There are so many ways to evaluate a young baseball player's skills, but scouts have the most tried-and-true method: breaking a player's specific skills into different "tools." These tools separate a player's baseball-relevant skills into different areas, such as throwing ability, hitting for power and running speed. Then there's a comments section included, in which a scout can call special attention to a certain facet of a player's game, such as a unique hitch a hitter has or a smooth throwing motion.
Essentially, it's all of a player's skills on one sheet of paper.
But the evaluating doesn't end once a player reaches the major leagues and becomes more of a known commodity. The grades remain and can even change. And some stand out even among the mass of talented players that is the major leagues. For the next three days, we will call attention to those special players.
We asked three MLB Insider talent evaluators -- Manny Acta, Jim Bowden and Christopher Crawford -- to lay out the best of the best, those who stand out among their peers. Today we look at defensive tools. Hitter tools will follow on Thursday, with pitcher tools on Friday.
Best outfield arm
1. Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles Dodgers
"Puig still makes mental mistakes -- overthrowing the cutoff man, throwing to the wrong base -- but in terms of pure, unadulterated arm strength, no one has more of it." -- Christopher Crawford
2. Yoenis Cespedes, Red Sox: "The action isn't the prettiest, but he has improved his accuracy and has a quick release." -- Crawford
3. Jackie Bradley Jr., Red Sox
4. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays
5. Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies
Honorable mentions: Alex Gordon, Gerardo Parra, Josh Reddick, Bryce Harper, Leonys Martin
Best infield arm
1. Andrelton Simmons, Atlanta Braves
"Simmons routinely hit the mid-90s and touched 98 mph as a pitcher when he was in junior college, and that velocity has carried over to shortstop, allowing him to make the impossible look easy." -- Crawford
2. Manny Machado, Orioles: "Too bad we can't see this accurate cannon from shortstop." -- Manny Acta
3. Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies
4. Yunel Escobar, Rays
5. Adrian Beltre, Rangers
Honorable mentions: Jose Reyes, Brett Lawrie
Best catcher arm
1. Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
"In football, they have the term 'shutdown corner.' Well, Yadier is a shutdown catcher." -- Jim Bowden
2. Salvador Perez, Royals: "Has a cannon for an arm, a quick release and good feet." -- Crawford
3. Matt Wieters, Orioles
4. Russell Martin, Pirates
5. Yan Gomes, Indians
Honorable mentions: A.J. Ellis, Wilson Ramos, Christian Vazquez
Best outfield glove
1. Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers
"Impressive combination of instincts, speed and soft hands ... he's your prototypical center fielder." -- Acta
2. Juan Lagares, Mets
3. Alex Gordon, Royals: "Takes excellent routes and is as sure-handed as any outfielder in the game." -- Crawford
4. Jason Heyward, Braves: "Positions himself as well as any outfielder in baseball and seems to get to everything." -- Crawford
5. Jackie Bradley Jr., Red Sox
Honorable mentions: Andrew McCutchen, Mike Trout, Jacoby Ellsbury, Nick Markakis.
Best infield glove
1. Andrelton Simmons, Atlanta Braves
"In addition to his howitzer of an arm, Simmons is extremely quick with his jumps, giving him the ability to turn sure base hits into outs better than any shortstop in baseball." -- Crawford
2. Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies
3. Adrian Beltre, Rangers: "This veteran is arguably the best defensive third baseman of his era." -- Bowden
4. Alcides Escobar, Royals
5. Nolan Arenado, Rockies
Honorable mentions: Jose Reyes, Adeiny Hechavarria (Bowden: "The most underrated defensive shortstop in baseball."), Brandon Phillips, Dustin Pedroia, Josh Donaldson (Crawford: "Charges on the ball well and superbly covers that expansive foul territory in Oakland."), Manny Machado, J.J. Hardy, Zack Cozart
Best outfield range
1. Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers
"Has great instincts and quickness and moves well in all directions." -- Acta
2. Juan Lagares, Mets
3. Mike Trout, Angels
4. Jackie Bradley Jr., Red Sox
5. Andrew McCutchen, Pirates
Honorable mentions: Billy Hamilton, Peter Bourjos
Best fielding pitchers
1. Mark Buehrle, Toronto Blue Jays
"Buehrle has been the standard in terms of defense at the position for years and still fields the position as well as anyone in baseball, with excellent reflexes and great positioning after his pitches." -- Crawford
2. Adam Wainwright, Cardinals
3. Marcus Stroman, Blue Jays: "Played shortstop in high school and could probably play it adequately in the big leagues right now." -- Bowden
4. Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
5. Henderson Alvarez, Marlins
Honorable mentions: Kyle Lohse, Zack Greinke, R.A. Dickey, Johnny Cueto, Bronson Arroyo
Best first baseman at scooping low throws
1. Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees
"Teixeira remains the best in the game at scooping balls in the dirt, using his quick reflexes and anticipation." -- Bowden
2. Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers: "Has incredibly soft hands." -- Acta
3. Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks
4. Albert Pujols, Angels
5. Adam LaRoche, Nationals
Honorable mentions: Freddie Freeman, Joey Votto, Eric Hosmer, Mike Napoli