Drafting a Catcher – Framing, Caught Stealing %, CDA

If you have read my previous work, you already know by now my bias towards the catcher position. Borderline on blatant absurdity, I oftentimes give too much value and attention to players who have less of a bearing on the fantasy game. But hey, it’s the position I played for over 12 years and know the best. The biggest takeaway, to keep my bat in the lineup, tireless work on the game’s defensive elements was paramount. My coach would run drills involving balls in the dirt, egg catching with oven mitts to create soft hands and the electrical tape throw. Break an egg? Run laps. By placing black electrical tape around the diameter of the baseball, one needs to throw more over the top to avoid wobbling the line. One hundred throws, and a pushup for every wobble. That’ll keep those throws down to second on target!

This draft guide piece highlights Catcher Framing, CS rates and Catcher Defensive Adjustment. These items will keep your star catcher (who you exhausted draft capital to attain) in the lineup more. In a deep league or need to start two catchers? These guys will be serviceable and ready to answer the call of duty.

CATCHER DEFENSIVE LEADERBOARDS

Catcher Framing

According to Baseball Savant, catcher framing (CF) is the art of a catcher receiving a pitch in a way that makes it more likely for an umpire to call it a strike. A backstop can turn a borderline pitch into a strike with good CF, while poor framing can take pitches traveling through the strike zone and make them appear as a ball. What we’re looking for is a high Strike Rate (SR) percentage in the Shadow Zone (SZ). MLB’s league average for SR sits at 48.5%. Runs From Extra Strikes (RES) converts strikes to runs saved on a .125 run/strike basis and includes park and pitcher adjustments. The league average for RES is exactly zero.

Pitchers love a catcher who calls a good game and is an excellent receiver. Here are the best in that department as well as a few notable names who need to improve (Qualifier: six called pitches in the SZ per team game – stats reflect 2021).

CATCHER	TEAM	PIT		RES		SR
Tomás Nido	Mets	1147		4		53.5%
Jonah Heim	Rangers	1994		8		52%
Jose Trevino	Rangers	2378		8		51.8%
Mike Zunino	Rays	2706		6		51.6%
Mitch Garver	Twins	1398		3		50.5%
Sandy León*	Guardians	1352		0		50.3%
Cam Gallagher	Royals	1032		1		50.1%
Max Stassi	Angels	2375		6		49.9%
Austin Barnes	Dodgers	1365		1		49.8%
Kyle Higashioka	Yankees	1635		3		49.8%
Sean Murphy	Athletics	2879		8		49.6%
Tucker Barnhart*	Tigers	2999		5		49.4%
Curt Casali	Giants	1575		1		49.4%
Austin Nola	Padres	1392		2		49.2%
Ryan Jeffers	Twins	2061		1		49.2%
Omar Narváez	Brewers	2984		10		49.2%
Will Smith	Dodgers	3460		2		49%
Willson Contreras	Cubs	3162		-1		49%
Manny Piña*	Braves	1466		3		49%
Christian Vázquez	Red Sox	3904		0		48.9%

Many drafters sought after James McCann when it came to New York Mets backstops. Instead, when healthy, it was Tomás Nido who saw his fair share of playing time due to McCann’s inauspicious beginning in New York. While far from being a world-beater, Nido did deliver timely hits to go along with his defensive chops. Behind the plate, no other qualifying catcher had a higher SR. While I expect McCann to increase his production more towards his career means, he has holes in his swing that could lead to more time off. If Nido can stay healthy and continue an upward trend of hitting, he’ll make a great second catcher.

Omar Narváez led all backstops with 10 saved runs from extra strikes. For the second time in three seasons (shortened 2020 sandwiched between), Narváez saw north of 445 PA, slashing .266/.342/.402 with a .322 wOBA (.304 xwOBA), 9.2% BB rate and 18.9% K rate. I’ll take that all day with double-digit HR, 30+ XBH and 50+ RBI. His NFBC ADP from February 1 to current lies in the 250s… a solid 16^th-20^th round primary catcher.

Ranger hurlers will benefit from a lot of extra strikes with both Jonah Heim and Jose Trevino second in the league with 8 RES with a 52% and 51.8% SR respectively. While switch-hitting Heim is more sought after, the two will eat into each other’s time. In two-catcher formats where I have a deep bench, I’m going to add Heim as a third catcher.

