Ty France Is Beloved By Statcast's New First Base Fielding Metrics

[Randy Holt]

Ty France's arrival over the offseason wasn't meant to signal a paradigm shift at first base for the San Diego Padres. Yet, with the 2026 campaign nearly over, that's exactly what he's done.

Within the context of defensive performance in baseball, first base is a particularly difficult position to evaluate. Every position has nuance, but first base is reliant on other performers in a way that every other position in the sport (besides catcher) is not. While a first baseman can obviously maintain some semblance of control with quality footwork and the ability to read a throw from the hand of an infield comrade, the general lack of individual qualities have long made it a position less loved by defensive metrics.

France's offensive contributions have been an essential part of the team's success in 2026, but the most significant aspect of his skill set has come as the result of what he can do with the glove. The American League's reigning Gold Glove winner at the cold corner has helped to stabilize the performance of his fellow infielders while sitting atop the position in Fielding Run Value (7) and Defensive Runs Saved (12) while ranking second in Outs Above Average (6). Now, though, we have new ways in which France's defensive acumen can be measured. 

Earlier this month, Statcast released their new first base receiving leaderboard. Measured as Receiving OAA, the new metric takes myriad factors into account including the throw itself (on-target, high & low, wide, bounce, and scoop), the speed of the baserunner, and the position of the baserunner when the ball contacts the glove. Each position (second base, third base, and shortstop) also carries its own out probability. 

Within the throw itself, the differentiator between bounces & scoops (the latter of which was already a measured statistic for first basemen) is in where the ball hits the ground; bounces hit the ball at least 15 feet in front of the bag while scoops are between five and 15 feet. Any other that doesn't fit that criteria is simply considered a low throw, with high throws considered to be at least seven feet off the ground. 

Here's a handy visual:

That is an absolutely wild amount of information to be consumed to measure a position, and that doesn't even take into account the runner component of it all. But that's too much math for any one person to worry about whose responsibility it is to merely look at the output. Which means we can get back to Ty France. 

France's Receiving OAA in 2026 is +3. That ranks him sixth among full-time first baseman and third among those in the National League. On five of the six types of throws (on-target, low, side, scoop, and bounce) France has recorded a higher rate of outs than the average expected out rate. The only one where he isn't above average is on the high throws, where France has an out rate four percent lower than the expected one and is at -0.4 Receiving OAA. At 5'10", though, France is shorter than your average first baseman. That part is not at all surprising, and perhaps one of the clearest signs we have yet that height does give first basemen a distinct advantage.

In other words, the high throws are always going to serve as a literal shortcoming for him. The important thing is that there isn't anything else in this new data to suggest anything other than what we've already been able to observe in 2026: that France has been a crucial part of helping the Padres' defense to ascend to near-elite status.

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