The Tools of Intelligence: A look at NL contending catchers
Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 5:43PM
Bill Chuck - Managing Editor in A.J. Ellis, Bill Chuck Files, Brian McCann, Catchers, RRussell Martin, Ryan Hanigan, Yadier Molina

One of the great statistical strides we have made in recent years is in appreciating the defensive metrics of catchers.

As Yadier Molina is being considered as an MVP candidate this season, it's not just because of his .334 batting average, but the difference he makes when he is behind the plate.

Here are the primary catchers for the NL contenders

National League Catchers
  G PA AVG OBP SLUG OPS K% BB% HR% Chas% ClStk%
Ryan Hanigan (CIN) 51 1740 .224 .282 .375 .657 23.1% 6.6% 3.3% 30.1% 34.5%
A. J. Ellis (LAD) 86 3089 .233 .297 .345 .642 20.8% 7.7% 2.0% 28.2% 31.8%
Russell Martin (PIT) 93 3422 .237 .312 .346 .657 20.7% 8.7% 2.1% 28.2% 32.4%
Brian McCann (ATL) 67 2407 .237 .293 .358 .651 22.0% 6.4% 2.1% 28.8% 33.0%
Devin Mesoraco (CIN) 74 2564 .244 .309 .386 .694 21.2% 7.8% 2.6% 29.5% 33.3%
Yadier Molina (STL) 99 3485 .246 .306 .364 .670 21.3% 6.9% 2.0% 28.9% 34.1%
Miguel Montero (ARI) 89 3353 .257 .317 .407 .725 19.6% 7.2% 3.0% 28.7% 32.3%

The biggest surprise?

For me, the biggest surprise was the effectiveness of Ryan Hanigan of the Reds.

First of all, when he's behind the plate he has the best batting average against of all the receivers being considered.

Next, his pitchers' strikeout rate is the highest of all the catchers and as you look at the chart you can see why: his called strike rate is the highest which means he's framing pitches well and even his chase rate is high which to me indicates his strength in staying steady behind the plate and not moving too much.

Of course, his home run allowed percentage is significantly higher than Yadier's.

Oh, don't forget that Hanigan is a .199 batter, 135 points less than the great Molina.

More stats to consider


  Age Tm G Inn Rtot PB WP SB CS CS%

A.J. Ellis 32 LAD 86 748.0 9 5 28 26 24 48%

Ryan Hanigan 32 CIN 51 429.2 4 3 17 10 11 52%

Russell Martin 30 PIT 93 817.1 8 4 35 36 29 45%

Brian McCann 29 ATL 67 593.2 7 1 11 32 13 29%

Devin Mesoraco 25 CIN 74 608.2 -1 3 20 35 11 24%

Yadier Molina 30 STL 99 843.0 10 2 16 18 14 44%

Miguel Montero 29 ARI 89 796.1 -0 7 39 22 12 35%
  LgAvg     15 124 0 1 5 7 3 29%
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/20/2013.
 

You have to appreciate Yaddy's Rtot which indicates his play has saved 10 runs above average. This shows his MVP caliber defense.

Additionally, having A.J. Ellis behind the plate is clearly a plus for the Dodgers and there is no question that while Russell Martin is not the league's MVP, his value to the Pirates should not be minimized.

Make sure you take notice of Hanigan's, Molina's, and Martin's rate of throwing out base runners.

Here are their pitcher/catcher ERAs and all Runs allowed over 9 innings

  Pitching Stats  
  Tm PA ERA RAvg
A.J. Ellis LAD 3089 3.06 3.42
Ryan Hanigan CIN 1740 3.37 3.54
Russell Martin PIT 3422 3.16 3.38
Brian McCann ATL 2407 2.94 3.24
Devin Mesoraco CIN 2564 3.31 3.59
Yadier Molina STL 3485 3.22 3.45
Miguel Montero ARI 3353 3.80 4.03
LgAvg   524 3.73 4.07
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/20/2013. 

While there might be concern about Brian McCann's rate of throwing out baserunners, check out his ERA.

Not only watch who's at the plate, watch who's behind the plate

We have six weeks of great regular season baseball ahead and watching the catcher play will only add to your enjoyment.

Article originally appeared on MLB Baseball Analytics (https://baseballanalytics.org/).
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