.Scapegoat – a person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others. Unfortunately, out here in Los Angeles, that person is Austin Barnes. But why?

Obviously, it’s all related to his struggles on offense. The reality is Barnes is essentially an automatic out at the plate. His 2020 slash line of .100/.182/.282 is well below his career averages .225/.339/.693
Even for a catcher, those numbers are strongly displeasing. Optimism might be key here because it’s highly unlikely that level of production remains that low for the rest of the season. Maybe instead of throwing shades of hate, some support might turn things around.

Unfortunately, a couple of flawed ideas have been floating amongst Dodger fans. Which are listed below:

1. “Austin Barnes removes the DH advantage for the Dodgers.”
   No, it doesn’t. If anything, the DH has added an advantage to the Dodgers on offense. Instead of the 8 & 9 hitters being the catchers and pitchers’ spot, you now replace the pitcher’s spot in the lineup with the DH to give the Dodgers 8 excellent hitters in the lineup. Like a lot of seasons, the Dodgers are off to a slow start with RISP. Barnes is 1-7, but he’s not the only one struggling. Muncy is 0-8, Bellinger is 2-11, Pederson is 1-6, Seager is 4-16. So no, Barnes is not dragging this team down with runners in scoring position. The Dodgers are currently 3rd in runs scored in all of MLB. Not even one AL team is ahead of them. Maybe it’s greed by fans, perhaps it’s a lack of understanding, but Andrew Friedman has assembled a powerhouse that has not struggled to score runs over the last few years. No NL team scored more than the Dodgers last season, same for 2018. As bumpy as 2018 might have felt, they still scored significantly more runs than they did in 2017. That was all without the DH, and they now added Mookie Betts.
2. “Just sign Russell Martin, he would be better.”
   Stop it. If the Dodgers were interested in Martin, then they would have signed him months ago. I love Martin. He will be remembered as one of their top catchers in franchise history. Unless an injury occurs, they don’t need him. First of all, he’s 37, and despite being an excellent pitch framer just like Barnes, who knows what type of shape he’s in? He also has been contemplating retirement. I don’t know how you realistically expect a guy who’s been away from camp for the entire year to just plug himself in and be an immediate impact, especially with 48 games left. Over the last three seasons, the highest Martin hit was .221 with a .343 OBP. He is not much of an upgrade on offense, and given that he has spent nearly no time with Dustin May, Walker Buehler, and Clayton Kershaw, I’ll pass.

After poking holes in some flawed logic, now let’s dive into why Barnes brings value to this club. It starts with pitch framing. In terms of converting balls into strikes, Barnes grades out near the top of the league. Statcast covers different zones where catchers excel, and Barnes is among the best in terms of low and away to right-handed hitters, which is huge when you have someone like Kershaw on the mound. Austin Barnes currently possesses a 91/100 pitch-framing ability, according to Statcast, which you can see by clicking on his name. Before May’s start, he was at an 87 & before the Kershaw start, he was at an 84. Will Smith currently has a pitch-framing ability of 46/100. Now Smith is a great overall defender himself and has a great arm to throw out runners, but he’s no Austin Barnes. For all catchers who have been behind the plate for a minimum of 200 plate appearances, nobody has a lower catcher’s ERA than Barnes. Dodgers pitchers have a combined ERA of 1.64 when they throw to Barnes compared to Smith, where it’s at 2.62, which is still excellent. The Dodgers are 4-2 when Barnes catches, which is the same as Smith, which adds up to their current 8-4 record.

Barnes has ranked 7th, 7th, and 2nd according to BP's CSAA (Called Strikes Above Average) the last three years; 11th, 6th, and 14th according to Statcast's Strike Rate; and 9th, 7th, and 8th according to SIS's rSZ (Strike Zone Runs Saved). So he is that good defensively, yeah. https://t.co/jt5gU1foPd

— Future Dodgers (@FutureDodgers) August 2, 2020

All the stats back the claim that Clayton Kershaw is at his best when Austin Barnes is behind the plate. That came through once again in 2020. During Kershaw’s first start in 2020, Kershaw threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings with 6 K’s, and even his fastball velocity was 2-3 mph faster than compared to 2019. Ask Orel Hershiser himself. He’ll shoot it to you straight that chemistry between a pitcher and catcher exists.

Meanwhile, Dustin May is having a breakout season, and the only catcher who’s caught Dustin in 2020 is also Barnes. May has a 2.63 ERA and is coming off a career-high 8 K’s, and 6 IP win. When Barnes is behind the plate, good things happen. The bullpen tends to excel, and there is a smooth game flow. You have to credit Barnes, he has done his homework and knows how to call a ball game. He’s studied the competition and guides pitchers where to throw in the zone keeping hitters off balance. People seem to ignore the fact that it wasn’t Grandal who was catching those World Series games, it was Barnes. Roberts has repeated Smith will be catching every 3 of 5 games, so you’ll still get to see plenty of Will Smith. I’m sure in 2021 there will be more starts to go around for Smith and maybe Ruiz.

Clayton Kershaw and Austin Barnes are the #Dodgers #OpeningDay battery. Could Barnes become Kershaw's personal catcher every 5th day this season? @Reiner_Jake certainly thinks so and he has the stats to prove it's a very likely possibility.https://t.co/gcfvwcKg6U

— Dodgers Tailgate (@DodgersTailgate) July 23, 2020

The catcher’s position is a defensive position. Any offense is a bonus. You can look around MLB and find out some of the top paid guys are struggling. J.T. Realmuto is batting .235. Yasmani Grandal is hitting .273 with 0 home runs. No catcher in the NL West is honestly off to a great start. The Dodgers had Grandal, but most fans wanted him gone because he can’t hit in the postseason. Dating back to last September 1, Will Smith is 13 for his last 76 (.171). That doesn’t include his disappearance in the postseason. Mike Piazza is the greatest hitting catcher ever & it didn’t translate into an excellent postseason resume. Some of the recent teams to win the World Series did not get high production from their catchers.

If there’s one thing I’d like for you to take away from this article, it’s synergy.
Synergy – the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.
It exists in companies, families, politics, and sports.

Follow me on Twitter at Klein25

Listen to the Incline: Dodgers podcast on your favorite streaming device.

-Kevin Klein
photo credit: LA Daily News