They had to know they were posing for this one. (Globe Photo)
It’s the All-Star Break, and the All-Star festivities are over. So I guess it’s time to catch up with the players on this team and see how they’re doing. Since there’s nothing else to do. First up, catchers.
This was supposed to be a rock solid year, with Christian Vázquez sitting behind the dish and, I don’t know, probably batting about as well as the unit’s done this year anyway. I like to think he would’ve at least hit .235 or somewhere around what Blake Swihart’s put up. But it was not to be. Instead, we’ve had Swihart for 40 games, Sandy León for 33, and Ryan Hanigan for 26. It’s been interesting.
I’m going to really dig in to the stats here, so put your nerd hats on and get ready to crunch some numbers. The Sox’ catchers, as a unit, have been terrible offensively. To be fair, only 7 teams have gotten an offensive WAR above 0.0 from their catchers in 2015, but the Red Sox are all the way down at 25th with -16.4. And while that number might not be pretty, the on-field product is even uglier. In terms of power, it’s pretty simple:
- 2 home runs
- 0 triples
- 11 doubles
These backstops have an isolated power (ISO) of .057, and all you have to know about that is that it’s the worst mark in MLB. But it’s not like they hit for average either. They’ve grounded into the most double plays in the majors, with 13. When they hit a fly ball, it’s been an infield pop-up 20% of the time, the highest percentage in the majors. And they’re not getting unlucky – they’re 13th in MLB in BABIP. On the bright side, they’re not the Mariners’ catchers (batting .150).
And these guys do have a few things to hang their hats on. They have the most sacrifice bunts (7), as a unit, in MLB. They’re second, behind the Marlins, in UBR (Fangraphs’ Ultimate Baserunning, which is more about situational common sense and execution than speed). They make contact on 84.7% of the pitches they see, 4th highest in MLB. And while they’re 26th in baseball in “positive events” relating to win probability, they also have the 3rd-lowest amount of “negative events.” Basically, they try not to get in the way. I’ll be honest, I don’t hate that strategy. On the other hand, it clearly hasn’t been a particularly successful way of doing things.
In the field, the Sox catchers have been very good, and while that doesn’t quite make up for the lackluster hitting, it’s nice that they’re not a total loss. Fangraphs rates the Boston catchers as the best in the league in defense, along with the Cubs. Yes, this is likely due mostly to Sandy León’s proclivity for throwing out runners. But each of the Sox’ catchers has been at least above average defensively.
In order of games played:
Blake Swihart
On April 5th: After Vázquez’s unfortunate injury (another guy I was really high on), people wondered whether Boston would accelerate Blake’s timetable and perhaps have him break camp with the big club. Again, possibly hoping to avoid another JBJ situation, the Red Sox quickly put an end to that talk by acquiring León. But given the fact that Hanigan and León are both light hitters, don’t be surprised if Swihart gets a call-up sooner rather than later. His defensive game still needs to come around, but the kid can hit. Learning under a good defender like Hanigan could help make the transition a little smoother. – Righty
On July 15th: After batting above .300 in Pawtucket, he’s been a little disappointing at the plate (.241/.279/.323). For now, though, that can be chalked up to the transition to the majors. Oh, and also the fact that he has an absolutely abysmal walk-to-strikeout ratio, with 7 walks and 36 strikeouts on the year. The only regular player with a comparable strikeout rate is Mike Napoli, and as badly as he’s been hitting (.193, in case you need a reminder), he still gets on base more than Swihart. Anyway, the kid’s a better offensive option than León, but it’s not by as much as you might think. And while both León and Swihart have caught 9 runners stealing, León’s only given up 7 stolen bases (one of the best ratios in MLB), while Swihart’s given up 23. Basically, I still believe in this guy, but he definitely needs more seasoning.
Also, I was going to pick on Swihart for his high numbers of passed balls and wild pitches, but then I remembered that Steven Wright has done some pitching. Lo and behold, Swihart’s been the catcher for 10 of Wright’s 11 appearances. I’ll give him a pass.
He was put on the 15-day DL on July 3rd and sent to Pawtucket for a rehab assignment on July 11th, so we’ll see whether he gets called up or stays down in AAA.
Sandy León
On April 5th: Traded a washing machine for this guy once Vázquez was out long-term. He has some upside, but he didn’t fit in with the Nationals, slotting behind Wilson Ramos and José Lobatón. He can’t really hit, but he does it from both sides of the plate. His career numbers in the minors are pretty good defensively. If you type his name into YouTube, the first result is a video that just says “Ground out.” – Lefty
On July 15th: León’s pretty much an automatic out with an OBP of .247, but like I said above, he’s been as good as he possibly could have been advertised in the field. If he were qualified in terms of games played, I’m pretty sure he’d be second in MLB in caught stealing percentage. He’s also been the catcher of choice for the Sox’ best starter, Clay Buchholz. And he’s done well in that capacity. But with Clay on the disabled list, it comes down to how tough it is to keep putting León in the lineup offensively.
Ryan Hanigan
On April 5th: Look, this isn’t ideal. We brought him in to be the backup, and here we are. This is a guy who’s batted .208 over the past two years. It’s not good. He’s 34, so we’re probably not looking at a career resurrection here. But the optimist in me thinks there’s a chance we get .240 or better and some solid defense out of him if he catches half the season. Over two years from 2012 to 2013 with CIncinnati, Hanigan threw out 47 of 99 runners. That’s really fucking good. On the other hand, last year he threw out 8 of 38 (that’s really fucking bad). Worst of all, Middlebrooks is raking in San Diego right now. He’d better crap the bed once he has to play in Petco. – Lefty
On July 15th: Hanigan’s the best offensive option available, mostly because he walks at a great rate – he’s had 15 walks and 15 strikeouts on the year. And while he’s only batting .231, he’s got a pretty incredible .376 OBP, behind only All-Star Brock Holt on the Red Sox. He’s been pretty standard in terms of overall offensive production, and that’s really all you’re looking for if you don’t have a really great catcher. He does need to step up the defense (worse than both Swihart and León), but overall, he’s the guy you want in the lineup day-to-day if you can accept middling play both offensively and defensively.
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