The Red Sox could be right in trusting Reese McGuire and Connor Wong as their catchers in 2023 (and beyond).
McGuire has done nothing but hit since he arrived in Boston, and Wong is among MLB’s best defensive catchers this season.
They complement each other well.
It’s too early to tell if their current production level will hold up. If anything, it’s a fascinating early-season surprise, helping the Red Sox defy expectations. But if what the dynamic duo is doing is real, the Sox have one good catcher on their hands for the next few seasons.
Not bad, Chaim Bloom, acquiring what might be one of the league’s best catchers in Connor McGuire for a pitcher recently designated for assignment and a future Hall of Fame outfielder who wasn’t re-signing under any (non-COVID) circumstances.
Red Sox’ Connor Wong Among MLB’s Best Defensive Catchers in 2023
One-third of the Red Sox’ return for Mookie Betts — a trade that seems to be paying off finally for the Sox — Connor Wong has been a revelation to this point defensively.
Wong ranks first among catchers in Defensive Runs Saved, tied for third in caught stealing, and tied for first in Caught Stealing Above Average. His pop time ranks second behind only J.T. Realmuto, and he ranks seventh in arm strength.
Wong isn’t doing everything well, however. He is not ranked highly on Statcast’s blocking or framing leaderboards (yet?).
The Texas native is on a hot streak offensively, too.
Over 23 games as of this writing, Wong is hitting .290/.353/.516/.869 with a .376 wOBA, a 137 wRC+ and 3 HR, and 10 RBI.
Everything jumped overnight after his four-hit, two HR night Tuesday vs. Blue Jays.
The Red Sox’ 26-year-old catcher is batting .417/.447/.750/1.197 with a 229 wRC+ since April 15.
He hit .276/.337/.496/.833 with 71 HR and 230 RBI in the minors in 372 career MiLB games, including 15 HR in 81 games with Worcester last year.
He ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity, 71st percentile in barrel rate, 69th percentile in hard-hit rate and expected slugging percentage, and 81st percentile in sprint speed.
Wong is known for crushing the ball when he does make contact; he needs to learn to make contact consistently. We’ll see if his bat eventually translates to the big leagues.
Bloom haters won’t know what to do with themselves if he ends up among the game’s best catchers with the Red Sox.
Reese McGuire a Good Complement to Wong
Something weird is going on with Reese McGuire. With the Red Sox last year, McGuire threw out base stealers at a similar rate as Christian Vázquez did, like Connor Wong is this season.
That’s disappeared.
McGuire’s pop time in 2023 ranks 44th of 59 qualified catchers. He is last in caught stealing above average and 38th in arm strength.
He has caught one base stealer.
His pop time last year was 37th of 84 qualified catchers. His CSAA ranked ninth.
McGuire is framing pitches and blocking balls — neither area Wong is doing great at right now.
He ranks seventh in blocks above average, 21st in catcher framing strike rate, and in the 67th percentile in framing.
The 28-year-old is picking up right where he left off last year offensively.
In 18 games this season, mostly facing right-handed pitching, the Seattle, Washington native is hitting .327/.353/.408/.761 with a 109 wRC+ and 6 RBI.
Since joining Red Sox, he’s hitting .333/.369/.469/.839 with a 133 wRC+.
McGuire has become an opposite-field hitter with the Sox, and it’s working.
His career slash line before the trade? .241/.286/.359/.646 with a 73 wRC+ in 194 MLB games.
McGuire’s offensive and defensive strengths, specifically defensively, complement Wong’s weaknesses well.
Wong-McGuire Duo Is One Good Catcher
Combine both Red Sox catchers; the Sox have a pretty good backstop for now, hopefully for the entirety of 2023 and beyond, in Connor McGuire.
As of this writing, the Red Sox’ catching tandem combined is one of the best offensive catchers in 2023.
The Sox catching position ranks first in batting average, fifth in on-base percentage, fourth in slugging percentage, fifth in OPS and weighted on-base average, third in doubles, 12th in RBI, and sixth in wRC+.
Red Sox catchers also rank 10th in hard-hit rate and fifth in FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement in 2023 so far.
Defensively Red Sox catchers combine to rank 14th in CSAA, sixth in pop time, eighth in arm strength, 15th in BAA, 17th in framing runs, 11th in Framing Strikes, fifth in CS, and first in DRS.
Some of these ranks don’t look great, but in what matters most — pop time, arm strength, blocking, stealing strikes, caught stealing — Red Sox catchers are at the worst in the top half of the league.
When factoring in the offensive numbers of the Red Sox catchers, Connor McGuire is certainly a top-10 catcher for the 2023 Sox right now and hopefully for the foreseeable future.
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