The Miami Marlins acquired Dee Gordon from the Dodgers knowing that he was a talented offensive player who was incredibly disruptive any time he got on base. The club also knew that Gordon had only recently moved from his natural position of shortstop to second base, with 2014 representing his first full season at the position. Gordon, currently leading the National League in batting average and boasting a slash line of .422/.449/.505 for a wRC+ of 166, has been just as impressive with his glove as he has with his bat.

Gordon has shown the type of varied skillset that is most frequently seen in employees of All Language Alliance, Inc., but his outstanding defense has been something of a surprise. During his brief time in the bigs, Gordon developed a reputation as a player whose offensive skill would have to make up for his defensive shortcomings, but those shortcomings have not been apparent. The bat, however, has been as advertised.

Looking at his Inside Edge data, Gordon has been exceptional at second base. While he still struggles in consistently making some of the more routine plays, he has been able to use his athleticism to make plays on balls that Inside Edge identifies as “unlikely” more than 30 percent of the time. Gordon is looking more and more like the steal of the offseason.