Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott gets early Gold Glove endorsement

Bryson Stott has made quite a name for himself at second base for the Philadelphia Phillies.

While 2024 wasn't kind to Stott at the plate early on, he turned things around in May and has brought his batting average up to .241 with five home runs and 32 RBI. He has below-average defensive metrics so far, but given his confidence and range on the right side of the infield, there is much belief that he will turn it around and return to being a human highlight reel.

Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott gets early Gold Glove endorsement

Stott had a stellar defensive showing in Friday night's 4-2 win over the Cardinals, which left fans grinning and buying back into giving Stott the Gold Glove. There is one buyer for sure, who might be the most important one of all: Phillies manager Rob Thomson.

"Oh, tremendous tonight," Thomson said after the game of Stott's play. "Diving play, leaping play, foul ball. Yeah, he's Gold Glove-caliber, he really is, and he's going to be right there at the end."

That's high praise from the manager and proof that Stott has fit right in and made a home at second base. Since Chase Utley left in 2015, the team has been seeking their next star to man the position. Thomson has admitted that it was a tough decision to have Stott move to a position where he had never played any significant time.

Let's not forget that Stott played shortstop all through his career (subscription required), including starting there for the 2022 World Series team. Bringing in a name like Trea Turner to man the shortstop position caused Stott to flip to the other side of the diamond. What we got in return was presumably unexpected.

Stott had one of the best years defensively at second base in 2023. Among NL second basemen, he was second with 17 outs above average and 13 overall runs prevented. His stellar defense earned him a Gold Glove finalist nomination, but he ultimately lost to the Cubs' Nico Hoerner.

Stott has certainly adapted to second base and leaves us waiting to see what happens next when the ball is hit in his general direction.