Robo umps may be on the horizon, but for now, the Yankees are winning the battle for framing.
Jose Trevino and Austin Wells have been two of the best pitch framers through the first six weeks of the season, playing a hand in helping the Yankees’ pitching staff get off to a strong start despite not being at full strength.
“Obviously, Trevy, that’s what he’s known for, and he’s really good at that,” Clarke Schmidt said. “Even early on in this season, I told Wells, we’ve had that conversation: ‘Dude, you’ve been winning some of these swing pitches and it completely changed the [at-bat]. And it can change an outing, too.’ Just by putting that extra emphasis on trying to steal the strike.”
And while the risks of the race for pitch framing were highlighted this week when Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras broke his arm when a swing from Mets slugger J.D. Martinez hit his outstretched arm — as catchers around the league inch closer to the plate to better receive low pitches — the Yankees are plugging away with their process aimed at maximizing framing and minimizing risk.
