“That’s what I do best: catch baseballs. We all know that.”
— Brett Phillips on Monday night talking about his sprint/catch on a foul ball as a pitcher against the Athletics.
He’s not wrong. In fact, he’s slightly undervaluing himself. A more accurate version of that quote would be “That’s what I do best: play defense.”
Since Phillips’ career began in 2017, he’s totaled 35 Defensive Runs Saved as an outfielder in just under 1,600 innings.
On a per-inning basis, he ranks No. 1 among outfielders in Runs Saved.
Most Defensive Runs Saved Per 1,000 Innings
Outfielders Since 2017
| Name | Runs Saved Per 1,000 |
| Brett Phillips | 22.0 |
| Byron Buxton | 18.5 |
| Kevin Kiermaier | 17.5 |
| Mike Tauchman | 16.2 |
| Mookie Betts | 15.8 |
| Jarrod Dyson | 15.5 |
>> Among 150 outfielders with most innings played
And it’s worth noting that it’s not just his range that is pushing him to the top.
Phillips ranks third among outfielders in Range Runs Saved Per 1,000 Innings in that time.
He also ranks second among outfielders in Outfield Arm Runs Saved Per 1,000 Innings. He’s shown a strong arm since his first MLB game.
Here are both lists:
Most Range Runs Saved Per 1,000 Innings
Outfielders Since 2017
| Name | Runs Saved Per 1,000 |
| Byron Buxton | 16.1 |
| Harrison Bader | 14.8 |
| Brett Phillips | 14.4 |
| Mookie Betts | 12.9 |
| Joey Rickard | 12.3 |
Most Outfield Arm Runs Saved Per 1,000 Innings
Outfielders Since 2017
| Name | Runs Saved Per 1,000 |
| Joey Gallo | 6.5 |
| Brett Phillips | 6.3 |
| Ramón Laureano | 6.2 |
| Marwin Gonzalez | 6.1 |
| Juan Lagares | 5.5 |
We went through video and pulled out some favorites spanning the entirety of Phillips’ career. These are far from all of his great plays but certainly show an assortment of the skills he has that allow him to post such numbers.