A lot of chatter the last couple of days has surrounded the Mets’ catching situation in the minor leagues. Francisco Alvarez has grown into one of the top–if not the top–prospects in baseball at just 20 years old, and they just drafted Kevin Parada, the premium catcher of the 2022 draft. The pair are probably now two of the top five catching prospects in all of baseball. We have already covered the report cards for infielders, designated hitters, outfielders, relievers, starting pitchers, and coaching staff.
Whatever feeling you felt reading that first paragraph, you probably feel just about the opposite when reading the rest of this.
The Mets’ catching situation at the major-league level wasn’t great in 2021. It’s been about the same this year so far.
The team’s starting catcher (James McCann) has played in half as many games as the backup (Tomas Nido). Neither has an OPS over .550. As a team, the Mets have the lowest OPS and home runs from the catcher position.
The defense they get from McCann and Nido make up for it a little, but there’s no denying Mets catchers have left much to be desired. Let’s take a brief look at each individual’s performance.
James McCann: D
James McCann is in the second year of a four-year pact with the Mets, and Year 2 isn’t going much better than Year 1. A massive disappointment in his first year with the team, McCann has just a .543 OPS and 60 wRC+ over 92 plate appearances this season. He’s appeared in just about one-third of the team’s games, first due to a wrist fracture and now due to an oblique injury.
When he’s played, he’s made more and better contact than he did in 2021, but the results still aren’t there. He’s striking out less, but he’s also walking less. He’s hitting the ball harder, and he’s hitting on the ground less, but fewer of his fly balls are turning into home runs. (He only has two this year so far.) He has just five hits on non-fastballs this year. (He’s seen over 130 non-fastballs.)
One positive is his framing rate has completely flipped the script, as he’s now ranking in the 86th percentile, per Statcast. Still, despite his improvements on defense, McCann has performed way below expectations for a $10 million catcher.
Tomás Nido: C
Nido has provided the Mets consistency at the catcher position this year. He’s started 58 of the team’s 92 games, way above expectations for a backup catcher. However, that consistency hasn’t produced results at the plate.
Despite some timely RBIs this year, Nido’s OPS sits at .489 after 182 plate appearances. He’s walked just five percent of the time and struck out at a rate five times that. He whiffs almost half the time on non-fastballs, and it seems like he just can’t help himself but swing at the first pitch. He’s at least pretty aware and a bit deprecating with regard to his offensive issues.
However, Nido and his rocket arm have been a major plus on defense. He’s essentially become Max Scherzer‘s personal catcher, his framing rates are top 12% in the league, and he’s in the top ranks of the league with added defensive WAR at the catcher position.
Patrick Mazeika: C-
In James McCann’s absence, Mazeika–a one-time 2021 ReplaceMet and folk hero–has gotten run in his place. He’s played in 21 games and had 64 plate appearances. Like his other two catcher counterparts, he hasn’t really produced at the plate.
He’s been okay as a replacement player, especially given the low expectations McCann and Nido set, but nevertheless: a .500 OPS and average defense can’t get you higher than an average grade.