Both Mike Zunino and Max Stassi rank highly in SR and serve as their respective team’s starters. On top of fine defense, Zunino belted 33 home runs last season and didn’t care how many times he struck out to do it. The .342 ISO is sexy from the catcher position. Stassi isn’t sexy, but his defense is. He makes for a solid second catcher or even a primary in deep leagues. Offensively, he projects for 15 HR, 44 R, 48 RBI, .223/.304/.396, .302 wOBA and a wRC+ of 90 in 416 PA.

Austin Barnes saw a significant cut in playing time as Will Smith’s offensive performance kept him in the lineup most days. With the NL adopting a Universal DH, LA could opt to slide Smith into the DH role to maximize Barnes’ skills behind the plate. However, a once sterling 52.2% SR careened downward to 49.8% in 2021. Additionally, Smith improved both his RES (-3 in 2019/2020; 2 in 2021) and SR (47.3% in 2019/2020; 49% in 2021). 

Smith had a rough 2020 behind the dish (-5 RES), converting 44.1 percent of non-swing pitches into called strikes in the SZ. The good news – his 2019 was defensively much better (+2 RES, 50.5% SR, 1558 PIT), and a full season under a more normal routine served him well in 2021. He projects for 26 HR, 69 R, 75 RBI, .248/.345/.482, .352 wOBA and a wRC+ of 122 in 499 PA (501 in 2021).

Last year, I wrote about my surprise that Sean Murphy wasn’t higher on this leaderboard. Murphy lept from 17^th to 11^th in 2021. Drastically, he improved to 8 RES (t-second) from the 3 mark he posted in 2019/2020. His SR from 2019/2020 was 49.3%, yet we only see a rise to 49.6%. As he continues to improve, he’ll see a steady diet of PA in Oakland and contribute towards most offensive categories. Tucker Barnhart also saw a notable rise in RES from 1.5 to 5. He remains in a timeshare despite now calling Detroit home.

Could Curt Casali carve out a significant role if rookie backstop Joey Bart struggles? It’s possible, but the bat is weak sauce. Chances are San Fran will stick with Bart as much as possible, so that he may take the reins left by Buster Posey. Casali’s defensive acumen will only hurt Bart more than help your fantasy team.

Austin Nola is the projected starter but will be challenged by Victor Caratini for playing time. Nola’s bat will need to keep him in the lineup. Currently, he projects for more homers, more runs and more RBI than Caratini. Furthermore, Nola holds the edge in wOBA (.322 / .309) & wRC+ (104 / 96). Caratini is a switch hitter and could siphon starts against righties, so added value there. A crafty manager could employ both and play the matchups.

Christian Vázquez was just off last year offensively, and even his steady hand behind the plate looked shaky. After taking the next step and posting solid numbers in 2019 and 2020, his batting statistics took a nosedive. Usually proficient in framing, Vázquez went from a remarkable seven runs saved from getting extra strikes in 2019/2020 to zero (aka league average) in 2021. In 2019 alone, Vázquez had 11 RES! His 50.9% SR dropped by two percentage points in 2021. He’ll rebound defensively, but with the bat in regression, I’d rather draft Narváez.

Ryan Jeffers is interesting. Mitch Garver and he will vie for playing time, and while Garver has plus power (projected .433 SLG; .517 SLG / .261 ISO in 2021; 31 HR in 2019), Jeffers handles righties better. Garver did step it up defensively in limited playing time, but Jeffers is still the better defender.

Now in Miami, Jacob Stallings is another good second catcher or deep-league streamer I’m high on for 2022. In 2019/2020, he had 3 RES and converted 49.6 percent of non-swing pitches into called strikes in the SZ. The marks were 2 RES and 48% SR in 2021, which left him off our list above, but those numbers should improve in 2022. Stallings will have a higher caliber of staff to receive from (i.e. Sandy Alcantara, Pablo López, Trevor Rogers, Elieser Hernandez, etc.).

CS Rates

Here are the backstops who are proficient at nabbing potential stolen base thieves (stats reflect 2021).

