Please do not let the fact that Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages currently leads the entirety of Major League Baseball in runs batted in obscure the fact that he is also an excellent defensive player, too.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently credited Pages for remaking his body and committing himself to becoming “a really, really good defender in center field.” Pages takes cleaner routes now, reacts more decisively off the bat and closes on balls that might have been unreachable a year ago.
More than just really, really good, though – Pages might be the best defensive player in the game, if the numbers are to be taken as gospel.
Stats To Cite When It Suits You
There are various modern ways to measure defensive ability, but all of them work in Pages’ favor. By way of example, as measured by Fielding Bible’s Defensive Runs Saved metric, Pages leads the entirety of the majors, tied with perennial defensive superstar Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs with a +12 rating.
Other metrics are suitably complementary. The commonly-used contemporary sabermetric for defensive impact is Defensive Wins Above Replacement, which measures a player’s defensive contributions to their team, expressed as the number of wins above what a replacement-level player would contribute defensively. And while different sites have slightly differing methodologies for calculating DWAR, yet both ESPN.com and Baseball Reference agree that Pages is ranked #1 overall – and again tied with Crow-Armstrong.
With 50 RBIs already, Pages can rake. But his play out in center field is becoming just as good as his bat.
Pages, The Two-Way Superstar
Pages is having a breakout campaign at the plate in 2026. He is hitting .303 to go along with 12 doubles and 13 home runs already, adding up to a .899 OPS and a 152 OPS+, meaning he is even outhitting Shohei Ohtani. And for all of the things Ohtani can do, he cannot roam the outfield like Pages can.
There is also an unmistakable confidence to Pages’ game now. When he homers, he admires it just long enough. When he throws out a runner, he barely reacts. There is no sense of surprise. Pages debuted in 2024 as a highly regarded prospect with huge raw power but obvious rough edges, hitting .248 with 13 home runs as a rookie and flashing occasional brilliance but finding himself benched during the 2024 World Series run. Now, though, his is one of the first names on the lineup card. And his game-saving catch in Game Seven of the 2025 World Series already ranks among the best moments in the Dodgers’ storied history.
Power hitters with elite defensive value in center field are extraordinarily rare, especially ones this young. If Crow-Armstrong is the current corollary, Pages’ relative inexperience means a tantalizing upside still to realize. This combination of defensive excellence and offensive breakout mean Pages is on course for his debut All-Star appearance, and if it is the baseline, everyone else should be on notice.
Aaron Judge may still be the sport’s most feared hitter. Bobby Witt Jr. may be the most electric athlete. Ohtani remains baseball’s greatest ticket and unique talent. But when it comes purely to defense, Andy Pages currently has a compelling argument to being the best. Already.
Andy Pages is Baseball’s Best Defensive Player