The White Sox have two rookie catchers, and they're both raking.
Better than that, both have followed the trajectory of hovering around league average production at the All-Star break, before a second-half surge that is hard to view as anything but simply player development.
After addressing an issue where he was drawing his hands down too low in the load of his left-handed swing, Edgar Quero significantly shaved his ground ball rate since the break (52.3 percent down to 43.8) and is now hitting for roughly average power, pairing with his plate discipline and contact skills for a .302/.341/.452 second half line. Kyle Teel, who took a huge chunk off his first half strikeout rate (27.6 percent down to 19.9) while hitting for more power (.313/.391/.515 since the break), has simply been even better.
"The results are really great," Teel said. "But I feel like it all comes down to my process and doing what I have to do before the game, and letting what happens in the game happen."
The average batting line for catchers across the league is .238/.307/.393, so the White Sox are understandably talking about the offensive production from their rookie backstops like the magic trick that it is. That Sox catching has allowed the fifth-highest stolen base rate, or has committed the second-most catcher's interference violations, with various other points needing improvement, is more par for the course. Only the recent late-season promotions of Samuel Basallo, Carter Jensen and Harry Ford have knocked Teel and Quero off their perch as the two youngest catchers in the majors.
"There's so much stuff going on that they have to worry about, that you don't expect it, but if it happens you're not surprised," said catching coach Drew Butera. "When they break into the league, they have to worry about three times the amount of meetings, scouting reports, knowing the opposition's hitters plus their pitchers, getting to know a whole new staff."
For much of the season, both rookies languished at the bottom of Statcast metrics for pitch framing. It's a talent both at risk of getting eliminated one day -- albeit not by the incoming ABS challenge system -- but also something the White Sox view as the most significant quantifiable defensive catching skill. Quero rating at 12 catcher framing runs below average, the worst mark in the majors, has spurred a lot of work on a mechanical adjustment. Butera has been working with the young Cuban backstop to start his glove close to his body, keep his target square to the pitcher, and be cognizant of the angle he takes reaching out to the ball. It's striking how much Butera sounds like a hitting coach working with a developing bat; an upturn in June as the mechanical change was made gave way to a slump in July, before some signs of new progress in August.
Initially, Teel was right alongside Quero at the bottom of the standings, but a recent surge has him rated as perfectly average, with his work at the bottom of the zone and to his arm side covering up a still subpar overall called strike rate for pitches in the shadow of the strike zone. Largely, this return to form was just expected of him.
"Kyle has a natural talent," Butera said. "We always want to try to do more, and it's keeping him consistent in his glove load and his positioning, and knowing that will be very successful for him throughout the whole year. Just like mechanics in hitting, you want to keep similar mechanics."
The combination of superior framing and power potential is a solid two-pillar argument for why many believe, when or even if push comes to shove, the White Sox regard the catcher this front office traded for as having a higher ceiling than the one it inherited. But focusing on the quantifiable elides a lot about catching, especially some areas where Quero's rookie campaign has distinguished itself.
"Edgar brings a unique ability that can't be quantified by statistics," Butera said. "He's advanced for his age, and the amount of games that he's played with the fact that he calls a great game. He's situationally aware of what [opposing hitters] are trying to do, what the pitcher has that day, He's able to combine those two and create -- I don't want to say an easy path for pitcher -- but definitely a more dedicated pathway."
Quero has earned praise for work in setting clean targets for pitchers, which is demonstrative of the blunt and direct approach he takes to clubhouse communication in his second language.
"I just ask them; the way they prepare, what they want and where, you know?" Quero said of learning pitcher preferences. "Sometimes I try to be late with setups, especially with runners on second base. That's what I'm trying to do, especially if they've just made a good adjustment and are throwing the ball to the right spot. But if they're missing a lot, I'm trying to be early for them and give them the best target that I can."
Target preferences vary for pitchers as much as DNA sequences, it seems. But the general presumption is that power arms bullying opposing hitters with fastballs need it a bit less, and control artists trying to survive by painting the corners with marginal stuff need it more. Because of that, Quero's good work in this respect has earned a heightened level of appreciation from this White Sox pitching staff.
"It's everything," said pitching coach Ethan Katz. "How catchers present themselves, the movement back there, that really factors into some guys more than others. They need to see a target a certain way to be able to attack it, and if it's a floating target and things are moving around, it can be detrimental to the pitcher. If you're setting a high target and the gloves starts moving down, the pitch could wind up thigh-high, which is not a good place to be."
There is a push-pull dynamic at work behind many elements of catching defense. Modern catchers are taught to receive the ball as close to the plate as possible to present it to umpire before it's dropped below the zone, so it's little coincidence that Teel is both the better-rated framer and responsible for four of the six catcher interference calls the Sox have been flagged for. So while he's at more of a typical rookie stage in his development for setting targets, it's worth remembering that he also has to weigh it against another element of the job that technological advances in the sport have yet to fully take out of catching.
"As relaying signs became more prevalent at the level I was at, that's when I started deking," Teel said. "I feel like it's hard to relay signs when I'm back there because I deke a lot. I'm very aware of where my body is on certain pitches. If they're relaying based on where I'm at, it's going to be hard because I'm deking like, 25, 30, 40 percent of the time."
Last week with the Yankees in town, who are notoriously astute at spotting tells and relaying them, the White Sox coaching staff quite plainly spotted All-Star second baseman Jazz Chisholm signaling location based on catcher setups, which prompted Butera to encourage some more deking.
With all these factors at play, and both their young catchers at an age where simply sticking at the position is still within the shadow of doubt for most receivers, the White Sox are inclined to offer a passing grade to Teel and Quero for their defense. After all, White Sox catching has a 125 wRC+ this year, which is the best offensive performance at the position for any MLB team that isn't employing Cal Raleigh. Any defensive skill set feels pretty workable in that light, especially strangely complementary ones.
"They both have shown results in their own perspective," Butera said. "They've shown progression in the right direction on many assets; game-calling, receiving, plate presence for both hitting and catching, building relationships with pitchers. I've seen both of them excel in meetings with our pitchers and the pitching coaches. It started off with just listening and now they've both kind of taken over the meetings and they're doing a great job of leading those meetings and leading that pitching staff. If you see progression in the right direction, it's a successful season."
