Dodgers: Austin Barnes and Russell Martin Proving the Doubters Wrong

Coming into the season, catcher was expected to be a weak spot for the Los Angeles Dodgers, at least offensively.  So far that has not been the case for the catching duo.

The tandem of Austin Barnes and Russell Martin are both coming off subpar seasons offensively with batting averages hovering around the Mendoza line (.205 for Barnes and .194 for Martin).  This was one of many reasons the Dodgers were rumored to be interested in acquiring J.T. Realmuto from the Miami Marlins for much of the off-season.

When Realmuto was ultimately dealt to Philadelphia, the Dodgers were content to go with Barnes and Martin this year while some of their stud catching prospects such as Will Smith and Keibert Ruiz continued to develop in the minor leagues for another season.

By their own admissions, both Barnes and Martin had disappointing 2018 seasons.  “I was horrible last year”, Martin told the media when he arrived at spring training.  Barnes also admitted he had a “bad season”.  To begin the 2019 season, they have been anything but horrible.

Barnes and Martin have combined to form one of the most potent offensive threats in baseball from behind the plate.  Basically alternating starts from one game to the next, the duo has hit in 9 of 12 games and reached base in 11 of 12.

Barnes is 8 for 22 (.364) with 2 HRs and 5 RBI as well as having drawn seven walks.  Martin meanwhile is 5 for 15 (.333) with 1 HR and 2 RBI to go with his five walks.  Throw in Martin having been hit by a pitch and that’s 26 times on base in just 12 games.

Their combined numbers lead all Major League catchers in runs and walks while ranking second in On Base Percentage and third in batting average, hits, and OPS. They are fourth in RBIs and Slugging Percentage.

The numbers are even more remarkable when you realize they are doing it out of the eighth spot in the batting order having little protection in the lineup given the pitcher is hitting behind them.  Their ability to consistently get on base has set up opportunities for the Dodgers to consistently turn the lineup over.

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While the Dodgers offense has been clicking on all cylinders throughout the lineup, Barnes and Martin have had a huge role in kickstarting things by getting on base to start rallies.  In 8 of the Dodgers 12 games this season there has been at least one run scoring rally that started by either Barnes or Martin reaching base.  Martin has actually started at least one such rally in all five games he has started.

It obviously is very early in the season and catchers numbers do tend to decline as the season goes on simply due to the physical pounding they take behind the plate night after night.  If both continue to produce, causing manager Dave Roberts to continue to rotate back and forth between the two, it might ultimately keep both guys fresher.

That, in turn, could lead to less of a drop off in production.  Barnes and Martin continuing to produce from the bottom of the lineup will make this potent Dodgers lineup truly dangerous from one through eight in the lineup.