At this point, Yankees fans have all heard J.C. Escarra’s story.
He’s the former Uber driver who seemed entirely unlikely to ever play in the major leagues but is now donning the pinstripes.
It’s incredible, really.
But what might be lost in the shuffle right now is what Escarra is doing on the field, and more specifically, behind the plate as a catcher.
Escarra doesn’t play every day, but despite that, he’s one of the best catchers in baseball.
He ranks sixth in MLB in Catcher Framing Runs, a stat that tries to account for how valuable a receiver’s framing of pitches is to his team.
Escarra has caught 480 pitches this season and has earned 3 Catcher Framing Runs. The five guys above him all have either 5 or 6 Catcher Framing Runs, but all have caught at least 1,325 pitches.
So by that measure, Escarra is actually the most valuable framer in baseball, per pitch.
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Escarra also ranks 11th in MLB in average pop time, which measures throwing speed to second base, with a 1.91 second average.
The 30-year old hasn’t been a bad hitter, either. His .706 OPS is solid for a modern catcher.
In his last 15 games, he’s batting an even .300 as he heats up as summer approaches.
If the Yankees start to use Ben Rice at catcher, it could squeeze Escarra out of a job.
But the good news for Escarra is that unlike the guy who was wanted by no teams and had no choice but to drive Uber to make ends meet, this time, many teams would likely want him if the Yankees no longer have room for him.
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