Pair of SF Giants defensive stalwarts listed as Gold Glove finalists

On Wednesday morning, MLB announced its Gold Glove Award finalists for each position. For the SF Giants, Patrick Bailey and Logan Webb were recognized as the finalists at catcher and pitcher, respectively.

Pair of SF Giants defensive stalwarts listed as Gold Glove finalists

The Gold Glove voting process has improved in recent years. There is more an objective component to go along with voting from managers and coaches. The objective component is the SABR Defensive Index (SDI), which accounts for about 25 percent of the voting. Voting from coaches and managers make up the remainder.

It should be noted that the vote has already taken place. The fact that three finalists were recognized at every position does not mean there is an additional vote among those three players. They are the top three vote-getters at each position.

The SDI is updated a couple of times each year, with the most recent update coming on August 10. Patrick Bailey and Logan Webb led in this category, so they should have the objective component in their favor. Once the Gold Glove Awards are announced, the SDI will be updated through the remainder of the year.

Bailey led all catchers by a comfortable margin with 12.1 SDI. He was third among all NL fielders, behind only Fernando Tatis Jr. (15.3 SDI) and Ke’Bryan Hayes (14.2 SDI). Carson Kelly of the Chicago Cubs and Luis Torrens of the New York Mets were the other two finalists at catcher.

This is Bailey's third time being a finalist. He took home the award last season, and there is a good chance that he is a repeat winner this time around. The 26-year-old backstop excels in all facets of catching and is considered the best pitch framer in baseball. He also leads all catchers with 19 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and comfortably leads all fielders with 31 Fielding Run Value (FRV).

Bailey has a good chance of taking several defensive awards this offseason, including a Gold Glove Award, Fielding Bible Award, and could even be a candidate for the Platinum Glove Award.

On the other hand, Logan Webb is a finalist for the Gold Glove Award for the first time in his career. He leads all NL pitchers with 2.9 SDI. He fields his position well and excels at holding on runners. That is usually a huge boost in limiting the running game. Matthew Boyd of the Cubs and David Peterson of the Mets are the other two finalists at pitcher.

The winners of the Gold Glove Awards will be revealed on November 2.