Well Played, Mauer

Very few major league catchers have been more selective at the plate over the last three years than Minnesota's Joe Mauer.  His swing rate of 36.6% ranks him in the bottom 4% of all catchers since 2008, and his 88.5% contact rate puts him in the top 5% of catchers over that span. 

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Mauer's fantastic batter's eye has resulted in an exceedingly high three-year OBP of .420, highest among all catchers with a minimum of 500 plate appearances, and third among all position players behind Albert Pujols and Manny Ramirez.  Mauer avoids swinging at balls down in the zone which is one of the reasons he's managed to mantain a high OBP.  No player has a higher on base percentage on balls hitting the lower quarter of the plate, and only Bobby Abreu has a lower swing rate on low pitches since 2008.