Colorado Rockies have 3 Gold Glove finalists

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DENVER — Today, the finalists for the MLB Rawlings Gold Glove at each position were announced and the Colorado Rockies find themselves with three players in the mix to take home hardware.

In a surprise to absolutely no one, third baseman Nolan Arenado received his fourth consecutive nomination and is, of course, looking for his fourth consecutive win. He is as close to a lock as you are likely to find for something like this, having lead MLB in DRS, coming in tied for third in UZR, and having more “holy crap!” plays than anyone in baseball over the last several years. He will beat out Justin Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Anthony Rendon of the Washington Nationals.

Arenado will continue to draw comparisons to Brooks Robinson if he keeps this up.

In a surprise to few who follow the Rockies but probably still to many who don’t, second baseman DJ LeMahieu was nominated for the third straight year, winning two years ago and losing out to Dee Gordon last season.

LeMahieu’s numbers aren’t as impressive as Arenado’s but he proved once again to be among the most valuable defenders in the league while improving his offense to batting-title-winning levels. He faces off against Jean Segura of the Arizona Diamondbacks (likely the favorite) and Joe Panik of the San Francisco Giants.

And finally, in a surprise to most, Carlos Gonzalez received his third Gold Glove nomination, the others coming in 2010 and 2013. It was no doubt a rebound year for CarGo in the outfield and it’s always difficult to measure the value of his cannon-like arm, but he still isn’t back to being the defender he was before his injuries in 2014. He is joined by Nick Markakis of the Atlanta Braves in most likely losing to Jason Heyward of the Chicago Cubs.