Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis is the top game caller in the league, writes Harry Pavlidis for ESPN. In recent years, new data and techniques have allowed analysts to measure catcher framing skills. Pavlidis evaluated the various factors controlled by a catcher’s game calling and converted them into a runs saves statistic. Ellis draws negative reviews for the other aspects of his defensive game, but he’s credited with 38 game calling runs saved from 2012-2014. Rounding out the top five are Alex Avila, Yadier Molina, Derek Norris, and Ryan Hanigan.
- Shortstop Jimmy Rollins is taking a pragmatic approach to the possibility that he could be supplanted by top prospect Corey Seager, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rollins is under contract for the remainder of the 2015 season, and he’s hitting a tepid .210/.278/.352 with five home runs and five stolen bases. The club moved him down to eighth in the lineup this evening, signaling impatience with his slow start to the season. Seager recently had a 13-for-18 stretch at Triple-A, but Dodgers officials haven’t indicated any plans to promote him. Rollins understands that his role is to help the Dodgers bridge the gap until Seager is ready for major league action.
- Rockies 2014 first round draft pick Kyle Freeland has yet to pitch this season, writes Nick Groke of the Denver Post. The left-handed pitcher was selected eighth overall last June. He is currently recovering from shoulder fatigue and surgery to remove bone chips. He began a throwing program within the last week. Freeland had a positive debut for the Rockies, throwing 39 innings with a 1.15 ERA, 7.6 K/9, and 1.4 BB/9.
- Another Rockies prospect, outfielder David Dahl, required emergency surgery after colliding with a teammate, reports Thomas Harding or MLB.com. Dahl had surgery to repair his spleen but did not suffer a concussion or a broken rib as was originally feared. The 2012 first round pick is ranked as the second best Rockies prospect by MLB.com. Dahl is hitting .269/.296/.379 in 189 plate appearances at Double-A.
Yea Ken we all knew that for like 6 months now….could you now tell us how Correa is ready to supplant whomever Houston has as their current shortstop…..
Kyle vs Corey Seager could be a good debate over the coming years…
So what I gather is that Salvador Perez is the best catcher in the game when offense/defense is considered.
When both offense and defense is considered, Perez isn’t the best catcher in the game. One of the top sure, but not the best.
I’m just taking that based on where the article was placing players. Top defensive guys, framers, like Ellis lose quite a bit on offense. Yadier Molina maybe…tough to beat Salvador Perez’s overall value. Just good balance. Royals aren’t wasting a spot in the lineup playing him.
When it comes to offensive and defensive value, I think Molina and Posey have Perez beat out.
That article didn’t like Posey’s defensive value. I’m not defending it, just saying. Do I want Posey or Perez? Posey probably…even though he might need a Joe Mauer type shift off the position.
The model didn’t like one aspect of Posey’s defensive value and honestly, I’m a little dubious about it. All they did was put a model and show some numbers but they don’t really go into details like how they came up with the basis for the numbers or how the calculations came about. If all aspects of defense are brought up, Posey likely falls into one of the better defensive catchers and along with his offense, I think makes him better than Perez.
I feel the same way on Posey. He handles a playoff caliber rotation yearly and is a leader. I know those two things are intangibles and not neatly measurable, but valuable. Both are clearly top tier and are incredibly valuable
Yea I agree that both are valuable catchers. They both have aspects that make them amongst the best in baseball right now. Calling one the best of all them is more or less subject to a person’s own opinion.
I could call Rivera’s cutter and become the games best pitch caller. I wonder if that has to do with me being good or the pitcher just being un-hittable? I’m sure catching Kershaw doesn’t hurt, I’m also sure catching Verlander, Scherzer etc didn’t hurt Avilla.
Yeah all the top “pitch callers” just happen to have fairly decent rotations also which seems like quite the coincidence to me…
Those are the first things such a study would adjust for, they are not idiots.
How can you reliably adjust for that?
AJ Ellis is a below average player no matter how you cherry pick the statistics you want to use versus the ones that make him look as average or worse as you can get.
Avilla and Ellis both are not great catchers. They’re not great with the bat, they’re not great with their arm, they’re not great with their defense. It’s not super tough to call pitches for Verlander and Kershaw, is it? Even if it was, if the rest of your game is a black abyss where runs spring forth to doom your team, doesn’t that kick you out of the great zone?
I dunno, this is some pretty suspect (and not very transparent or math heavy) statistical analysis going on here. “decades of research” doesn’t mean spending a couple hours with STATS INC and deciding you’ve cracked the code.
Ellis was a very positive offensive contributor in 2012, decent in 2013, and injured in 2014.
He has had a lot of excellent numbers throwing out opposing runners with the exception of the 2014 campaign in which he got injured twice.
His primary defensive problem is his pitch framing which would not matter if the league would just get those automated umpires already.
Not much interested in automated umpiring or the latest flavor of Truth Through Statistics. As Yogi said, “you can observe a lot just by watching.” What we can tell by observing is that Ellis is one of the smartest and best-prepared players in the game, and we should know that the position he plays rewards smarts and preparation. Pitchers sing his praises. Early in the season Grandal talked about how working with Ellis upped his game. When a player isn’t playing much and hitting well below the Mendoza line when he does play, it’s easy to underrate his contributions to the team elsewhere on the field and in the clubhouse. But that doesn’t mean it makes sense to do it.