Cardinals' Masyn Winn secures his first career defensive award

The St. Louis Cardinals put all of their eggs in the Masyn Winn basket going into the 2024 season, and boy, did it pay off.

We all knew Winn had the tools to be a top defensive shortstop at some point in his career, but seeing him put all of those tools together, along with his bat being far more developed than anyone thought, led to him being one of the best rookies in baseball this year. While Winn is not going to win the National League Rookie of the Year honors, Winn did just receive recognition for his excellent defense on Thursday.

Fielding Bible has selected Masyn Winn as their top defensive shortstop for the 2024 season, edging out Rockies' Ezequiel Tovar and Cubs' Dansby Swanson for the award. Winn is also a finalist for the 2024 Rawlings Gold Glove Award at shortstop in the National League alongside Tovar and Swanson.

While Winn securing the Fielding Bible award does not mean he is going to win the Gold Glove this year, it is still an incredible honor for Winn and evidence that he is a real contender for his first Gold Glove in his rookie season. Winn led all shortstops in defensive runs saved this year with +14, and according to Fielding Bible's annoucement, Winn's six double play runs saved is tied with Andrelton Simmons for the most in a single season by a shortstop since the stat was first tracked.

That latter stat puts numbers to what the eye test will tell you - Winn's range and truly one-of-one arm strength from the shortstop position allows him to make plays that no one else in baseball can. Now, I'm not going to make the argument today that Winn is the best defensive shortstop in baseball, but it is clear that he is one of them, and as he continues to improve, we could see him take on the mantle that Simmons had for so long as the clear cut best defensive shortstop in the game.

Simmons is tied for seventh all-time in career Gold Gloves and did so during an era where he competed with Gold Glove winners like Brandon Crawford (4) and Jimmy Rollins (3). Simmons is a name that Winn has been compared to a few times for the type of player he could be long-term, but if Winn's bat continues to outpace what Simmons was able to produce, he become an even more valuable player than Simmons was. For context, Simmons did first top 15 in MVP voting three times in his career, with one of those finishes coming in the top 10.

In contrast though, Winn was able to put up a 102 OPS+ during his rookie season, a feat that Simmons was unable to match until his fifth full season as a professional. Simmons' career OPS+ was just 87, a mark I think we all expect Winn to best during his own.

Huge congrats to Winn on accomplishing these feat, and it will surely be the first in a long list of defensive awards coming his way in the future.