Defense is the most important thing in a catcher. A catcher that can also hit relatively well is a bonus.
People sometimes forget that catchers typically donāt get as many ABās as other positions, especially backup catchers. Itās not uncommon for starting position players at other positions to get 600+ ABās in a season if they play all 162 games, espeocally those at the top of the order. Tatis, for example, played 155 games last year and had 691 PAās, a career high. Fermin, by comparison, got 347 PAās between the Royals and Padres, and still put up a respectable .244 batting average.
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I feel 100 times better with Fermin catching on Opening Day than I felt with Diaz/Maldonado.
I mean there’s a bunch of ways to look at this.
Fermin knows he’s going into 2026 as the starter, something he hasn’t done before in his time with the Royals. I think the consistency alone will be good for his overall numbers, especially offensively.
His defense is above average and that’s really what’s most important here. Anything he gives us offensively is really a bonus, as long as he isn’t an absolute black hole in the lineup.
Realistically, Fermin is a bridge to Salas. He gives us a decent catcher with a few seasons of team control which should give Salas all the time he needs to be ready for MLB action.
Lastly, even if he’s a notch below average overall this year, it’ll still likely be way better then what the Diaz/Maldonado combination provided us last year.
I know he has control but giving up Kolek and Bergert for him makes my brain hurt
He showed me a lot in the playoffs tbh. Caught all games and didnāt shy away from the moment at the plate getting 4 hits in 11 ABs.
I think thereās room for improvement with the bat with the consistent playing time heās going to get. Heās a 2-3 war player based on his defense alone. Thatās pretty damn valuable if his bat shows some improvement.
Heās going to catch a lot of games for us this season.
His only āweaknessā is having average framing. This will have a lesser impact from this season onward, since ABS will be in place, and an impactful, overly framed strike would be contested anyways.
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Take: Catchers catching is good š
Defense is the most important thing in a catcher. A catcher that can also hit relatively well is a bonus.
People sometimes forget that catchers typically donāt get as many ABās as other positions, especially backup catchers. Itās not uncommon for starting position players at other positions to get 600+ ABās in a season if they play all 162 games, espeocally those at the top of the order. Tatis, for example, played 155 games last year and had 691 PAās, a career high. Fermin, by comparison, got 347 PAās between the Royals and Padres, and still put up a respectable .244 batting average.
[deleted]
I feel 100 times better with Fermin catching on Opening Day than I felt with Diaz/Maldonado.
I mean there’s a bunch of ways to look at this.
Fermin knows he’s going into 2026 as the starter, something he hasn’t done before in his time with the Royals. I think the consistency alone will be good for his overall numbers, especially offensively.
His defense is above average and that’s really what’s most important here. Anything he gives us offensively is really a bonus, as long as he isn’t an absolute black hole in the lineup.
Realistically, Fermin is a bridge to Salas. He gives us a decent catcher with a few seasons of team control which should give Salas all the time he needs to be ready for MLB action.
Lastly, even if he’s a notch below average overall this year, it’ll still likely be way better then what the Diaz/Maldonado combination provided us last year.
I know he has control but giving up Kolek and Bergert for him makes my brain hurt
1.90 pop time š©š©š©
He showed me a lot in the playoffs tbh. Caught all games and didnāt shy away from the moment at the plate getting 4 hits in 11 ABs.
I think thereās room for improvement with the bat with the consistent playing time heās going to get. Heās a 2-3 war player based on his defense alone. Thatās pretty damn valuable if his bat shows some improvement.
Heās going to catch a lot of games for us this season.
https://preview.redd.it/jrdn65ap01dg1.jpeg?width=576&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=357d7e1e8b2992fd19d9b9c41a4aee1f613785f4
Theyāll never make me stop loving you Freddy
His only āweaknessā is having average framing. This will have a lesser impact from this season onward, since ABS will be in place, and an impactful, overly framed strike would be contested anyways.