Christian Vazquez and Pitch Framing

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

The Minnesota Twins signed former Houston Astros catcher Christian Vazquez to a three-year, $30 million deal Monday evening to serve as one of the team's primary backstops. Here's a breakdown of some of his pitch framing metrics. 

Image courtesy of Troy Taormina, USA Today

Christian Vazquez has developed a reputation for being strong behind the plate, though the majority is due to his lightning quick ball exchange speed—0.67 seconds, tied for the second fastest in MLB in 2022—and solid pop time to second base—1.94 seconds, ranking in the 71st percentile.

What he isn’t as well-known for, though, is his pitch framing. 

The ability to steal strikes is a valuable asset for modern baseball teams. Stolen strikes add up over the course of a season and can contribute to opposing team’s scoring fewer runs. The median catcher framing runs saved last season was 0, an intuitive figure. (New York Yankees catcher Jose Trevino was the best pitch framer in baseball saving his team 17 runs. In contrast, Baltimore Orioles catcher Robinson Chirinos placed 60th out of 60 as he cost his team 14 runs.)

For the bulk of his career, Vazquez has graded out as a solidly above average pitch framer, with one season of elite performance. The last couple, however, he’s only been average. But there’s a reason. Below is an image depicting Vazquez’s framing performance since 2016. (Red squares are good, blue are bad.)

What stands out is that over the past four seasons, Vazquez has displayed good ability to steal strikes at the top of the zone; this is shown by the presence of red boxes in the columns corresponding to Zones 11, 12, and 13. This is good news for the likes of Joe Ryan, Tyler Mahle, and Bailey Ober, all of whom love to pound the upper zone with their fastballs.  

However, Vazquez isn’t as strong at stealing strikes on the corners; Zones 14 and 16, and to a less extent Zones 17 and 19. Although he started out strong early in his career, his ability to convert balls to strikes on the outer edges has fallen multiple seasons in a row and reached their nadir last summer. Bad news for Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda, who tend to work more on the outer half of the plate.

Interestingly, though perhaps unsurprisingly, Ryan Jeffers has traditionally been slightly better at snagging the corners, but is by no means elite. (See the chart below.) Therefore, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Vazquez catch Ryan, Mahle, and Ober while Jeffers gets Gray and Maeda. In this respect, Vazquez is a great platoon match with Jeffers despite both hitting from the right side of the plate.

What will be interesting to following during the 2023 season is how much of Vazquez's drop in production on the corners is something that can be adjusted. Is the difference between Jeffers and Vazquez simply rooted in organizational philosophy or is it something that is inherent in their skill sets?

Regardless, even if Vasquez remains simply slightly above average in the pitch framing department, his other defensive attributes and ability to put the ball in play regularly at the plate should provide a boon for the Twins. At $10 million annually, bringing on Vazquez was a prudent move by the front office. 

 

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[Trov]

Does the people the measure pitch framing, also compare the catcher and pitcher to same pitcher but different catchers?  Meaning, did the comparison look at Vazquez and the pitchers he caught, and compare how other catchers did with same pitchers?  I have to think sometimes it is the pitcher that helps cost the pitch framing at times too, I could be wrong, but that to think it plays some roll. 

[davidborton]

Framing: The graphics are impressive but graphics just like statistics can be wrong. On what basis is the strike zone established for the data?

BaseballSavant, ESPN, etc do NOT adjust the strike zone between batters. Umps do so appropriately.

[tony&rodney]

I'm interested in data that is related to balls blocked (in dirt, bounce off of or in front of the plate).

[Karbo]

The pitcher has to have the control to gat pitches called. A guy who is all over the place isn't going to get the calls no matter how good the catcher can frame, 

Jeffers has problems throwing out base stealers which is a moderate strength for Vazquez. This could be a huge advantage with the new rules.

I firmly believe in the next few years balls and strikes will be called electronically. At least I hope so!

 

[DJL44]

I noticed during the playoffs that Vazquez has a quiet glove when receiving, especially compared to Maldanado who was pulling his glove the center on every pitch. Vazquez does just about everything behind the plate better than Gary Sanchez so it's a clear upgrade there.

[farmerguychris]

Sounds like we don't have to worry about catcher this year until someone gets put on the IL, as catchers tend to do.  Hope we have another backstop on the current roster worthy of a 40 man spot.

One thing checked off the list - well done.

Next...

[Doctor Gast]

52 minutes ago, Karbo said:

The pitcher has to have the control to gat pitches called. A guy who is all over the place isn't going to get the calls no matter how good the catcher can frame, 

Jeffers has problems throwing out base stealers which is a moderate strength for Vazquez. This could be a huge advantage with the new rules.

I firmly believe in the next few years balls and strikes will be called electronically. At least I hope so!

 

IMO with Vazquez superior game calling & controlling the baserunners, they'll all want to pitch to  him instead of Jeffers.

[spanman2]

Job well done addressing the catcher position.  More work to do for certain!

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, Doctor Gast said:

IMO with Vazquez superior game calling & controlling the baserunners, they'll all want to pitch to  him instead of Jeffers.

If his game calling is that good they can have him relay signs to Jeffers from the dugout

[Doctor Gast]

43 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

If his game calling is that good they can have him relay signs to Jeffers from the dugout

tough to do with a pitch clock

[HerbieFan]

So what I'm hearing is that Jeffers catches Gray and Maeda (assuming Maeda is in the rotation)?

[rwilfong86]

I'm more interested in his ability to throw out runners with the rules adjustments to increase base-stealing.

[Rosterman]

If he can hold the running game and do his best framing techniques, plus not be a total weakness (all or nothing Sanchez) at the plate, the contract is well worth the price.

Assuming we can get 120-135 games from him behind the plate in 2023. Hell' I would consider adding Sandy Leon as the back-up for most of the season and have Jeffers take his reps as the starting catcher in St. Paul. Especially if you can keep him behind the plate and working for sure with any pitchers (Woods Richardson, Balazovic, Varland, Sisk) that could be part of the Twins in the future.

One year of solid work as a starter and I would be more than happy with more limited service time for the remaining years of his contract.

 

 

[Ricksauce]

I also wonder to what extent Vásquez's numbers on the bottom corners are likely to regress. From what I know, umps are especially random on the lower corner on the opposite side from where they set up to watch the pitch (which I believe changes based on righty/lefty batter). More randomness in those zones would mean more potential for the good kind of regression for Vásquez, no?