Can Seattle Mariners SS J.P. Crawford win another Gold Glove?

J.P. Crawford has been an offensive force for the Seattle Mariners in June. The Gold Glove shortstop is hitting .364 and slugging .584 this month, which has brought his season batting average up to .281.

The Seattle Mariners shortstop has been carrying a hot bat but let’s not forget about his defense. He won his first Gold Glove Award of his career in 2020 alongside his rookie first baseman Evan White, and Crawford may be on track to win a second trophy.

J.P. Crawford at shortstop for the Seattle Mariners thus far

As of the morning of June 21st, J.P. Crawford has a .980 fielding percentage, saved seven defensive runs above average, and four total fielding runs above average (both important advanced metrics). J.P. also has one total zone fielding runs above average, three zone infield double play runs above average, and 5 plus/minus fielding runs above average.

The only sabermetric statistic that is negative on Baseball Reference is his total zone fielding runs above average on the road.

How does the Seattle Mariners shortstop compare to the rest of the league?

J.P. Crawford’s name shows up at the top of the list for many statistics which is a good sign, but there is some stiff competition. From the looks of it, J.P. will be competing against Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Carlos Correa, Andrelton Simmons, and maybe Taylor Walls.

For ease of comparison, I will list out the leaders for each statistic (numbers taken from June 21st prior to the slate of games)

Total Fielding Runs Above Average

1. Carlos Correa – 10
2. Isiah Kiner-Falefa – 8
3. Andrelton Simmons – 6
4. Taylor Walls – 5
5. J.P. Crawford – 4

Total Zone Fielding Runs Above Average

1. Carlos Correa – 9
2. Isiah Kiner-Falefa – 6
3. Andrelton Simmons 5
4. Taylor Walls – 4
5. (way later) J.P. Crawford – 1

Total Zone Infield Double Plays Runs Above Average

1. J.P. Crawford – 3
2. Isiah Kiner-Falefa – 2
3. Carlos Correa – 1
4. Taylor Walls – 1

Defensive Runs Saved Above Average

1. Isiah Kiner-Falefa – 10
2. J.P. Crawford – 7
3. Taylor Walls – 6
4. Carlos Correa – 5

Plus/Minus Fielding Runs Above Average

1. Isiah Kiner-Falefa – 11
2. J.P. Crawford – 5
3. Taylor Walls – 5
4. Carlos Correa – 5

Infield Range Runs Above Average

1. Isiah Kiner-Falefa – 8
2. J.P. Crawford – 4
3. Andres Gimenez – 4
4. Bo Bichette – 4

As you can see, J.P. Crawford’s name does come up often, but he doesn’t lead in many categories like he did last season. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who won the Gold Glove Award at third base in 2020, is an absolute vacuum for the Texas Rangers and looks like the early candidate to win this season.

Carlos Correa, to no one’s surprise, is also in the hunt to win his first Gold Glove Award of his career. He was pretty close last year, and I honestly thought he was going to win last year after a short analysis of the 2020 finalists.

I am also surprised to see Taylor Walls’ name all over the place as well. The Tampa Bay Rays rookie debuted on May 22 and he has already posted some impressive numbers despite playing less than the competition. But, I question how much playtime he will get the rest of the year because the Rays just called up Wander Franco.

The Seattle Mariners shortstop has some tough competition this year but the season is still young. Who knows what could happen over the next few months?

What I do know is that J.P. Crawford is a fantastic shortstop and his recent offensive resurgence makes me even more excited for his future.