The subtle art of catching begins before the pitcher ever releases the ball. It\u2019s a shimmy from Adley Rutschman, a turn of the hips to prepare for the impending pitch. It\u2019s the knee down \u2014 the right knee this year after years with his left knee in the dirt \u2014 and an upright posture, creating a large target for the pitcher.<\/p>\n
For Rutschman, a defensive whiz even when he was drafted first overall in 2019, the process of perfecting his receiving and blocking has spanned years. The search will never end.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust trial and error,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Rutschman\u2019s latest look might be his best yet, though. With the help of manager Craig Albernaz and catching coach Joe Singley, Rutschman spent the spring trying different setups \u2014 specifically which knee to have in the dirt.<\/p>\n
\u201cOff the right knee I\u2019ve been able to present the ball better,\u201d Rutschman said. And the early metrics on his catching show he is finding success to rival his rookie season, when he he was one of the best pitch framers and blockers in baseball. <\/p>\n
Two oblique injuries likely played a role, but Rutschman\u2019s defensive metrics regressed last year. He was closer to league average in blocking and framing than ever before. But, after a spring of analyzing how Rutschman should set up behind the plate, Albernaz, Singley and the catcher settled on his right knee being in the dirt for the first time ever.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s seeing immediate progress. Rutschman once more looks like a premier backstop.<\/p>\n
\u201cSetup is massive,\u201d Singley said. \u201cIt\u2019s what gives you a chance. And he\u2019s worked on it a lot in spring training and here, and ultimately the goal there is just to keep balls in the box and be in a position to react, with the main goal in mind of preventing runs all across the board and keeping the pitcher in the strike zone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rutschman\u2019s evolution behind the plate has been interesting to watch. When he arrived in Baltimore in 2022, he used a traditional catching setup. He crouched, knees bent, cleats the only things touching the dirt.<\/p>\n
His mobility in that stance was strong, and that\u2019s one of the possible benefits of maintaining a traditional setup. Rutschman recorded 18 blocks above average, according to Statcast, which was in the top 1% of catchers.<\/p>\n
But, in 2023 and beyond, Rutschman shifted to various iterations of a left-knee-down setup. In some, his right leg kicked out to the side. Occasionally, he compacted himself with his non-dirt knee close to his frame. It all worked at varying degrees \u2014 he has never been a below-average pitch framer or blocker \u2014 but he wasn\u2019t as exceptional as his first year.<\/p>\n
So why\u2019d Rutschman ever change?<\/p>\n
![\"Orioles](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/OSBHAF26W5HETND3RKRWVRRT7U.jpg\")
Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman has altered his stance behind the plate over the years, from a traditional crouch in 2022 to left-knee-down variations in 2023, 2024 and 2025. New in 2026, Rutschman has his right knee in the dirt. (The Banner; Original images by MLB)<\/p>\n
Catcher is the most physically taxing position in baseball. One of the benefits of a knee-down setup is it takes pressure off both knees compared to crouching for 100 or more pitches a day. To ensure Rutschman\u2019s long-term health, a knee down may sacrifice one or two blocks, but if it keeps him on the field, it would be worth it.<\/p>\n
Rutschman\u2019s injuries last year likely hurt his mobility and his swing. He finished 2025 with a career-low 2 blocks above average, although his framing metrics were favorable. This year, Albernaz has been intentional in building days off into Rutschman\u2019s schedule. <\/p>\n
He referenced overlapping with catcher Buster Posey with the San Francisco Giants in 2021. In hindsight, Albernaz said, Posey wished he had taken more days off.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019d play five in a row and then he played first, and then five in a row, and then his body just crashed on him,\u201d Albernaz said. \u201cThat\u2019s something, just being very cognizant of with Adley. He\u2019s feeling great, in a great spot. We\u2019re going to find spots to push him, but early in the year, to me, it\u2019s not the right time with the position he plays.\u201d<\/p>\n
The knee-down setup may help with that, but there are other benefits to it. Albernaz, a catcher by trade, said, \u201cpitch framing, it starts with the setup.\u201d<\/p>\n
