The Colorado Rockies may be on track to make history (albeit not the good kind), but there are some early bright spots, one being catcher Hunter Goodman.
He is currently tied with Jordan Beck for the Rockies most valuable player in terms of fWAR (0.9). As of Monday morning, in 179 plate appearances, Goodman has slashed .299/.352/.506 including seven home runs. (Beck leads the Rockies with eight.) That includes 49 hits (30 singles, 11 doubles, and one triple). He’s also scored 29 RBI and taken 11 walks.
For comparison, in 2024, Goodman had 224 plate appearances with 13 home runs and 36 RBI.
It’s also worth noting that Goodman’s BB% has increased (3.6% to 6.1%) while his K% has decreased (28.6% to 22.9%).
On one hand, Goodman is simply a more-experienced player who improved from last year; on the other, he is part of a MLB-wide trend that sees catchers becoming more significant offensive contributors.
Catchers are getting it done on both sides of the plate
Yesterday in FanGraphs, Leo Morgenstern wrote “Catchers are finally joining in on the fun at the plate” in which he discusses the trend of offensively effective catchers.
“Catcher is the most demanding defensive position,” Morgenstern writes, “and as a result, offensive standards for backstops are lower. The average wRC+ at catcher is typically about 10% worse than the big league average.”
That, however, is no longer the case. Morgenstern points out,
With a .246/.318/.396 slash line, catchers are slightly outperforming the league average in all three triple slash categories. If they can keep this up, the 2025 season will be the first since at least 2002 (as far back as our positional splits go) in which catchers outperformed the league average in any one of the triple slash statistics, let alone all three.
Currently — granted, it’s still small-sample-size stuff — MLB catchers have an average wRC+ of 101, so slightly above average. It is, Morgenstern points out, only the second time in the last 24 seasons that catchers have had an above-average wRC+.
Who are the 10 catchers who’ve made the biggest impact? Leading the group is Cal Raleigh followed by Carson Kelly and Will Smith.
No surprises there. But coming in seventh is Colorado’s Hunter Goodman, a player Morganstern categorizes with “promising bat-first catchers off to a great start.”
(Seriously, read the article — I’ve just provided a summary of some fascinating research.)
It’s a rare moment, then, in that the Rockies are keeping up with a national trend as opposed to chasing it.
Goodman feels “more comfortable” in the box this year
When asked about being included in Morganstern’s list, a modest Goodman replied, “It’s good to get recognized any time. But (I’ve) just got to keep that up.”
He attributes his success to this year to familiarity and consistently catching rather than being moved around the field as he was last season when he saw reps in the outfield as well as at first base.
“I think catching helps me at the plate, for sure,” Goodman said. “I mean, I think [the] splits to back it up. I think just the consistent bats and me being able to relax a little more this year and feel more comfortable in the box has been big.”
Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The data does support Goodman’s thesis. When catching, he has a .920 OPS; when serving as a DH, that number drops to .778.
For Goodman, the change in position seems to affect his mindset.
“I think a lot of it’s just the mentality,” he said. “Like when I’m catching that day, the stuff behind the plate is more important than the stuff in the box. So just being able to kind of forget about my at bats, whether I do good or bad, and go back to catching and then reset for the next at bat, I think it’s a little easier to do that when I’m behind the plate.”
Providing Goodman with lineup certainty has allowed him to progress as a hitter.
On almost hitting a cycle and looking forward
Part of Goodman’s plate improvement shone on May 11 when the Rockies gave their moms a nice present by defeating the San Diego Padres on Mother’s Day. That’s when he was just a single shy of hitting for the cycle.
Goodman grinned, “It was crazy,” adding, “That last at-bat, I wanted a single. Didn’t quite get one, but it was fun. It was a good day.”
And, despite the record, he sees the Rockies improving.
“Look at some of the games we’ve played the last week,” Goodman said. “I mean, they’ve been a lot better baseball games. I know the results haven’t been what we want, and we lost five out of the six. But we’re in every ball game. We’re not losing by the by the big run totals and all that the last week or so.”
It’s early to be speculating about the Rockies 2025 All-star, but Hunter Goodman is making his case.
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How can Colorado escape being worst team in MLB history? | Denver Post ($)
Patrick Saunders lays out what the Rockies will need to do to avoid making history.
Every MLB Team’s Mt. Rushmore Since 2000 | Bleacher Report
Okay, let’s do this: Who should be on the Rockies post-2000 Mount Rushmore? Joel Reuter argues for Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki, Charlie Blackmon, and Nolan Arenado. (And, FYI, Chris Bryant makes the Chicago Cubs Mt. Rushmore.)
John Oliver picks the MiLB team that he’ll rebrand | MLB.com
Two weeks ago, I mentioned John Oliver’s offer to rebrand an MiLB team. Folks, we have a winner! (Seriously, if you have access to HBO Max, watching the end of Sunday night’s episode is worth your time.)
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