3 takeaways as Atlanta Braves wait it out, walk it off on Friday

2.  Brian McCann is still a stud

Brian McCann was right, you know:  getting his knees and legs back under him is making a world of difference in terms of prowess at the plate.

But he still calls a great game.

In 49 games and 182 plate appearances, McCann has posted a 0.7 fWAR with a .269 batting average, .341 OBP, .455 slugging rate, and .796 OPS.

That OPS ranks 17th among all catchers with 100+ PA’s on the season.  It beats Tyler Flowers (he’s 18th).

Above him are only 3 other catchers at age 35+:  Robinson Chirinos (.813), Kurt Suzuki (.817), and Chris Ianetta (.836 and ‘Denver enhanced).

Could the Braves have done better this off-season?  Maybe slightly… and only a few other catchers were truly available (Chirinos, for one).

But would they have been better to help our young pitching staff along the way?  That point could certainly be disputed.

Last Night

During Friday night’s contest, McCann struck out twice – among the starters, only Julio Teheran avoided being K’d by the Miami staff at some point.

McCann also had 2 hits… the only Brave to get beyond 1.  That second hit was an ambushed game winner.

He was definitely cognizant of the situation:  5 infielders, though 4 of those were pulled around between the 1st base line and second base.  The remaining outfielders were playing in a bit, but probably should have been even a bit shallower.

On the left side of the infield, there was just one lonely gloveman standing near the shortstop position.  He didn’t have a chance.

McCann took the first pitch, a 94 mph fastball on the outer half of the plate and steered it over the infielder and onto green grass in short left center.

With the bases loading and 1 out, that’s all it took.  Game over.

This was McCann’s 2nd walk-off hit of the year and 6th overall (courtesy Baseball-Reference.com play index) – 2 of these happening within the past month.

1 Thing

The one aspect of McCann’s game that concerns me going forward – particularly with certain opposing teams – is his inability to stop a running game.

In limited catching innings in 2018, McCann threw out 9 would-be base stealers while 19 others took the base.

In another 10 games this season, he will have matched those innings, yet he’s already allowed 29 stolen bases while stopping only 3 runners.

He’s never had the ‘cannon’ arm and teams have consistently tried to take advantage of that over his distinguished career, but McCann had a 25% success rate in stopping runners until recent years.

That discussion can be tabled for another day, though:  for Friday night, he was the offensive hero again.