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    • Count catcher Jake Rogers among the Detroit Tigers’ key decision-makers
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    Count catcher Jake Rogers among the Detroit Tigers’ key decision-makers

    Caradoc Wyn Posted on

    Detroit — Few things are as important to Tigers manager AJ Hinch as the catching position.

    As a former catcher, he will tell you with a sly grin that catchers are the smartest, toughest players on the field and the best athletes. He’s not entirely serious about being the best athlete.

    But he’s absolutely serious when he talks about the importance of the position on a winning baseball team.

    “The catcher is an integral part of the team’s success,” he said. “You need stability. You need consistency. It is the most important position for transitioning from offense to defense, regardless of whether it is good or bad. Catchers have a huge impact on the outcome of a game.”

    He was just becoming familiar with the subject.

    “You’re going to make a couple hundred decisions every night about what pitches to call,” he said. “As opposed to your four or five at-bats, four or five swings. It’s a complicated position that deserves respect.”

    Especially, he pointed out, the way his catchers played the position. Rookie Dillon Dingler has made a nearly seamless transition from Triple-A to the big leagues in less than a month.

    And Jake Rogers has simply become one of the best defensive catchers in the world. Don’t giggle. The numbers prove that.

    His 14-plus defensive runs saved at the position are third-best in the major leagues, according to Sports Info Solutions. His plus-9 runs secured blocking ranks in the top 11th percentile according to Statcast. His plus-8 rating is in the ninth percentile. He also has a plus-2 in caught steals, with a pop time of 1.91 seconds to second base.

    “I don’t know the numbers,” Rogers said. “Honestly. Every day I look at a report I get (internally) about how I played framing and blocking in the previous game and my goal is to be positive every day.”

    He was positive most days.

    “My priority is I want to be good in those areas because that will help us win games,” he said. “I don’t look at the big picture, but rather at what’s happening on a day-to-day basis. Let’s see if I caught the ball well. And if not, how can I make it better?”

    On Tuesday night, in a scoreless game in the second inning, Rogers struck out one of the Rays’ two batters with a base hit against Tarik Skubal. The speedy Jose Caballero built a huge lead from first base, but Rogers threw a dart to second base, beating Caballero to the bag with time left.

    His top time on this throw was an elite 1.89 seconds.

    “My times were good and the accuracy was much better,” Rogers said. “That was an area I wanted to improve. That used to be a great strength of mine.”

    Rogers missed the 2022 season after Tommy John surgery and, as is typical for pitchers, the process of restoring both arm strength and arm accuracy was longer than the actual medical rehab process.

    “Last year was a tough year,” he said. “It wasn’t completely normal. It hurt me a little bit, but I was able to play through it. The elbow was perfectly fine, but I couldn’t locate it. I kind of sprayed it everywhere. I didn’t think it was me.

    “But I had a normal off-season (without rehab) and got into a good routine and felt a lot better; close to what I used to be.”

    Before surgery, Rogers’ pop time to second base was 1.91, the same as it is now. But in 2023, it was the worst mark of his career, 1.95, and he threw out just 16% of runners attempting to steal.

    This year the rate at which he is caught stealing is back at 26%.

    “It’s ten times better,” he said.

    More importantly, teams are no longer challenging him heavily. Teams have attempted steals 100 times against the Tigers this season, the fourth fewest in baseball.

    “Yeah, I mean, it was good,” he said.

    Don’t sleep on it either: Rogers could also be the team’s talisman. It was Rogers who famously said, “Let’s not get hot,” right before the Tigers got heated. And it’s not for nothing that the team is 29-11 since he shaved his beard.

    Superstition isn’t silly when it works.

    “There’s not really any thought behind it,” Rogers said of his nursing superstitions. “But I woke up and felt like we could use a change. I had argued and we had lost. So I shave my beard and get seven RBIs, and the guys haven’t stopped winning.”

    In addition to all the other successes this season, Rogers will most likely catch a Cy Young Award winner in Skubal.

    “He brings out the best in me personally,” Skubal said. “I think he brings out the best in all of our guys. I think that’s the biggest compliment I can give him. I trust him completely. And the guys don’t run at me because he’s behind the plate. I don’t even have to worry about the running game.

    “He’s great there.”

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    Caradoc Wyn
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