DETROIT \u2014 There was a time before the 2025 season when Dillon Dingler wasn\u2019t sure he was going to make the team out of spring training.<\/p>\n
As a rookie in 2024, he had looked overwhelmed at the plate. He was a poised and skilled defender, but he was also still learning how to command and game plan at the major-league level. That spring, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch had to reassure Dingler that he was very much in the club\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a funny story to think back on now. Dingler\u2019s ascension started slowly. He played well last season but was not among the six Tigers who represented the team in the All-Star Game.<\/p>\n
Late last season, though, when so many of his teammates hit brutal slides, Dingler hit .273 in August and September. In the offseason, a year\u2019s worth of hard work was rewarded when Dingler won an American League Gold Glove Award in his first full MLB season.<\/p>\n
Now Dingler is 27, still young in terms of major-league experience. He has quickly but suddenly emerged as a force on a whole other level. He went 4-for-5 Sunday at Fenway Park, falling only a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Dingler\u2019s performance to start a new season has brought truth into focus. Over the last year, Dingler has not just been good. He has been among the very best catchers in the sport.<\/p>\n
Here are five numbers that tell the story of his rise.<\/p>\n
5.3: Dingler\u2019s fWAR since the start of 2025<\/p>\n
Dingler entered Monday leading all MLB catchers with 1.2 fWAR this season. But this is no small sample. His 5.3 fWAR since the start of last year ranks second among all catchers, trailing only Cal Raleigh\u2019s otherworldly 8.8. Since the start of 2025, the hierarchy of catchers appears clear. There is Raleigh, who hit a Ruthian 60 home runs last season. And then there is Dingler, a player whose bat just keeps getting better while his defense remains elite. Toronto\u2019s Alejandro Kirk ranks third over this time frame with 4.8 fWAR.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly, the defensive side was his calling card coming up,\u201d Hinch said. \u201cHe had contributed very well through the minor leagues on the offensive side. But to be able to maintain that as the responsibilities grow in the big leagues, he\u2019s now handling a ton of successful pitchers, he\u2019s leaned on to catch the majority of games, it\u2019s a physically demanding, mentally demanding position. \u2026 A lot of times, people look at that position and say, \u2018Anything you get behind the plate offensively is a plus.\u2019 We\u2019re not only getting a plus, we\u2019re getting more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
16.4: Dingler\u2019s barrels per plate appearance in 2026<\/p>\n
What Dingler is doing with the bat this season suggests he has not yet hit his ceiling.<\/p>\n
MLB defines a \u201cbarrel\u201d as a batted-ball event \u201cwhose comparable hit types (in terms of exit velocity and launch angle) have led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage\u201d since the Statcast era started in 2015. Basically, a barrel means a ball hit incredibly well. Dingler last season had 469 plate appearances. He recorded 30 barrels. In 2026, Dingler has 78 plate appearances, and he already has 12 barrels. He entered Monday with a 16.4 percent barrel rate, the best of any MLB hitter this season. That\u2019s right \u2014 better than Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, you name it. Dingler has started this season stinging the ball at a rate which has turned his entire Statcast page red and morphed him into a different type of offensive threat.<\/p>\n
Dingler has hit cleanup in the Tigers\u2019 order five times this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of knowing what you\u2019re going to get a little bit,\u201d Dingler said of his improvements. \u201cBeing able to categorize pitchers. Our hitting staff does a great job of putting information in front of us and getting us as much information as possible. It\u2019s just being able to know what the at-bat is going to look like, essentially.\u201d<\/p>\n
85: Dingler\u2019s ABS challenge success rate<\/p>\n
This year, the implementation of the ABS challenge system has added a new wrinkle that\u2019s allowing Dingler to display his savvy. Dingler is 11-for-13 on challenging pitches while catching this season, one of the best success rates in the league. Dingler is also 1-for-1 on challenges as a batter, overturning a strikeout and helping the Tigers extend the fifth inning, and ultimately scoring a run in an April 4 victory against the Cardinals.<\/p>\n
Statcast indicates Dingler has had far more success with the challenge system than expected, given the types of pitches he\u2019s seen, suggesting he knows the ABS zone and when to deploy challenges quite well. If anything, Dingler could almost be using the challenge system more. Although he has overturned three strikeouts and saved the Tigers in several big spots, he\u2019s using challenges at a rate 0.5 percent the norm on challengeable calls.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s great at that,\u201d Tigers pitcher Keider Montero said after a game in which Dingler went 4-for-4 on challenges. \u201cThere were a couple pitches that were just, \u2018Ehh, yes or no,\u2019 but he called it, and he won it. I\u2019m grateful for having him.\u201d<\/p>\n
1: Passed balls since the start of 2025<\/p>\n