And so far, with Rutschman\u2019s new setup, the metrics are great. He\u2019s in the 98th percentile for framing and the 69th percentile in blocking. Some of his blocks recently have come in massive moments, such as a pick and throw to first Wednesday to end an inning on a dropped third strike.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to make sure that your body is in the right spot, in the right place to leverage the pitch, and I think that\u2019s what gets lost in the knee-down setup,\u201d Albernaz said. \u201cPeople think you just go knee down, you\u2019re automatically going to get the low pitch. But to me you have to be anchored to the ground, have a good, strong base, even though you have a knee down, and that allows your top half, your posture, to be in the right spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Albernaz took this writer\u2019s notebook and drew home plate. He pointed to the angled portion, then drew another line matching it on each side of the plate.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to make sure you\u2019re keeping strikes as strikes,\u201d Albernaz said, and the catcher\u2019s setup is critical in that. For a pitch away from a right-handed batter, for example, the catcher will want to turn his hips and shoulders slightly to match the angle of the outside of the plate. In doing so, the catcher can catch the ball between his shoulder blades, which makes it easier for an umpire to recognize the pitch as a strike.<\/p>\n
![\"Orioles](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/RNIRBQSECVBRBFYUIHX3TSBV24.jpeg\")
Orioles manager Craig Albernaz drew an example (and Andy Kostka later added the words) to show how a catcher should angle his shoulders to line up with the angle of the plate. In doing so, he has a better pitch-framing technique. (Andy Kostka\/The Banner)<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat your glove does and your body does before the pitch is the art of pitch framing. It\u2019s not after the pitch,\u201d Albernaz said. \u201cThe post-catch move, if it\u2019s big and rigid and slow, that\u2019s where you don\u2019t get the calls or keep strikes strikes. You want to make sure the way your glove is working with the ball flight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rutschman agreed in that pitch framing has more to do with accurately presenting a strike as a strike than it does in stealing a strike on a pitch outside the zone. The introduction of the automatic ball-strike challenge system may result in that outside strike call being overturned anyway. But, if Rutschman does his job correctly, the umpire should recognize a strike as a strike.<\/p>\n
A misnomer of the knee-down catching setup is that it\u2019s worse for blocking. Rutschman said it\u2019s really a case-by-case basis.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s body is different and constructed in a different way, and that\u2019s why you play around with it and find stuff that works,\u201d Rutschman said.<\/p>\n
What works about having one knee on the ground at the major league level may not work for a high schooler, though. Singley and Rutschman are often asked by up-and-coming catchers whether they should use a knee-down or crouch stance, and the answer isn\u2019t so simple.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see a lot of guys knee down here, because they can move off a knee,\u201d Singley said. But not every catcher is that agile. \u201cFor kids, especially when I\u2019m asked or teach, I say, \u2018What position can you get into that you can react the best out of?\u2019 If something is hindering you, then don\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Rutschman: \u201cI have the fortunate aspect of catching big league pitchers, and I kind of know their misses a little bit more and I\u2019m getting less spray. The balls in the dirt are usually a little bit easier to handle. Whereas, even in college and high school, you get guys throwing all over the place and there are passed balls left and right. If I\u2019m on a knee [in high school], well, my framing is better but I\u2019m also giving up six wild pitches a game.\u201d<\/p>\n
In one sense, Albernaz said, with the body being lower in a knee-down stance, catchers have a fraction of a second longer to decide whether they can catch the ball or must drop to both knees to block it. That can help blocking and framing.<\/p>\n
The timing is also important. If crouching, a late break to block a ball might result in a worse block.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re still moving when the ball hits you, it doesn\u2019t deaden the ball,\u201d Albernaz said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to carom more.\u201d<\/p>\n
A catcher has only a second in which to decide all of those things. The prepitch setup, then, makes or breaks his success. Rutschman has tinkered with the way he sets up over the years, and he probably will continue to tinker the rest of his career.<\/p>\n
But this current iteration of his setup, with his right knee in the dirt, leads him to looking once more like the Rutschman long known for his defensive prowess.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The subtle art of catching begins before the pitcher ever releases the ball. It\u2019s a shimmy from Adley…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672546,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2374],"tags":[143,47,2538,5,4,125],"class_list":{"0":"post-672545","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-orioles","8":"tag-baltimore","9":"tag-baltimore-orioles","10":"tag-baltimoreorioles","11":"tag-baseball","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-orioles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116381098353463388","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}