SB = Stolen Bases Allowed
CS = Runners Caught Stealing
CS% = Caught Stealing Percentage

CATCHER	TEAM	GP		SB		CS		CS%
Tomás Nido	Mets	52		9		12		57.1%
Salvador Perez	Royals	124		23		18		43.9%
Elias Díaz	Rockies	98		22		16		42.1%
Yadier Molina	Cardinals	118		26		18		40.9%
Martín Maldonado	Astros	123		29		19		39.6%
Reese McGuire	Blue Jays	73		20		11		35.5%
Eric Haase	Tigers	66		24		11		31.4%
Austin Hedges	Guardians	87		31		14		31.1%
Yan Gomes*	Cubs	92		43		19		30.6%
Manny Piña*	Braves	65		26		11		29.7%
Tucker Barnhart*	Tigers	102		43		17		28.3%
Stephen Vogt*	FA	63		37		14		27.5%
James McCann	Mets	107		46		17		27.0%
J.T. Realmuto	Phillies	118		28		10		26.3%
Will Smith	Dodgers	117		72		24		25.0%
Christian Vázquez	Red Sox	132		55		18		24.7%
Sean Murphy	Athletics	112		41		13		24.1%
Carson Kelly	D-backs	91		33		10		23.3%
Pedro Severino*	Brewers	109		31		9		22.5%
Jonah Heim	Rangers	78		31		9		22.5%
Ryan Jeffers	Twins	84		46		13		22.0%
Mike Zunino	Rays	105		47		13		21.7%
Austin Barnes	Dodgers	52		36		10		21.7%
Omar Narváez	Brewers	111		62		17		21.5%
Jacob Stallings*	Marlins	104		45		12		21.1%
Willson Contreras	Cubs	116		46		12		20.7%
Dom Nuñez	Rockies	77		43		11		20.4%
Yasmani Grandal	White Sox	80		50		12		19.4%
Kurt Suzuki*	FA	69		35		8		18.6%
Victor Caratini	Padres	101		47		10		17.5%
Tom Murphy	Mariners	88		44		9		17.0%
Gary Sánchez	Yankees	110		50		10		16.7%
Max Stassi	Angels	86		44		8		15.4%
Jose Trevino	Rangers	88		40		7		14.9%
Kyle Higashioka	Yankees	66		33		5		13.2%

Note: Caught Stealing rates drastically went down league-wide in 2021 from the previous two seasons. This is a trend to track, especially if MLB adopts rule changes to encourage stolen bases (i.e. oversized bases) in 2023/24.

People just don’t run on Yadier Molina & J.T. Realmuto!

Yadi is legendary. Set to turn 40 years old this season, the final of his storied career, this catcher still invokes fear into opposing baserunners. The frequency in which they run pales in comparison to the rest of the league’s catchers. His presence provides such an advantage for the Cards and more at-bats for his fantasy owners. Furthermore, the vet is still good for 9-11 HR, 40+ R, 50+ RBI and a .253/.299/.383 slash line.

In 2019/20, Realmuto eradicated 48 pilferers from the basepaths on 112 attempts (42.9%). In 2021, only 38 men were brave enough to press their luck. However, in an outlier, J.T. only nailed 10 of them, good for 26.3%. Chalk this up to the law of probability, but if he wants to lie in Yadi territory, we wanna see this number rise. In any event, Realmuto will get his at-bats and be a steady producer at catcher.

Oh look, there’s that Tomás Nido guy again. A part of the team’s nucleus with Nido and Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor going way back to playing as kids in Puerto Rico, it is distinctly possible he becomes more entrenched in a timeshare with McCann as New York bides their time till young stud Francisco Álvarez is ready. Nido threw out more baserunners than were successful in his reduced playing time, but McCannon still had a respectable 27.0 CS%. Finally, with the talk of money being a big issue this year with the CBA, McCann’s contract dictates he’ll see more time on the field. He is scheduled to make $8M in the second of a four-year deal (third & fourth years pay $12M ?) 

Sal Perez will gun you out at second, hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of ninth to win the game and go home with your woman. That’s what he does. 

