Like this. Yadi threw out 27 of 50 runners last year. MLB caught stealing avg. was 25.5%, or 27 of 106, so to speak. Therefore Yadi was 56 runners, or 56 bases above average with his arm. Add those 56 bases to his total bases, and what you have is an average DE-fensive catcher with a O-ffensive line of .275/.340/.526(!)

Of course, this includes no adjustment for errors or passed balls (or Yadi’s aforementioned glacial running speed), but as a quick and dirty indicator, I think it shows how valuable the Best Throwing Arm In Baseball truly is.

The above should read.

“Anderson is no sure thing, and Yadi has at least proven to be a superior defender even if he continues to be a fruitless hitter.”

That’s the same point I was going to make. Yadi is a whole different kind of slow. Not yet quantifiable.

Slower players are always going to underperform their PrOPS and have low BABIPs. It’s inherit to the formula. Take into account that he is not only slow, but probably the slowest in the league by a healthy margin, and you can explain much of the descrepancy.

Count me in as one not sold on him as a hitter. He hits the ball on the ground entirely too much, and even if he can change his approach, doesn’t have the power to be an effective fly ball hitter.

Also, his rasie in walk rate could be somewhat attirbuted to the pitcher hitting 8th for much of the season. I don’t have any data to back it up, only because I can’t find it, but I think it stands to reason that having the pitcher hitting behind you will get you pitched around in many situations. My theory will be tested this year, as I fear he’s going to have to hit 6th.

All that being said, Mo did a nice job with the contract and having two good catchers is certainly not a bad thing. Anderson is no sure thing, and Yadi has at least proven to be a superior hitter even if he continues to be a fruitless hitter. If both continue to develop, we’ll have a nice trade chip in the near future.