Salvador Perez’s flaw as a hitter is his inability to consistently reach base. He has a .317 OBP this season, due to a 4.2 walk % that ranks third among qualified hitters.
This is better than the league average (.305), but not quite as excellent as the typical catcher. It also doesn’t rank among the top 500 catcher seasons.
Remember that Perez’s WAR is made up of three primary components. There’s also baserunning, where the 6’3″, 255-pounder has a minus-two batting average, and defense, which has both good and bad news.
Perez has the best caught-stealing percentage in the majors (45.0). When stolen base attempts are declining, though, such a high mark is only worth so much.
He’s only thrown out 18 runners, down from a career high of 37 five years ago.
Perez’s framing has never been his strong point and has now become a problem. According to Baseball Info Solutions, his worst framing season was in 2021.
Perez is the worst framer of 2021, according to Statcast’s criteria.
Take a look at how often catchers have 5-WAR seasons. It used to happen all the time, and it was not uncommon for numerous catchers to achieve that rank in a single year.
Jonathan Lucroy, Russell Martin, and Buster Posey had WAR values of 6.4, 5.7, and 5.1, respectively, in 2014.
How Many Stolen Bases has Salvador Perez Allowed?
Salvador Perez has 1 SB this season.
