McCann the Man
Suppose I titled this post something else and you had no idea in what direction it was headed: Would you have any idea that Brian McCann of the Braves, one of Dave’s favorite players, is the top offensive catcher in baseball this year? I’m sure some of you might have pegged him to be one of the best, but not the king of the castle, so to speak. No, Russell Martin would have gotten some votes, Joe Mauer, too; heck, maybe some would even forget Victor Martinez is injured and homerless in 54 games and give him some major loving. Regardless, the fact remains that McCann is having a very good offensive season, better than the large majority of non-catchers, let alone catchers themselves.
When discussing catchers, we primarily stick to offense because, well, there is no real way to quantify defensively what a catcher does behind the plate. Offense can definitely be quantified, however, and nowadays a good hitting catcher is generally a league average hitter or slightly better. McCann is way above the league average this year.
In 101 games he has a .306/.386/.558 slash line, good for a .945 OPS. The OBP ranks 10th in the NL (ironically tied with Russell Martin); the SLG comes in 9th; and the OPS ranks 8th. McCann’s SLG and OPS ranks first amongst all catchers, NL or AL; Mauer tops him in OBP, but he comes in second place. On top of that, his 2.10 WPA/LI ranks first in the NL amongst catchers (Joe Mauer has a slight overall lead), and his 2.49 REW leads all catchers regardless of league. It seems Mauer would be deserving of some recognition this year but he just does not bring the dimension of power to the plate that McCann offers.
Ryan Doumit has had a tremendous season as well, but his is built on a .359 BABIP whereas Brian’s is a very solid and much more regression-proof .306. He has struck out just 46 times this year, putting him in the top twenty for lowest strikeout percentage. He doesn’t draw a plethora of free passes, but enough so that his BB/K is a tick under 1.0.
McCann might not be a household name outside of NL East cities, but he should be. These numbers, and his numbers in the seasons prior definitely back up my sentiments.
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I wouldn’t look at Doumit’s .359 BABIP and call it utterly unsustainable. A 23.3 LD% is a pretty good way to post a high BABIP. In any case, I think it’s tremendously exciting to have so many good young catchers in baseball, after the position was so top-heavy for the last decade or so.
I didn’t say it’s utterly unsustainable, but if someone forced me to bet between these two guys, who have very similar numbers, which of their seasonal lines is “more real” I’d pick McCann in a heartbeat.
Sure, but that’s also because McCann has that great 06 line as well. I know he plays for the Pirates and all, but I’m just surprised Doumit hasn’t gotten more publicity considering how good of a year he’s having.
Well, he will when I write my next article on him!
McCann’s a pretty good defensive catcher, too. It might be time for Mauer to hand over his best-catcher mantle. (Not that I’d be upset to have either one on my team.)
Perhaps your comment about his k/bb ratio was an joking understatement? He ranks 14th in the majors with his strike out to walk ratio. Catchers seem oddly good at this skill, as he’s only fifth among active catchers. And when you hit the ball as hard as McCann does and hardly ever strike out, walks are missed opportunities at extra base hits.
I’ll go so far as to say that McCann’s current performance ranks him with Hanley, Braun and Sizemore as among the best hitters under 26; moreover, I think his history shows that this isn’t a fluke. Braun is the only one that I think clearly hits for better power, and Braun’s inability (or is it refusal?) to walk arguable that McCann is better.
Adjusted for positional scarcity, is Brian McCann the best young hitter in baseball right now?
Not really a joking understatement but furthering down that line would reveal Joe Mauer’s BB/K of almost twice that. I don’t know if I’d go all out and say best young hitter but definitely one of the best, and in my eyes, the most undervalued in the mainstream especially given his position.
You gotta put Jose Reyes and David Wright up there with Hanley, Braun and Sizemore as well as McCann as the top hitters under 26 and how about Prince?