Mets catcher Travis d’Arnaud had a rough go of it in 2014 on both sides of the ball. His early offensive struggles were well documented, as was his demotion and very strong comeback. His great second half went a long way towards putting to bed doubts about his ability to hit at the highest level. His defense, on the other hand, was the main story arc surrounding him heading into the off-season.
In short, he was not very good, at least in the more traditional ways in which we measure a catcher’s defense and ones most obvious to fans’ discerning eyes. He had the most passed balls (12) in the fewest number of games for qualified MLB catchers and finished the season with an awful caught-stealing rate (CS%) of just 19%.
D’Arnaud’s defensive shortcomings were certainly not expected by the team or its fans. When discussing his defense, many of the more recent scouting reports praised his mobility and agility behind the plate as well as his receiving skills. The evaluation of his arm strength ranged from average to plus, depending on where you looked. He was named Best Defensive Catcher in the Florida State League in 2010 and in the Eastern League in 2011, for what that’s worth. In 2012 ESPN’s Keith Law even went so far as to call him a “plus defensive catcher.”
Then again, maybe his defensive woes should have been expected. In contrast to the glowing scouting snippets above, you will also find reports that his defense was a “work in progress” and that he was “making strides.” His minor league numbers reveal that these problems actually shouldn’t really be a surprise after all. He averaged a CS% of just 24% over parts of eight minor league seasons, topping out at 30% in a short 2010 season. His averaged passed balls over that same span was just over seven per season.
So do the positive scouting reports or the stats reflect the true player? Well, it’s probably a bit of both.
The young backstop has been getting praise for his ability to frame pitches. In fact, you’ll find no shortage of pieces heaping praise on him for his pitch framing over the last year or so. That excellent pitch framing, a skill that has been revealed to provide great value, may actually have been detrimental to d’Arnaud throughout portions of the season. As Jared Diamond noted in the Wall Street Journal (Note: pay wall), d’Arnaud fell victim to his own over-reliance on that skill by “overframing.”
Essentially, successfully framing a pitch requires excellent timing. If the catcher pulls his glove back into the strike zone too quickly it can lead to a passed ball. As noted in Diamond’s piece, Mets bench coach Bob Geren was working with d’Arnaud throughout the season on this issue. Geren believed that at least a third of d’Arnaud’s passed balls could be attributed to mistakes in framing. Theoretically, d’Arnaud will only improve his pitch framing mechanics with time. The key to limiting the damage from mistakes, though, is for him to learn how best to approach his framing during in-game situations. For instance, with a runner on third the safe bet may be to take a called ball rather than risk a passed ball by being too aggressive with framing.
The good news is that d’Arnaud improved as the season progressed. From August 1st until the end of the season he had just two passed balls over 40 games. Better judgment and less aggression may be all that’s required to keep his passed balls at a more reasonable number, even if he always remains near the top of the league.
Unfortunately, his CS% did not improve during that time. If he can manage a rate in the mid-twenties at the major league level as he did in the minors, it would put him toward the middle of the pack. That would be just fine.
Is d’Arnaud’s defense a problem? It’s too early to say definitively, but there’s a strong chance that d’Arnaud will be a much sturdier presence behind the plate in 2015 based on his profile and his work ethic. His minor league history indicates that this is a part of his game, though. His passed ball rate is something that will probably fluctuate a bit. Rays catcher Jose Molina, one of the game’s elite pitch framers, has had seasons with as many as eight passed balls in fewer than 100 games. It seems to come with the pitch-framing territory.
Still, even if he remains middling in terms of traditional catcher defense his offensive potential and framing would provide plenty of surplus value. The pitching staff loves to throw to him too, and he’s a sponge when it comes to taking advice and refining his game. Next season will go a long way in determining just what kind of player he ultimately becomes, but it’s not time to worry about his defense.
Unless d’Arnaud can show that he can actually make accurate throws to 2B and 3rd base, the Mets better make sure that they keep Pawlecki for now.
Good points.
March 31-June 6
322 innings, 3 PB
June 24-July 30
237.1 innings, 7 PB
August 1- Sep 23
349.2 innings, 2 PB
In 2013 he also had just 3 PB in 258 innings as well.
From that, it looks like the high number of PB’s may be a fluke. He was fine at the beginning and the end of the season, but had a lot of trouble right after his return to his big leagues, which accounted for more than half of his PBs, which was highlighted by a really bad stretch of 4 PBs in 4 games right near the All start break.
I’m more worried about concussions than any defensive issue he may have right now. I believe those will get worked out with more reps.
I look forward to watching TDA behind the plate for the Mets for many, many years.
I was concerned about the past balls but your article relieves some of the anxiety and Names follow up post gives hope that it is not an issue at all. I recall he had some health issues with his arm at the end of the sesaon so maybe a winter of rest helped. He does need to improve his defensive numbers in 2015 but I am now convinced that the worry about his defense may be premature. Thanks guys.
Bone chips. Taken care of.
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/97230564/mets-catcher-travis-darnaud-undergoes-successful-elbow-surgery
He’s young he has great potential, just like Flores. Both had two good months last year and 4 bad ones. Which is the real indicator? Hopefully both stay healthy this year and give us a clear picture over a full season to see what we can expect for 2016 from them. Right now both he and Flores to me are one and the same. They proved they could play well a couple of months at the end of a year when the team was going nowhere and many other teams were pitching and playing AAA roster expanded players to see a glimpse of what they had in their rooks.
Do it, do it over a whole season, do it in a pennant race, do it in the playoffs until you see how a player reacts to all these conditions and maintain a good level of play throughout you really only have opinions and projection. When you are really on those two things it means the player in question hasn’t done anything yet.
I’m not believing anything…yet. I disagree with the premise: his defense is already a considerable liability. I think it’s essential to look at the story behind his defense and not just look at the totals of miscues.
1. I realize d’Arnaud had bone spurs removed and I am hoping this will be the cure for his throwing, which was terrible. Not only is he not throwing out runners, his throws are many feet off the mark. Let’s look at what Miami has done this winter: they’ve added speed, and plenty of it. If d’Arnaud is to earn his keep and help move the Mets ahead of the Marlins (a feat that looks increasingly unlikely), he will need to make the speed game more difficult than “run at will.”
2. Why all the passed balls? I’m not of the belief that it’s some magical micro-timing story where he’s trying to drag in balls slightly off the plate and they go astray — far from it. To my eyes d’Arnaud looks lazy in his blocking, and many of the balls that shoot by happen because he does not block with his body to keep ball in front of him. Instead he leans to the direction and then attempts to back hand pitches, particularly those low and outside, but low in general. Every one of our staff needs to be able to bounce a 59 foot slider knowing that it won’t go to the bricks. Unfortunately, d’Arnaud looks statuesque behind the plate, like a wax figure in a crouch that looks almost life like, yet fails to really move to cover the plate. He also seems prone to miss pitches quite high above the belt, again, nothing that can be considered a framing matter.
When I see d’Arnaud making real strides to work these problems over I will feel much better. In the mean time, I believe his defense is a genuine problem already in need of serious attention.
One reason I’m glad Recker is till on the team is that TDA can probably learn some good blocking techniques. Recker throws himself around behind the dish, and TDA could probably use some tips in that area. I do believe his pitch framing is part of the passed ball probably though. We expect a lot from him, but it was just his first full year in the bigs, and if he improves slightly over the next two years regarding defense, and his offense does what we think it will, he will be an All-Star in short order.
I do agree with BJ that concussions are a concern, but that is almost a given with any catcher.