I am just going to jump right into this one: In 2023, the best Caught Stealing Rate by Catchers was +9. That means that the best catcher was good for +9 Runs Over League Average. Will Smith was -1 Run Below Average and Austin Barnes was -4 Runs Below League Average. If Austin Barnes is one of the worst throwing catchers in MLB, then Will Smith is right there with him. Is that what you think?
That is, unless you want to consider that these figures don’t tell the whole truth. You see, the Dodgers do things a bit differently. Simply put, the Dodgers don’t want their pitchers (and catchers too) to be overly concerned with baserunners. They want them to focus on the batter and not get overly concerned with keeping a runner close. GET THE BATTER OUT – FORGET ABOUT THE RUNNER! The Dodgers subscribe to the theory that keeping runners off base and focusing on getting the batters out. If you try and focus on both the hitter and the runner, you are going to be conflicted and do a bad job at both. The Dodgers catchers will always be much less effective against baserunners but their pitchers will almost always be near the top in ERA. It’s a tradeoff… a smart one at that!
Austin Barnes started out last season 0-16 and was batting .142 at the halfway point, but he had a bit of a resurgence in the second half. His second-half splits were improved. This was an important turnaround for the Dodgers who had seen Will Smith’s offensive production decline down the stretch. Would it surprise you to know that in the second half of 2023, Austin Barnes had a higher Batting Average and OPS than Will Smith? Smith hit .242 to Barnes .268 and Barnes OPS’ed .708 to Smith’s .701. Will Smith was more of a problem the second half of last year than Barnes, because Will Smith is in there for his bat. Barnes is there for his glove.
Why Austin Barnes is still the Dodgers’ Backup Catcher is explained by The LA Times Jack Harris:
It didn’t take long at the start of his career for Austin Barnes to know what the Dodgers valued in their backup catchers.
“When I came up here, I realized early they weren’t gonna let you catch here unless you knew how to handle the defensive side,” he said. “They don’t just trust you out there.”
So, he went about trying to earn their faith with his play behind the plate.
And nine years later, he hasn’t yet lost it.
Harries goes on to write this about Barnsie:
But for a respected veteran with an outsized influence in the clubhouse — not to mention another season remaining on the two-year, $7-million extension he signed in July 2022 — Barnes’ turnaround has nonetheless been a welcome sight.
“Barnsy’s a winner,” said teammate Clayton Kershaw, the only current Dodgers player who has been with the club longer. “Obviously, his offensive numbers, when you look at it on paper aren’t great. But that’s not what he’s here to do. He’s here to help us win. And he does that behind the plate, the way he calls games, and the way he competes. He’s really good at it. It’s hard to describe.”
Indeed, Barnes has always made his biggest marks under the radar.
He has long been one of the majors’ better catchers at framing pitches and stealing strikes.
Oh, and one last thing, which is likely the biggest:
He has met the Dodgers’ lofty game-planning and pitch-calling demands from their backstops, serving as the primary catcher in all three of their recent World Series trips.
He has built a strong rapport with a star-studded list of battery mates, as well, his bond with Kershaw — whose 81 regular-season starts with Barnes are topped only by former Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis — most of all.
“He’s fun to be around,” Kershaw said, before stopping himself with a chuckle. “Well, I don’t know if he’s fun to be around, but he’s entertaining.”
Meaning?
“One of his skills is, he can call people out, but people think it’s funny,” Kershaw explained. “When other people do that, they take offense. But Barnsey has a really good feel for making fun of guys, or giving people a hard time, and them taking it well. It’s a skill. It’s a personality trait.”
That has proved particularly valuable this season, giving the Dodgers an experienced — yet approachable — presence in their “run-prevention” department amid a rash of early-season injuries and injection of young arms.
Danny Lehmann says this about him: “There’s a lot of value [he brings] to the type of team we have now. To be able to trust him, and have the pitchers trust him and understand that he knows what he’s doing back there, that’s just big for our team to not skip a beat.”
The Dodgers need more out of Will Smith, and if they get what he is capable of, well… Austin Barnes will be just fine doing what he is capable of doing: Running the Lockerroom, calling players out and being the longest-tenured Dodger next to Clayton Kershaw. Trea Turner called Austin “the Captain”. The Dodgers don’t have one, but if they did, Austin Barnes would be in the running!
BTW, I think Barnes will be Yamamotos catcher this year. There’s a reason…
Dodger News & Notes
- According to Dave Roberts, there is a “very good possibility” Kyle Hurt is in the Dodgers bullpen for the team’s opening series against the Padres at Gocheok Sky Dome. Hurt, whom the team acquired from the Marlins in February 2021, has looked sharp so far this spring.
- The Adames rumors aren’t dying and I won’t remind you who has been saying for years that Gavin Lux was not a SS, because it makes Patch angry! 😉 However, I think for the near future, Betts is the SS and Lux is at 2B (except against tough LHP).
- Taylor will play 2B against tough LHP and Kike will play CF against tough lefties (just don’t call it a platoon).
