What can Statcast tell us about the St. Louis Cardinals' catching situation?

Catcher Blocking

Catcher Blocking is a metric tool to express the skills of catchers preventing wild pitches or passed balls. The essential measurement in this tool is Blocks Above Average (BAA).

In 2023, the leader in baseball in BAA is J.T. Realmuto who has an 8 BAA. Andrew Knizner is 9th out of the 63 catchers listed with a 3 BAA. Sean Murphy is 23rd with a 0 BAA. Willson Contreras comes in at 53rd at a -2 BAA.

In 2021, Molina was 19th out of 71 in baseball with a BAA of 5.

Catcher Framing

Catcher Framing measures the art of a catcher receiving a pitch in a way that makes it more likely for an umpire to call a strike. The primary measurement is called Catcher Framing Runs (CFR)

In 2023, the leaders in this measurement are Sean Murphy and Jonah Heim with a 4 CFR. Out of the 57 Catchers listed, Andrew Knizner comes in at 19th with a 0 CFR, and Willson Contreras comes in at 28th with a 0 CFR.

In 2021, Molina's framing was 49th of 59, with a CFR of -3.