Arizona Diamondbacks offseason: Aaron Hill recognized for defense

Defense might just be the most underrated aspect in today's baseball world. Every team focuses on constructing a roster full of talented hitters and hard-throwing pitchers, but it's tough to win if you can't cleanly field the ball on a nightly basis.

Aaron Hill of the Diamondbacks is not only known to be one of the better hitting second basemen in the league, but also one of the smoothest fielders. On Tuesday, Hill was named the team's top defender by Wilson.

"He's a great baseball player," D-backs shortstop John McDonald said. "His mind is always in the game, it's always attuned to what's going on. He prides himself on being extremely prepared and a step ahead of what's going to happen in the game. It shines through in his play."

McDonald also praised his fellow infielder for his hard work throughout the entire year and the way he goes about preparing for each series, game and at-bat.

Statistically, Hill was one of the better defensive second basemen in the National League. He posted a UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) of 4.6 in 156 games, which is above average. He has historically been one of the better fielders at his position and that trend should continue next year and beyond for the D-backs.