Miami Marlins J.T. Realmuto has added another dimension to his game

Just as the Miami Marlins are shopping him, has J.T. Realmuto found another gear that could make him possibly the most valuable asset the Marlins end up moving?

The Miami Marlins spent most of this past offseason unloading their best players. In an attempt to hit the reset button, they shipped off Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich and Dee Gordon. Some took exception to the blatant forfeiting of the 2018 season. Others were slighted by the underwhelming returns they received for these All-Stars. In just a couple of months, Miami managed to remove most of their standout players from their roster with the exception of one. Catcher J.T. Realmuto is still playing for the Marlins.

Realmuto, who is just 27 years of age, is putting together one of the best campaigns by a catcher in recent memory. This is in spite of the fact he missed almost three weeks with a bone bruise in his back to begin the season. As such, he made his 2018 debut on April 17th. Since that point, he has done nothing but mash baseballs.

The right-handed batter’s slash line currently reads a sterling .302 AVG/.362 OBP/.533 SLG with an accompanying 146 wRC+. Among catchers with at least 200 plate appearances, he ranks first in batting average, slugging percentage, wRC+ and fWAR. The only major category he is not leading is on-base percentage. He places third behind Francisco Cervelli (.386) and Willson Contreas (.369).

For three years now, Realmuto has cemented himself as one of the game’s greatest backstops on both sides of the ball. He also is the fastest catcher in the StatCast era, leading the position in Sprint Speed in each of the last four years. This year, though, he is on a whole other level, reaching a power level previously unseen for him. The 2010 3rd-round selection has eclipsed a .500 slugging percentage and .200 isolated power for the first time in any major or minor-league season.

Granted, there is still lots of baseball to be played, so, by season’s end, the power could see some regression. It would be easy to gush on about Realmuto’s power surge but that is a conversation for a different day. Instead, the focus of this article will be on his considerable improvement at controlling the run game this year.

Realmuto has been a defensive stalwart for the Miami Marlins since he became their starting catcher in 2015. The only knock against him has been below-average pitch framing, which has been a bit of an issue for him this year as well. Anyway, he has taken a tremendous stride in controlling the run game this year.

In 24 attempts against Miami’s primary catcher, they have been successful in just 14 of those. He has thrown out 10 would-be base stealers, which is good for a .417 CS% (caught-stealing percentage). Among catchers who have played at least 25 games, that is the third-best percentage in the entire league. Moreover, it is a significant jump from how he has performed controlling the run game in the past.

Here are Realmuto’s numbers since he became a full-timer:

• 2017: 53 stolen bases and 25 caught stealing (.321 CS%)
• 2016: 51 stolen bases and 28 caught stealing (.354 CS%)
• 2015: 42 stolen bases and 16 caught stealing (.271 CS%)

Sure, 24 stolen-base attempts is not that big of sample. With that said, the increase in caught-stealing percentage is so pronounced this feels like more signal than noise. Plus, Realmuto has improved his “pop time” second base, which very well could explain all of this.

Pop time, for those unaware, measures how quickly a catcher gets the ball from his glove to the base. Here’s Baseball Savant’s write-up on it:

Pop Time measures the time from the moment the pitch hits the catcher’s mitt to the moment the ball reaches the fielder’s projected receiving point at the center of the base. Pop Time is a combination of exchange time (how quickly the catcher releases the ball, measured in seconds) and arm strength (velocity of throw, in MPH)

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According to Baseball Savant, Realmuto’s second-base pop time, which we will use because players stealing third is rare, is tied for the best in the league at 1.86. While he has consistently found himself atop this leaderboard in the past, he has never been this quick before. Presumably, this increase has enabled him to control the run game like never before.

It would be neglectful to not mention that “controlling the run game” is not an independent act. The pitcher has a lot to do with it, too. How fast they get the ball to home plate and how they hold runners on plays a role.

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Regardless, Realmuto has been a demonstrably better catcher at one of its most fundamental components. It undoubtedly makes him all the more valuable of a player, which could mean a larger haul for the Miami Marlins if they decide to trade him. The Miami Marlins actually lead baseball in caught-stealing percentage, in large part thanks to Mr. Realmuto. There was already an argument before but, with his improvement in controlling the run game, dare we say J.T. Realmuto is the best catcher in the MLB? It sure feels like he is.