Midseason Report Card: Infielders & Catchers

There was a Sports Illustrated cover in 1999 that pictured John Olerud, Edgardo Alfonzo, Rey Ordóñez and Robin Ventura along with the headline “The Best Infield Ever?” Bold prediction: the 2026 infield will not find its way onto a magazine cover.

Let’s look at grades for the infielders and catchers so far.

Mark Vientos, Grade: D-

The player who hit 27 homers in 2024 and added five more in the playoffs seems to be long gone. In 73 games before he was hit by a pitch that fractured his right hand last Thursday, his slash line (.211/.256/.388) was awfully close to what it was in 65 games in 2023 (.211/.253/.367).

He hit lefties (25-for-89 with six homers) in the first half. But vs. righties, he slashed .169/.220/.297 in 148 at-bats. That batting average is better than 2015 Bartolo Colon (.138), but short of 2004 Tom Glavine (.204). I still can’t believe he ran through that stop sign.

Unfortunately, he can’t really play well in the field, either, with lower-percentile defensive metrics at first and third.

Jorge Polanco, Grade: F

He was brought in to be the biggest piece of the replacing Pete Alonso puzzle and it hasn’t worked out. Even before the injuries, he was 13-for-73 (.178 batting average) with one homer in 19 games. He might not even be able to play the field the rest of the year, either, with a lingering Achilles injury.

Jared Young, Grade: B-

He is hitting .248/.318/.426 with six homers in 51 games. He’s been a postive playing first base, too. A much-needed pleasant surprise.

Marcus Semien, Grade: F

A player’s defense often falls off gradually with age, but the 35-year-old Semien’s nosedived. He was six outs above average (OAA) last year, placing him in the 92nd percentile. He won a Gold Glove. Go back to 2024 and he was in the 100th percentile, 19 OAA. In 80 games this year, his OAA is -5—9th percentile. Stunning. His slash line, already falling off from his career numbers last year, is down across the board (.214/.271/.341) from a year ago as well. A hip injury has seemed to slow him down, so we’ll see how he performs in the latter half of the year when he returns.

Francisco Lindor, Grade: F

Last year, he hit 31 homers and stole 31 bases. This year, he goes into the break with five homers and two steals. He was off to a slow start (two homers, .669 OPS, 93 at-bats) when he strained his left calf running the bases on April 22. He came back on June 24 and hasn’t found his stroke yet. The .671 OPS would be a career low by far. The previous low was .734 in 2021, his first year in New York.

Bo Bichette, Grade: C-

He has hit well in the last five weeks. His slash line was .213/.271/.299 on June 2 and it’s .255/.300/.376 now. His batting average is .331 during this current stretch, and he’s connected for five homers, eight doubles and a triple. Bichette was, however, supposed to be part of the solution to the team’s hitting with runners in scoring position problem that plagued them at times last season. He’s 20-for-77 with RISP for a .739 OPS, which is well off his career mark of .887.

Brett Baty, Grade: F

Four homers in 328 plate appearances. This comes after a year in which he hit 18 in 432 PAs. Playing time was thought to be a concern going into the season, but injuries solved that. He did have a nine-game hitting streak that ended on Friday, so maybe that’s a good sign for the second half.

Francisco Alvarez, Grade: B-

The.734 OPS (.254/.317/.416 slash line) would rank eighth among MLB catchers if he had enough plate appearances to qualify, right between William Contreras of the Brewers and Carter Jensen of the Royals. Alvarez may never live up to the expectations that soared when he hit 25 homers as a 21-year-old, but he is still better than most catchers in the game. He must stay healthy.

Luis Torrens, Grade: B-

Torrens, 30, is a solid backup who plays excellent defense. He has thrown out 14 of 33 runners trying to steal (42 percent), which ranks third in MLB. It becomes hard to carry his bat (.216/.278/.315 with two homers in 59 games) when others aren’t hitting.