Angeles Angels (3.60 average)

Base prevention: 4 stars
Run prevention: 4 stars
Power prevention: 4 stars
Strikeout pitching: 4 stars
Control pitching: 2 stars

St. Louis Cardinals (3.40 average)

Base prevention: 4 stars
Run prevention: 4 stars
Power prevention: 5 stars
Strikeout pitching: 1 star
Control pitching: 3 stars

Toronto Blue Jays (3.40 average)

Base prevention: 3 stars
Run prevention: 3 stars
Power prevention: 3 stars
Strikeout pitching: 3 stars
Control pitching: 5 stars

Chicago White Sox (3.20 average)

Base prevention: 3 stars
Run prevention: 3 stars
Power prevention: 4 stars
Strikeout pitching: 4 stars
Control pitching: 2 stars

Milwaukee Brewers (3.00 average)

Base prevention: 3 stars
Run prevention: 3 stars
Power prevention: 2 stars
Strikeout pitching: 5 stars
Control pitching: 2 stars

Minnesota Twins (3.00 average)

Base prevention: 3 stars
Run prevention: 3 stars
Power prevention: 2 stars
Strikeout pitching: 3 stars
Control pitching: 4 stars

Baltimore Orioles (2.80 average)

Base prevention: 3 stars
Run prevention: 3 stars
Power prevention: 3 stars
Strikeout pitching: 1 star
Control pitching: 4 stars

Detroit Tigers (2.60 average)

Base prevention: 3 stars
Run prevention: 3 stars
Power prevention: 4 stars
Strikeout pitching: 1 star
Control pitching: 2 stars

Miami Marlins (2.60 average)

Base prevention: 2 stars
Run prevention: 3 stars
Power prevention: 2 stars
Strikeout pitching: 4 stars
Control pitching: 2 stars

Chicago Cubs (2.20 average)

Base prevention: 2 stars
Run prevention: 3 stars
Power prevention: 1 star
Strikeout pitching: 3 stars
Control pitching: 2 stars

Texas Rangers (2.00 average)

Base prevention: 2 stars
Run prevention: 2 stars
Power prevention: 3 stars
Strikeout pitching: 2 stars
Control pitching: 1 star

Arizona Diamondbacks (1.80 average)

Base prevention: 2 stars
Run prevention: 2 stars
Power prevention: 1 star
Strikeout pitching: 1 star
Control pitching: 3 stars

Boston Red Sox (1.80 average)

Base prevention: 1 star
Run prevention: 1 star
Power prevention: 2 stars
Strikeout pitching: 3 stars
Control pitching: 2 stars

Oakland Athletics (1.80 average)

Base prevention: 2 stars
Run prevention: 1 star
Power prevention: 1 star
Strikeout pitching: 1 star
Control pitching: 4 stars

Cincinnati Reds (1.60 average)

Base prevention: 1 star
Run prevention: 1 star
Power prevention: 1 star
Strikeout pitching: 4 stars
Control pitching: 1 star

Kansas City Royals (1.40 average)

Base prevention: 1 star
Run prevention: 1 star
Power prevention: 3 stars
Strikeout pitching: 1 star
Control pitching: 1 star

Pittsburgh Pirates (1.40 average)

Base prevention: 1 star
Run prevention: 1 star
Power prevention: 3 stars
Strikeout pitching: 1 star
Control pitching: 1 star

Colorado Rockies (1.20 average)

Base prevention: 1 star
Run prevention: 1 star
Power prevention: 1 star
Strikeout pitching: 1 star
Control pitching: 2 stars

Washington Nationals (1.00 average)

Base prevention: 1 star
Run prevention: 1 star
Power prevention: 1 star
Strikeout pitching: 1 star
Control pitching: 1 star