Lou Marson Ranked Third-Best Defensive Catcher in Baseball

Lou Marson was the third-best defensive catcher in baseball and the second-best in the American League, according to a study by Beyond the Box Score’s Matt Klaasen.

Klaasen calculated how many runs each MLB catcher saved or allowed above average through stolen bases and caught stealings, wild pitches and passed balls, and errors (the rankings do not include “pitch framing” or “game calling”). For more on the methodology, check out Klaasen’s original post.

Klaasen has Marson at 7.2 runs above the average catcher for 2011, behind only Matt Wieters (15.2) and Miguel Montero (7.8) and just ahead of former Indian Kelly Shoppach (6.8). Despite appearing in only 79 games, Marson’s glove and arm were worth nearly a full win to the Tribe.

Carlos Santana came in as a perfectly average defensive catcher, with 0.0 runs above average. He was ranked 59th out of 114.

In addition to Shoppach, former Indians Josh Bard (2.0 runs above average) and Chris Jimenez (1.9) also got good marks. Wyatt Toregas (0.1) was ranked roughly average defensively, while Victor Martinez (-1.2) was ranked as subpar.

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