Early Morning Baseball
I will be up at 6 AM EDT/3 PM PDT as the Dodgers will match up with Team Korea on March 18 at 6 a.m. ET. Bobby Miller goes for the Dodgers.
Discussion (30)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Snell is going to the Giants.
2 years/62 mil with an opt out after 2024.
OK, try this one on:
1 Month into the season, JDM was still unsigned, so he approached the Dodgers, and they sign him. They then run out this lineup:
1. Betts 2B
2. Ohtani LF
3. Freeman 1B
4. Smith C
5. Muncy 3B
6. JDM DH
7. Outman CF
8. Teoscar/Heyward RF
9. Lux 2B
Devastating!
As or right now, the rotation is:
1. Glasnow
2. Yamamoto
3. Miller
4. Paxton
5. Stone
Yarbrough when needed.
Then, add in Buehler, Sheehan, and Kershaw… maybe May, and don’t forget about Knack.
Can you ever have enough pitching?
BTW, Willie Calhoun’s Minor League Slash Line:
.285/.353/.490
All I said was that Sheehan would be out into May or June, and by that time, Buehler would be back… and I believe he will be back sooner than later.
I got an e-mail today that said that Walker looked like his old self… except for Stronger!
Buehler was on the Just Baseball podcast this weekend again. He said he is feeling good and hopes to face batters again on Tuesday and possibly throw 3+ innings. He indicated he was up to 97 in his last outing. He is still in Arizona as he did not travel with the team to Korea. Last month he was looking forward to Korea, so they must have changed his timeline. He also said he doesn’t expect to still be in Arizona when the Final Four comes in April. Apparently by then he expects to be training in LA and preparing to come back to the team early in the season if all goes well. It does not sound like he wants to wait past May to be throwing in the MLB.
Yeah what was all the noise about? And the Dancing Girls for that matter?
Bobby didn’t throw enough Strikes. Miller, Stone, Glasnow, Yamamoto and Ohtani – I can live with that for the next few years.
Good to see Max hitting LH pitching.
Lux in the 9 spot looks potentially very promising.
Will looks healed.
I think I’m going to like Teoscar, seems like a good guy.
This team could be very special.
Ps these game times couldn’t be any better!
Fun game to watch. All the noise in the stadium is a little distracting. But Japanese baseball has the same thing going on. Balls go to the outfield to die. You really need to pummel one to get it out of there. Bring on the Padres! My last take on Adames. He will never be a Dodger. Period.
“The Adames rumors aren’t dying and I won’t remind you who has been saying for years that Gavin Lux was not a SS, because it makes Patch angry!”
Oh, good grief!
You know, I’m going to go out on a limb here and make an assumption – and I could totally be wrong … I’m just spitballing here – but I almost think that Mark doesn’t think Gavin Lux can play SS. And if I’m off-base I completely apologize, but that’s the impression I get.
It makes me almost wish that Outman would strike out against a lefty just so I can hear Mark’s monomaniacal droning about him being a 5th outfielder and needing to be platooned. At least it’s a change.
And because I’m feeling cantankerous today, I’m going say something that needs to be said:
Miguel Vargas is a AAAA player and always will be. He’s Willy Calhoun with skinny legs. He doesn’t have a position he can play, the Dodgers are set at DH, and with the chatter about Ohtani playing some left field, that means that LF next year is taken. He can’t field. He can’t hit. Yeah, he’s a likable guy in the clubhouse and probably calls his mom on Mother’s Day. DON’T CARE! He’ll never be a serious major leaguer and the sooner the Dodgers trade that scrub, the better.
And yesterday Bluto said something I take great umbrage with and found deeply offensive. He alluded to me waiting to uncork a rant, as if it was something rehearsed or pre-planned. I’m outraged. I’m very proud of my improvisational ranting skills. I’m like a jazz musician of ranting – and sometimes just as meandering and patternless.
And I’m astounded by his capacity to double/triple/quadruple and quintuple down on a bad argument and twist his situational ethics into a pretzel to defend …whatever.
The net result of the entire Bauer fiasco is that a person’s reputation, career (and by career, we’re talking tens of millions – maybe nine figures even – of dollars) and life have been ruined by what turned out to be a deliberate lie.
Period.
“Yeah, but MLB was following established protocols as agreed in the MLBPA agreement and it’s rule of law … blah..blah…blah.”
His career was ruined by a lie. That’s profoundly unfair. Period.
Maybe, if MLB and everything else wasn’t so compromised by the need to preserve proper optics, they’d sit down with with the MLBPA and work out an amendment to the rules to at least safeguard players against the possibility of baseless accusations. I dunno. Just a thought. It’d be a sensible thing to do.
Molly Knight made her Twitter profile private after the Lindsay Hill video emerged. These people are so gross.
As ELO sung: Turn to Stone!
Great finish to a fantastic spring for the kid. So happy for him.
And Bobby Miller ?Great stuff, just has to use it a little better to his advantage and he will be a clear Nr. 1 ace.
