(Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)
Patrick Bailey, the San Francisco Giants’ catcher, is not one of the most athletic players out there.
That’s fine, though: not all stars are created equal, and certainly not all players need top speed or twitchy athleticism to succeed in MLB.
The Giants’ first-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, he was taken 13th.
You can see he was a highly-regarded prospect, and so far, he is delivering on that promise.
Not only has Bailey supplied power at a premium position and slashed a cool .293/.324/.493 with five home runs in 150 plate appearances, but he has also performed admirably behind the plate.
“MLB Defensive Runs Saved Leaders – Catchers: T1. Patrick Bailey; T1. Alejandro Kirk; 3. Jonah Heim; 3. Nick Fortes; 5. Connor Wong; 5. Gabriel Moreno,” SIS Baseball tweeted.
MLB Defensive Runs Saved Leaders – Catchers
T1. Patrick Bailey
T1. Alejandro Kirk
3. Jonah Heim
3. Nick Fortes
5. Connor Wong
5. Gabriel Moreno#SFGiants #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/XqBaJ52DGZ
— SIS_Baseball (@sis_baseball) July 13, 2023
The most impressive thing of all is that Bailey has played just 40 games this year!
The Giants have, to this point, played 90 games.
Bailey hasn’t even played in half of them, and that has been enough for him to lead all catchers in baseball in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS).
He has nine DRS so far, which is mighty impressive, particularly for a rookie.
MLB teams value defensive stars, especially if they play behind the plate.
When these stars are 24-year-old rookies, you can firmly say they have a gem.
That’s how the Giants feel with Bailey.
Bailey’s bat is nowhere near as good as franchise legend Buster Posey, but his defense and smarts behind the plate have a chance to, one day, replicate his efforts.
The Giants have a good one.
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