In Defense of Phillies' Catcher J.T. Realmuto

J.T. Realmuto has blossomed in a Philadelphia Phillies uniform, or at least, enough to be lovingly dubbed the 'best catcher in baseball' (BCIB) by Phillies fans across the Twittersphere.

In three years with the club (326 games), Realmuto has amassed a substantial 11.8 fWAR, good for 12th among position players during that three-season span, ahead of players like Freddie Freeman, Aaron Judge, and Nolan Arenado.

Though, with all of the new names the Phillies brought in this offseason, it almost feels like Realmuto has fallen by the wayside in favor of sluggers like Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber, and that just isn't fair.

Destiny Lugardo of Phillies Nation said it best:

J.T. Realmuto was a 4-win player last year. I don’t get the whole “He’s in decline” narrative.
— Destiny Lugardo (@destiny_lugardo) April 4, 2022

This spring, J.T. is off to a quietly strong start, hitting .344 with a home run.

This hot start comes after he seemingly (seemingly being the operative word here) took a step back in 2021... but did he really?

Metrically, Realmuto was fine. He slashed a solid .263/.343/.439, graded out quite well behind the plate, and was an outstanding baserunner, so what exactly was there to be disappointed about?

Well, the complaint uttered by most across the fanbase was that it seemed like every time Realmuto stepped to the plate in a so-called "clutch" situation, he would come up short.

That doesn't exactly track in the numbers, however.

According to Baseball Reference, in high-leverage scenarios in 2021, Realmuto hit .312/.369/.495, and with runners in scoring position, he hit .293/.413/.466. Those are not poor totals whatsoever.

The statistics look good, the clutch stats are solid, so why does it feel like Realmuto is so much of a different player now than he was in 2019 when the Phillies acquired him from the Marlins?

The shocking truth is, he's pretty much the same exact player. In fact, Realmuto's 2019 and 2021 seasons look nearly identical offensively:

2019: 145 G, .275/.328/.493, 25 HR, 83 RBI, 107 wRC+, 9 SB, 5.4 BsR, 41 BB, 123 K

2021: 134 G, .263/.343/.439, 17 HR, 73 RBI, 108 wRC+, 13 SB, 5.5 BsR, 48 BB, 129 K

The home run total (therefore slugging percentage) is the only big difference.

So, why did fans go gaga over 2019 Realmuto, while 2021 Realmuto comes with the narrative that he is a "declining catcher"?

I call it the "uninspiringly dependable" complex. Realmuto is just doing the "flashy" things less frequently.

Example One: The one area of Realmuto's game that has drastically changed over the last three years has been his ground ball rate.

In 2019, Realmuto hit the ball on the ground at a 39% clip. Relatively average!

In 2021, that number shot up to a 46.4% clip. Substantially above-average.

Thanks to his impressive speed, especially for a catcher, Realmuto was able to beat out a great deal of that increased ground ball contact for base knocks, but that increased GB rate still caused his power numbers to dip.

If Realmuto can manage to meet in the middle between those two GB% numbers in 2022, you'll probably see that slugging percentage tick back up above .460, and those home run numbers increase–and the people love their home runs.

Example Two: A lot of folks will point out that Realmuto is declining defensively–meanwhile his framing ability has always only been slightly above-average, and his pop time, as everyone knows, remains elite.

This then begs the question from some fans, "why has he stopped catching runners stealing?"

In 2019, 92 runners attempted to run on Realmuto. He caught 47% of them.

In 2021, just 38 runners attempted to run on Realmuto. He caught 26% of them.

It's not that Realmuto has stopped catching runners, it's that the runners have stopped running. They simply learned their lesson.

Sure, it was fun and flashy when players would foolishly attempt to swipe a bag on Realmuto, only to be gunned down at second base–but now they hardly even attempt it!

Realmuto is going to be exciting to watch in 2022, especially now that he has so many more substantial bats surrounding him. He no longer has to worry about being the Phillies' second or third best hitter.

He should thrive, regardless of where he's placed in the lineup.

When he gets going, J.T. Realmuto makes the Phillies already deep lineup that much deeper, and he becomes a threat at the plate, behind the plate, and on the base paths.

J.T. Realmuto is a very good baseball player, and deserves to be treated as such.

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