Just a matter of time IMHO.
Dodgers pitching is looking great. And to think we will have Ohtani pitching next year , the sky is the limit .
Lux bat has not suffered from his defensive adventures and position switch. I think he will be fine at 2b.
Should Betts not be up to play at least a solid SS the Dodgers can make a trade by the deadline. Then move Betts back to RF for the stretch run and playoffs. Just imagine a lineup with Betts (rf), Lux (2b) and Adames (ss). If Mookie needs some rest because he moves back to RF it should be no problem. Especially because I see the Dodgers running away with the divison , so there should be plenty of rest time for the regulars in September.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
MLB POWER RANKINGS – I find it humorous:
2. Dodgers (2)
For all the offseason maneuvering the Dodgers did to put together their best possible roster — and “maneuvering” is certainly one way to describe spending like the Dodgers just spent — it should probably be noted that “suddenly switching one of their prized MVPs to an incredibly difficult defensive position that he hasn’t played regularly in more than a decade” midway through Spring Training is not your traditional “team that has everything aligned” move. Ostensibly, the move was made because of Gavin Lux’s throwing issues, but moving Betts just to help out Lux (who is fine but is not Mookie Betts) feels a little bit like using the jaws of life on a splinter. We’ll see how it works out. But it’s a little more chaos than you might expect from the supposed juggernaut.
Up early on the west coast for a flight to NY.
Just looked at the box score – WOW – 8-strikeouts in 3.1 innings.
I am looking forward to seeing Stone pitch in the regular season after last year’s fiasco.
I am thinking the results are going to be a tad different!!
Right now Stone may be our #3. He’s had an awesome spring. Hopefully he continues his growth into the regular season. Looking at Muncy, I just think he could have a monster season!
JP Feyereisen closes it out and shows why he will be on the team. It’s been a long time coming!
Gavin Stone proves that progress is not linear… boy does he prove it!
CT3 is healthy. WOW!
Vargas’ bat continues to look a tick slow.
Gavin Lux shows how to hit a LHP after being knocked down by one.
Max “Freaking” Muncy could not make that play last year!
What a play!
3 Pitches. Very weak!
Outman still looks bad against LHP.
Bobby Miller is not as good as his stuff!
But he’s pretty good!
Will Smith looks healthy and ready!
He was injured most of last season.
Max Muncy is a beast!
Did anyone else lose the feed?
BTW, Smith doesn’t throw well either.
I just got an interesting e-mail:
“If the Dodgers waived Austin Barnes, there would be about a dozen teams all over him, and I am talking about the top-tier teams.”
Can’t say who authored it. I wish I could. 😉
6 AM ET vs Team Korea Today
Confirmed Lineup
Betts SS
Ohtani DH
Freeman 1B
Smith C
Muncy 3B
Teoscar Hernandez LF
Outman CF
Heyward RF
Lux 2B
Bobby Miller SP
I am already up to watch the game. Coffee is hot and it is 33 outside. The Dodgers won two games last year by a score of 1-0. In both of them, Barnes drove in the run. One was an 8th inning homer down the left field line. I like Barnes, and still remember how well he hit when Grandal was struggling so bad in 2017. And he started all of the playoff games behind the plate that year. He hit .289 with 8 homers and 38 driven in right when they needed it most. Hard to hit consistently if you are riding the bench 5 days a week. You do not know what you would get from Feduccia or Okey since there is really no track record. Although before the trade for Scherzer and Turner, everyone felt Ruiz was the next catcher.
Jon Morosi
@jonmorosi
The Dodgers have left open the possibility that Shohei Ohtani could play in the field at some point later this season; that is contingent on his throwing program.
Dave Roberts said Ohtani’s sole focus for now is DH.
Ohtani won’t pitch this year, as previously announced.
Outman is going to get rest days just like almost everyone does and it would be smart to give him rest days when there is a LHSP. What makes that a platoon?
Definition of a platoon is one player plays against RHSP and the other against LHSP. What don’t you get about that?
Now you might be thinking eventually it will turn into a platoon, because you think Outman won’t improve against LHP. That’s an opinion and a prediction and that’s fine, but as of right now, Outman is the everyday CF except rest days.
By the way, I’m excited about the hitting, starting pitching besides Paxton blocking one of Sheehan or Stone, the bullpen besides Kelly blocking Hurt, and the defense. Yes I said the defense.
The stars are aligned, may I say for a championship.
Seems according to Kersh, Barnes would be a more valuable contributor here at LADT rather than a backup catcher. And speaking of defense Lux is better than both of them at his position at 2nd base. Lux was primarily a shortstop in the minor leagues, he has spent most of his major league career at second. He has handled the keystone well, earning 16 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and 8 Outs Above Average (OAA) in 1346 2/3 defensive innings.
ok mark you win! i’ll take a break from criticizing barnes. i hope he contributes more offensively this year so will can have more breaks! only want dodgers to be the best!