J.T. Realmuto Is Remarkably Underrated

A few weeks ago, on the Barstool Baseball podcast, I claimed that when it's all said and done, JT Realmuto will have a much stronger case for the Hall Of Fame than people think. I stand by that claim, and while Realumuto still has a long way to go before we can even entertain the possibility of Cooperstown, it's safe to say that he's established himself as one of his generation's best (and most underappreciated) players.

Realmuto has always been a productive player, but he's reached a point in his career where you can't help but be impressed by the rap sheet. He's made three (soon to be 4) All-Star teams. He's won 3 Silver Sluggers and 2 Gold Gloves. Last year, he led a National League pennant-winning team in Wins Above Replacement. And last night, he hit for his first career cycle. You rarely have a catcher that provides tremendous value with his glove while being above average with the bat. Let's also remember that Realmuto swiped 21 bags later year and was only caught once. Having a catcher who can wreak havoc on the bases is about as rare of luxury as there is in baseball. He also had some huge moments in October last year.

There's a substantial gray area when it comes to evaluating catchers. It's well-documented that advanced analytics must still catch up to framing metrics. The catcher position has always been a difficult one to assess. There are intangibles that a great catcher can bring to a baseball team that might not show up in the box score. A player like Martin Maldonado grades out to be a below-replacement-level player from an offensive standpoint, but every player on the Houston Astros will defend him to death as an essential piece of their title run from a season ago. It's a huge reason why Yadier Molina will waltz into the Hall Of Fame. Yadier Molina has a lower career OPS than Francisco Cerveli and only had about two legitimately great seasons with the bat. Still, those Cardinals teams that dominated the NL Central for the better part of a decade would not have been the same if not for what Yadi brought to the table. 

I use Molina as an example because, by the end of his career, Realmuto will likely grade out to be a more valuable player than Molina. He's better with the bat and has played Gold Glove-caliber defense his entire career. Buster Posey, considering how good he was with the bat, is probably a better comp to Realmuto. The difference is Posey was a top 5-10 player in baseball at his peak, which is something J.T. will never be able to brag about.

I just find it so interesting how a player like this is never talked about as one of the games truly players of his era. It's not like he's played in small markets. I think he's gotten lost in the shuffle because he's been teammates with some elite players (Giancarlo Stanton and Bryce Harper, to name a few examples), but when it's mattered most, he's found a way to rise to the occasion and stay healthy. He's a rare breed, and he's still in the prime of his career.