MIlwaukee Brewers: Will Lorenzo Cain win a Gold Glove?

Lorenzo Cain has long been known to be one of the top outfielders in all of baseball, yet he has no accolades to show for it. Will the Milwaukee Brewers standout finally win his first Gold Glove?

Lorenzo Cain has made enough game saving or just flat out amazing catches to have a couple of his own SportsCenter Top 10 highlight reels. The intensity that he plays with every single game in center field has made him one of the most important players on this 2018 Milwaukee Brewers team. But will he end the season with hardware?

How much has his defense helped?

Cain has played in 127 games in 2018, every one of them he has started in center field. In 1,093 innings played this year, Cain has committed just six errors giving him a fielding percentage of .980. He has 11 outfield assists and is one behind the National League leader, Billy Hamilton. He’s also made dozens of catches seemingly out of nowhere

Who is his competition?

Well, there seems to be some decent competition vying for the game’s most prestigious defensive honor. Cain has missed some time this season due to an injury, therefore limiting his innings compared to other center fielders.

His biggest competition would have to be Ender Inciarte, Billy Hamilton, and Starling Marte. All are plus defenders and will give Cain a run for his money.

2018 defensive stats

Lorenzo Cain- 127 Games, 1,093 Innings, 11 Assists, 6 Errors, .980 FLD%, 2.4 Defensive WAR

Starling Marte– 126 Games, 1,082 Innings, 11 Assists, 2 Errors, .994 FLD%, 0.1 Defensive WAR

Ender Inciarte– 143 Games, 1,239 Innings, 6 Assists, 5 Errors, .986 FLD%, 2.2 Defensive WAR

Billy Hamilton–138 Games, 1,149 Innings, 12 Assists, 2 Errors, .994 FLD%, 0.7 Defensive WAR

Going purely by the numbers, Cain is clearly the better out of the three candidates. His range, glove, and arm are up there with the best in all of baseball. One factor to keep in mind though, the finalists have not been announced yet, but the aforementioned seem like the best bets to finish among the best along with Cain. A deep playoff run will surely help cement Cain’s status as a front-runner for a Gold Glove award, but his numbers alone are good enough to warrant consideration.