Young Stud Catchers - Who's Better?
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by user The shark
The National League Catcher of the Immediate Future
Who's Better - Brian McCann or Russell Martin?
Brian McCann gets the slight nod over Dodgers’ young stud Russell Martin. Why? Let’s break it down.
Martin is arguably the better defensive catcher with a career Range Factor of 7.66 (to McCann’s 7.14) and a career Fielding Percentage of .990 (to McCann’s .988). Additionally, Martin has thrown out an impressive 32.5% of base stealers in his (albeit brief) career, while McCann has disposed of only 21.9%. Reading these stats may well point to Martin as the NL’s Catcher of the Future, especially considering the defensive emphasis that Big League clubs have long placed on the position.
One thing that McCann does better than Martin behind the dish is his handling of the pitching staff. Though both are young and have plenty of room to grow and improve, I believe that at this point in their admittedly brief careers, McCann handles his pitchers and calls games better than Martin. Tim Hudson recently said that Brian is one of the best catchers he’s ever worked with and has the full confidence of the entire staff. That’s an amazing admission about a guy who is only in his third year in the league.
The main reason I chose McCann over Martin, however, is because McCann is the better hitter. He possesses a good eye and impressive plate discipline, especially for his age. In his first full campaign, he drew 41 walks in 492 plate appearances, while striking out only 54 times. Logic would suggest that those two parts of his game will only improve with age and experience. But a study of the numbers would prove that Martin’s walk and strikeout numbers in 2006 (45/268/57) were similar to (if not slightly better than) McCann’s. And Martin is the better base stealer, so what makes Brian Mac the better offensive player? He’s the better hitter, plain and simple. He hits for average and power to all fields. In 2006, he hit 24 home runs (1 every plate 20.5 plate appearances) and posted a .333 average – which after adding an 0 for 10 to attain the required league minimum in plate appearances would have put him 5th in the NL. And his .961 OPS was the best among catchers in all of baseball, even better than Joe Mauer’s .936.
But regardless which way you’re inclined to lean in this debate, one thing is clear: the National League is going to offer true baseball fans quite a treat over the next decade. Both guys are ultra talented, down to earth, hard-working throwbacks. Watch for them on the second Tuesday in July for the better part of the next decade.
