Yankees Backup Catcher Has Untapped Potential Left to Find

Aaron Boone made a bold declaration about J.C. Escarra. The manager of the New York Yankees proclaimed that he's a top-half-catcher-in-the-league.

By traditional statistical standards, Boone's feel hollow. Escarra’s season didn't seem much different than what you'd expect from any backup catcher around the league. He had a solid glove, but in 98 plate appearances, he hit .202/.296/.333 and posted a 79 wRC+.

The thing that gives Boone's words more credence is what Escarra has displayed under the hood. In a small sample size, production can go either way. A player's stats can either be inflated by a flukey hot streak or be hit by a ton of bad luck, which could be the case for Escarra.

Escarra's Peripherals

In those 98 plate appearances, Escarra had a 90.8 average exit velocity. He had an average bat speed of 72.8 MPH to go with that. His rate of contact was solid as well. Escarra had a 29.9% squared-up rate last season.

May 7, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees pinch hitter J.C. Escarra (25) is doused by right fielder Aaron Judge (99) and shortstop Anthony Volpe (11) after hitting a tenth inning walkoff sacrifice fly against the San Diego Padres at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Another underrated part of his game was his good eye at the plate, which doesn't seem likely given his .296 OBP. Escarra had a 20.8% chase rate, 19.4% whiff rate, a 14.3% strikeout rate, and an 11.2% walk rate.

Having good peripherals doesn't mean a player will be great if they get more repetitions, though. That may have been the case with Ben Rice after his 2024 season, but baseball is more complicated than that. Still, what's under the hood is at least an interesting starting point for the Escarra discourse.

Plus, it's not just Boone or an intriguing Baseball Savant page that should make one feel like there's something more to Escarra. Last trade deadline, Joel Sherman reported the Yankees were getting calls for him. The league thinks that he's on to something as well. Sherman reported that teams loved the backup catcher.

A New Toy

Escarra's ability to hit the ball hard was on display in the Yankees' most recent exhibition with the Rays. In the second inning, the southpaw backstop barreled a ball that came off his bat at 108.4 MPH. That one found the seats.

J.C. Escarra CRUSHES a homer 438 feet off Ryan Pepiot! pic.twitter.com/bZ03yCaNaP
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) March 17, 2026

Later in the game, he barreled another ball. His 100.8 fly ball found a glove, though. In the 8th, Escarra hit a 97.3 MPH fastball for a single, with an exit velocity of 90.8 MPH.

One of the things that Escarra credits for his hard contact is a new bat. It's modeled after the captain's, with some slight alterations.

"I bought into the Torpedo bats, so maybe it's that," Escarra said, according to MLB.com's CJ Haddad. "Maybe it's not, but I like to think so. This year, I said I'm going to live and die by this bat. I found one that feels comfortable, and they made it into how my swing works. I'm seeing it through. It gives me the biggest barrel that I can use, so maybe that pitch I used to miss, I'm foul-tipping it and giving me another chance to hit. It's all about the small advantages that it gives me."

Whether it's him or the bat may not be so relevant. Boone would likely be happy to get solid production from his backup anyway that he can.

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