4 Ridiculous stats that show just how poor the Miami Marlins catching stable has Become

Much has gone wrong for the 2024 Miami Marlins. The club is 24 games behind the NL East leader. They are dead list in MLB with 54 homers. Second worst with 238 RBI. And rank 25th in baseball with a .232 team batting average.

While a number of players have underperformed, there is no clearer weakness in Miami than their abysmal production from the catcher position. On the year, the franchise ranks last in MLB with a total of 16 RBI and a .151 batting average from their stable of catchers. This is not only the worst in baseball, it is one of the poorest levels of production in recent MLB memory.

Starter Nick Fortes paces the team with just two homers, 11 RBI, and a .159 BA. His backup Christian Bethancourt, who was acquired in the offseason to stabilize the clubs sub-par catching production, has somehow been worst, posting one home run, 5 RBI, and a ,141 BA. Simply put, the Marlins’ backstops simple cannot hit…

Here are a few ridiculous stats to add weight to the situation.

#1) 2023 starter Jacob Stallings is running laps around Miami’s 2024 platoon, hitting for a blistering .304 batting average with three homers and 17 RBI in 102 at-bats. Stallings has sprung back to life in his first season as the backup catcher with the Colorado Rockies. All while playing good defense.

#2) Baseball Reference ranks Ray Fosse’s 1975 campaign as the worst season (among starters) since 1973. During his season, he posted a .140 average with zero homers and 12 RBI. Flores has a legitimate chance to fall below this batting average mark with comparable counting stats.

#3) Combined, the Marlins‘ catchers have a slash line of .156/.196/.231/.427 over 212 at-bats in 2024. Star pitcher Jacob deGrom has a career slash line of .204/.238/.251/.488 over 423 career at-bats as a hitter. As a reminder, pitchers hitting has been eliminated from the game due to their poor contact abilities.

#4) Veteran Zack Greinke holds a career batting average of .225 with nine homers and 34 RBI over 521 at-bats. As a reminder, Greinke is also a pitcher.

To their credit, both Fortes and Bethancourt have brought competent defense to the table, with both brining their normal levels of plus glove work. However, has hitters, the tandem has been historically inept.

The franchise that once brought us superstars backstops like JT Realmuto and Ivan “Pudge”Rodriguez has now entered the cellar of the catching position.

For the record, MLB.com ranks Joe Mack as the only notable catcher in the club’s minor league system, ranking just 26th overall in the organization. This gives the team little hope a difference maker exists on any of their farm teams.

Peter Bendix and the key decision makers must make a plan to correct this abysmal level of production as they seek to rebuild their roster into a future contender.