By Mark Simon

Most of the time with Defensive Runs Saved, the best players in a given season and the ones with strong defensive reputations are winners of our Defensive Player of the Month awards.

But for July 2026 one of our selections truly came out of left field.

We're referring to Royals left fielder Isaac Collins, to whom we're giving the honor after tying for the MLB lead for most Defensive Runs Saved by anyone at any position last month with 7. We're also selecting Brewers second baseman Brice Turang and Mets rookie outfielder A.J. Ewing.

When we wrote about the Brewers last August, Collins had 5 Runs Saved in left field. But he dipped to -1 Runs Saved by season's end, and he entered July with -6 Runs Saved in left field for 2026. So, he was in a prolonged defensive slump.

But if you watch Collins' highlight reel for July, you can see he was deserving and that he has perhaps returned to early 2025 form. He had 3 terrific catches to rob potential hits and he threw out 3 runners trying to take an extra base on him without the use of a cutoff man, including two Tigers in a four-game series near the end of the month.

Those baserunners may have gotten greedy in trying to take advantage of Collins' arm. He averages 83 MPH on the top 10% of his throws, more than 4 MPH below the positional average (it would be a good arm for his college position, second base). But Collins was accurate when he needed to be. Those assists were part of his position-best 7 Good Fielding Plays in July. He had no defensive misplays or errors. That’s about as good of a month as a player can have in the field.

Collins' former Brewers teammate, Turang won the honor for the second time, his first coming in June 2024. Turang had 7 Runs Saved in July, which led second basemen. For the season he leads second basemen with 15 Defensive Runs Saved. With two more good months he could match his career-best of 22, which he had in 2024.

Most Defensive Runs Saved - Second Basemen in 2026

Turang slipped to "only" 7 Runs Saved last season, a year in which he had a combined 34 Misplays and Errors. This season he has only 11 and he already has more Good Fielding Plays in 2026 (15) than he had in 2025.

Ewing edged out another rookie, Victor Mesa Jr. of the Rays. Ewing had 6 Runs Saved in July, one shy of the overall lead, split evenly between center field and left field, and also played a handful of innings in right field and at second base.

The Mets have had a rough season, but the way that Ewing plays has impressed the team’s fans. He's second on the team in Wins Above Replacement. For the season he has 4 Runs Saved in center field and 4 in left field. He has above-average arm strength and is above average in MLB's jumps stats as well. He can catch and he can throw at a high level.

Collins, Turang, and Ewing are their teams’ first defensive player of the month this season. Previous winners were Pete Crow-Armstrong and Cole Young (March-April), Andy Pages, JJ Wetherholt and Ceddanne Rafaela (May), and Brayan Rocchio, Joe Mack, and Junior Caminero (June).

The FieldingBible.com website is a great resource for your defensive stat needs.

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