Cincinnati Reds' Zack Cozart Longshot to Win Gold Glove

Zack Cozart had about as disappointing of a season at the plate for the Cincinnati Reds as imaginable, hitting just .221 with an abysmal .268 on-base percentage in 543 plate appearances. But the slick fielding shortstop with a strong arm and great range made Reds’ Country forget at least some of his woes at the plate by turning in a Gold Glove caliber season, even if he is a longshot to win the award.

Cozart was nominated for the Gold Glove along with National League shortstops Andrelton Simmons of the Atlanta Braves and Adeiny Hechaverria of the Miami Marlins. While Cozart doesn’t quite have the arm of Simmons or the sheer range of Hechaverria, he demonstrated the kind of sound judgment and reliability that allowed him to lead the NL in fielding percentage (.984) among shortstops who started at least 130 games at the position in 2014.

Cozart committed just 10 errors all year, but his edge in sure-handedness and throwing accuracy won’t likely be enough to command the kind of respect that is reserved primarily for Simmons. He’s widely regarded as the premier player of the shortstop position and the heavy favorite to win the Gold Glove for the second straight year.

Despite the Gold Glove odds against him, Cozart is nonetheless a key in the Reds’ strong defense up the middle, which features not only Cozart as a Gold Glove nominee at short, but also Brandon Phillips at second base and Billy Hamilton in center field.

The Reds made Cozart their choice for shortstop of the future when the team decided to keep him after his successful 2012 rookie season and trade Didi Gregorius in the deal that brought in Shin-Soo Choo for the 2013 season.

Robb Hoff is a Cincinnati Reds writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @NFLNostradamus, like him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google.