Here’s one hidden area where Royals have improved by trying something new in 2023
Royals bench coach Paul Hoover has been encouraged by early returns from his catchers’ pitch-framing improvements.
And another example was evident Wednesday night.
Zack Greinke got a 3-2 strike call in the sixth inning on a pitch to Toronto’s Brandon Belt that appeared to be below the zone. Royals catcher Salvador Perez, however, received it well, presenting the pitch with his glove like it had ticked the outside corner.
Hoover — he works with the Royals’ catchers — says he’s been most proud of moments like this early in the season with Perez.
“He’s competing with a pitch down there, where some of the video in the past — for whatever reason — he wasn’t competing,” Hoover said Thursday. “But now he’s giving himself a chance. He’s putting a little pressure on the umpire to possibly call it a strike.”
A quick comparison to a similar Greinke pitch from a season ago shows just how far Perez has come.
On that 2022 fastball, Perez — stationed further behind home plate — actually catches the pitch just below the zone with his glove touching the dirt. That gives little opportunity for the umpire to think of it as a strike.
Compare that to Wednesday’s sixth-inning offering. Perez — while closer to the pitcher — is able to catch the pitch before it drops and subtly move it in one motion back toward the zone.
Hoover said part of this season’s improvement has been getting the Royals catchers out of the habit of “playing umpire.” In essence, don’t determine whether you think it’s a ball or strike on the way in; instead, work to frame every pitch and let the umpire decide things from there.
Perez also showed some a promising moment in Greinke’s first start, gaining a strike that was a tick off the outer edge. It again showed progression from a similar-type pitch he received a season ago.
Melendez has had some early wins behind the plate this season too after finishing last year as the second-worst pitch framer in the majors, according to Statcast. Earlier this week, Melendez stole an inside strike for Brady Singer against Toronto.
”That’s a really good example of stuff that we’ve been working on,” Melendez said of the pitch. “Just being able to move that ball and be smooth, make it look like I’m catching that ball as a strike and just catching it here rather than the umpire seeing me move it. Keeping that all in one motion.”
Melendez said he made a concerted effort to work on his framing this offseason, saying it was “a big part of my catching game that needed some improvement.” He worked the last few months both with his father, Mervyl (a longtime Division I baseball coach), and Hoover.
Some teaching points include scooting closer to the plate and accepting pitches with a single movement of his glove.
“A lot of it is timing,” Melendez said. “A lot of it is just the mechanics of it, kind of just doing it all in one motion. Just catching that ball as it’s moving and dominating that ball rather than letting it dominate me.”
Though there’s only a tiny sample size this season — six games — the Royals’ pitch framing is on a positive trajectory.
The Royals, according to FanGraphs, are at 0.0 framing runs this season, which is 18th in MLB but more impressive considering the starting point.
KC’s negative-27.7 framing runs last season were worst in the majors, well behind the 31st-place Padres at negative-12.7. From 2015-22, the Royals’ negative-105.7 framing runs also was the lowest among all teams, with the Tigers (negative-91.2) coming in second-to-last.
On Tuesday, Royals manager Matt Quatraro said he was pleased with Perez and Melendez’s early results with pitch presentation.
“The work that those guys are putting in has been tremendous,” Quatraro said. “And their commitment to trying something new has been off the charts.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2023 at 1:40 PM.
