Marcus Stroman following in the footsteps of 'Papa Buehrle' with his glove

For a two-year span between 2014 and 2015, the Toronto Blue Jays had one of the best odd couples in baseball: Marcus Stroman and Mark ‘Papa’ Buehrle.

Superficially, the two had nothing in common. Stroman was a young player just breaking in and Buehrle was a veteran winding down. The youngster hailed from New York state while the old dog was from Missouri. Stroman exuded exuberance; Buehrle radiated calm.

Even as pitchers, there was very little to link the duo. Stroman was a first-round pick who threw hard sinkers from the right side. Buehrle, on the other hand, got picked in the 38th round and survived by painting the corners with cutters and changeups from the left.

All of that said, there came to be an undeniable bond between them despite their differences. Now, two years after Buehrle’s departure from the Blue Jays, it appears that Stroman has a chance to find a rare commonality with his former mentor: a Gold Glove on the mantlepiece.

Fielding is a small part of a pitcher’s job, but there is value to be had at the margins, and so far this year Stroman is certainly finding it. The 26-year-old leads all MLB pitchers with five double plays started – no one else has more than three – and his Defensive Runs Saved of +4 is tied for the fourth-best mark in baseball. His 22 assists is also tops in the American League.

There’s never been any doubt about the 26-year-old having the tools to a great fielder. He’s a strong athlete who has been used as a pinch runner and pinch hitter in recent years, and has a background as a second baseman at the NCAA level. Those attributes never really showed up in the numbers in a meaningful way before this year, though.

There’s a very real danger to reading too much into pitcher fielding numbers because the samples are so small. Rarely would 88.2 innings in the field from a second baseman be so closely examined. However, Stroman’s glovework this season also shows up very clearly on video.

In his last start against the Chicago White Sox, the right-hander made two crucial fielding plays that helped the Blue Jays stay in the game. The first came on the opening play.

Stroman makes a slick play on a slow-moving chopper in no man’s land and beats a speedy Alen Hanson to the bag just in time to prevent the White Sox from getting something going early. The sequence took soft hands, good speed, and strong footwork. Many pitchers don’t have any of those attributes, almost none have all three.

Later in the game Stroman shut down a rally by getting old friend Melky Cabrera on a double play.

The play looks routine, because Stroman makes it look that way. First he finishes his delivery square to the plate, putting him in perfect position to field the ball. Then he adjusts to the hop and leads Troy Tulowitzki to the bag with an accurate throw. The post-delivery positioning is the most important part here making everything else look easy.

Two of Stroman’s double plays earlier in the year share the exact same elements. With the blazing Jean Segura running he did everything he did against the White Sox – only faster.

His run-saving double play off Roberto Perez of the Cleveland Indians also fits the same mold.

None of these plays are spectacular, but there’s a reason pitchers don’t convert them with consistency. Often, they are unwilling to try – seeking the safe out at first instead of risking the throw to second. Also, many pitchers fall off the mound at the end of their deliveries – putting themselves in a poor position to field comebackers.

Stroman possess the perfect combination of a compact delivery that leaves him square to the plate, the ability to induce ground balls, rare athleticism, and experience as a position player that gives him the confidence to make ambitious defensive plays.

This year that confluence of factors is showing up in a big way. If you take his Defensive Runs Saved at face value, his work in the field is the difference between his current 3.15 ERA and a 3.55 mark if he was average with the glove. That’s an oversimplification, but it’s an interesting approximation of the impact of his presence in the infield.

Dallas Keuchel has won the last three AL Gold Gloves – and deservedly so – but he hasn’t pitched since June 2 due to a neck injury and is just starting to play catch now. If he’s out long enough, Stroman could enter an award conversation he certainly deserves to be a part of.

Even if he isn’t recognized in any formal way, he deserves credit for excelling in an under-appreciated aspect of the game. Papa Buehrle would certainly be proud.

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