Eric Haase was a revelation last season, capping a long road to the majors with 22 big flies. In the 66 games he caught, would-be base stealers were gunned down 31.4% of the time. New Tiger Tucker Barnhart wasn’t too shabby either with a 28.3 CS% for the Reds. This lefty/righty combo sets up for a platoon behind the dish, but luckily, Hasse also played 22 games in left field, one game at first base, and DH’d 11 times. This could be an even more lucrative pairing for fantasy, à la Austin Nola/Victor Caratini, but with even more benefits. And who doesn’t like friends with benefits?

Yan Gomes improved upon his 27.2% CS rate from 2019/20 to throw out 30.6% in 2021 with the Nationals & Athletics. Now with the Cubbies in a backup role, he will need to bring it defensively to fight for plate appearances. Steamer has Gomes projected for 271. But here’s where the DH may come into play again. As we see above, Willson Contreras is an adequate pitch framer with a 49% SR. Yet, Contreras is (-1) in terms of runs saved from extra strikes and only threw out 20.7% of base stealers. Gomes caught seven more runners stealing in 24 fewer games played.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air led the league with 24 CS, further extrapolating his defensive improvements as referenced previously. Further evidence pushing us away from the Austin Barnes theorem in two-catcher leagues. Instead, shoot for Martín Maldonado, who was tied for second in CS with Gomes at 19. 

Yasmani Grandal had an impressive CS total of 33 in 169 games between 2019 and 2020. Due to a left knee injury in 2021, Grandal was reduced to 94 GP total (80 behind the plate). The 33-year-old was tested 62 times, only managing to a 19.4% CS rate (29.2% in 2019/20). Father time waits for no man, but it will be nice if Grandal can resemble his pre-injury state. Either way, DH is there for the usage.

Hmmm, Sean Murphy.

Catcher Defensive Adjustment (CDA)

Different positions are more challenging than others. An adjustment is necessary because, while Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) compares players of the same position, we draft multiple positions at each level. WAR can provide overall player evaluation, yet we are still required to account for the differences in the positions to an extent. Positional adjustments accomplish this by adding runs for challenging positions and subtracting runs for the easier ones. Positional adjustments are based upon 1,458 defensive innings, or in other words, a 162-game season. So, if a catcher plays 1,215 innings (135 games) with a +12.5 positional adjustment for a full season, his adjustment for that period will be +10.4 runs. Some good knowledge for when you’re drafting any offensive position.

Here are the defensive statistics from 2021 via Baseball Prospectus/Fielding Bible/ESPN.

DRS = Defensive Runs Saved
dWAR = Defensive Wins Above Replacement
CDA = Catcher Defensive Adjustment

CATCHER	TEAM	DRS		dWAR		CDA
J.T. Realmuto	Phillies	0		0.4		16.6
Max Stassi	Angels	10		0.6		16.3
Jose Trevino	Rangers	8		0.9		14.7
Omar Narváez	Brewers	3		0.4		13.3
Sean Murphy	Athletics	10		1.3		11.9
Jonah Heim	Rangers	6		0.6		11.0
Austin Hedges	Guardians	12		1.4		9.3
Will Smith	Dodgers	5		0.3		8.9
Tomás Nido	Mets	10		0.8		8.9
Reese McGuire	Blue Jays	2		0.3		8.5
Kyle Higashioka	Yankees	5		0.6		8.1
Mike Zunino	Rays	7		0.6		7.9
Jacob Stallings*	Marlins	21		2.3		6.5
Tucker Barnhart*	Tigers	0		0.4		6.5
Cam Gallagher	Royals	6		0.5		5.9
Austin Barnes	Dodgers	5		0.4		5.8
Ryan Jeffers	Twins	4		0.6		5.8
Manny Piña*	Braves	7		0.9		5.3
Travis d’Arnaud	Braves	4		0.4		5.2
Christian Vázquez	Red Sox	5		1.3		5.1

In the end, it’s all about plate appearances. If your catcher is strong defensively, is a good receiver, and guns down potential base burglars, he’s gonna see more at-bats. These are just facts, plain and simple. Nothing pisses me off more than when my fantasy catcher sits cause an elite arm has his “personal catcher.” If we can stay away from teams who employ such tactics, more production will be attained. Now, these men just need to hit! 

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