J.T. Realmuto – The Unsung Hero of the Phillies
It’s time for the haters to knock it off. Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto has proved that the trade for him back in February was worth it, and has firmly cemented himself as the best catcher in baseball.
Part of the issue with Realmuto is that the expectations for him coming into the season were sky-high. Everyone knew he was a fantastic catcher, but they thought his offensive numbers should be through the roof.
Then there’s what the Phillies gave up to get Realmuto from the Miami Marlins – the number one prospect Sixto Sanchez, Jorge Alfaro, Will Stewart, and international bonus slot money. So that just added to the expectations of what Realmuto was going to do.
People were hesitant to lose Sanchez, who has been compared to Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez. But no prospect is a sure thing, and the Phillies have historically held onto prospects for too long and they ended up being busts.
Like the rest of the Phillies, Realmuto has had his struggles. It wasn’t long before some fans were already calling the trade for Realmuto a mistake. Some were suggesting the Phillies trade Realmuto on sports talk radio.
But quietly – maybe because the Phillies have been underperforming and so much attention has been on that – Realmuto is having one of the best seasons of his career.
He’s hitting .280/.330/.445 with 19 home runs and 66 RBI. If he keeps this up, he’ll set new career highs in both homers and RBI, and can challenge his career-best .303 average set in 2016. He was an All-Star for the second time in his career and was the Phillies’ lone representative at the Mid-Summer Classic.
Pretty great, right? But those numbers pale in comparison to his past 15 games, where he’s been hitting .340/.414/.700. He has two grand slams this season.
But what’s even more remarkable than his bat is his work behind the plate.
He’s thrown out a whopping 34 baserunners. Number two is Yasmani Grandal with 20. Thus, Realmuto has thrown out 14 more runners than the next closest to him. This success gives him a stolen base percentage of .541, good for first among catchers starting 100 games or more.
How about the fact that he starts almost every game for the Phillies? It doesn’t matter if it’s a day game after a night game, chances are Realmuto will be behind the dish for the Phils.
If that doesn’t make you realize that this trade was well worth it, you’re out of your mind.
The interesting thing to watch with Realmuto is how the Phillies handle a contract extension. He’s not set to become a free agent until after the 2021 season, but the Phillies shouldn’t waste any time in inking him to a long-term deal. If he hits the open market, he’ll command a big audience and a big payday. The Phillies can’t let that happen, especially with Harper in the midst of a 13-year deal and can’t miss (hopefully) prospects like Alec Bohm and Adam Haseley ready to contribute on a more full-time basis next year.
All of these players will be key contributors to what should be the next great era of Phillies baseball.
True, the team has not performed up to expectations so far this season. But that doesn’t mean they won’t reassess this offseason and fix the issues with the pitching. And when they do, the best catcher in baseball will be there and will continue to be one of the unsung heroes of the team.
Photo: via Twitter (@MLBStats) All statistics are updated as of Tuesday August 20th.
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Categorized:Phillies