Dodgers: Comparing the Rosters of the Astros and Dodgers

Catcher: Evan Gattis vs. Yasmani Grandal

The Astros do have a platoon going on behind the dish. But for the sake of this, we will be using Evan Gattis as the starting catcher because of the lefty heavy rotation that the Dodgers have. That means in a series Gattis will have the majority of starts as he has played better than Brian McCann this season. In just about equal games, Gattis has a better average.

Gattis, if given the at-bats, will give you above 20 home runs and be a force in the middle of the lineup. Just his mere presence in the batter’s box is frightening. Standing in there with no batting gloves and his big hefty body. Evan Gattis in the lineup makes the Astros even deeper from a power stand point.

Yasmani Grandal started off the season white-hot hitting above .300 while maintaining his power numbers, but has cooled off since that start. But this comes as no surprise to anyone. Not because people don’t believe in his talent but because he is playing the most physically demanding position in baseball, so regression, as the season goes on, is natural at that position.

But even if his batting average isn’t going to be all that high he will still be a primary power source for the Dodgers. He also is one of the best defensive catchers in baseball, consistently being called the best pitch framer around. His ability to do this helps the already great pitching staff of the Dodgers. That combo of power and defense makes him oh so valuable to the team.

Verdict:

Grandal is a top-tier catcher in the MLB. He is both defensively excellent and offensively sound. Gattis is a nice option behind the dish but is not quite at the same level defensively as Grandal. “YazMoney” is also another Dodger that steps up to the plate when the game is on the line. So Grandal and the Dodgers get the nod here.

Los Angeles, Dodgers lead 4-2