The recent signing of first baseman Christian Walker would seem to confirm that the catching duo of Yainer Diaz and Victor Caratini would not be playing in 22 games at first base (along with seven others) as happened in 2024. Note that the first base discussion is for another day.
Along with Diaz being one of the most dynamic hitters to man the catcher spot ever for the Astros, the pairing of Caratini and Diaz was arguably the best set of offensive catchers in team history also.
2024 By the Numbers
The Astros catching spot (stats are combined) ranked at or near the top in most offensive categories:
- .290 BA (1st in the AL)
- .331 OBP (2nd)
- .759 OPS (1st)
- 27 doubles (3rd)
- 16 HR (11th)
- 88 RBIs (3rd) – only one behind first
The home run number is a little off-putting, but the high OPS and RBI numbers are the important numbers here.
From the fielding side, Caratini, Diaz along with a small dash of Cesar Salazar threw out 22% of runners, which exactly matches the league average. The stats in Baseball-Reference shows that Astros’ pitchers threw 49 wild pitches (tied for 5th worst in the AL) with this catching crew – while the Astro catchers only had 2 passed balls for the season (which sounds way low).
The catchers had to handle 32 different pitchers in 2024, which is an insane number, but piloted them to be tied for 4th in the AL with a 3.74 ERA.
Looking at the numbers put up by both Diaz and Caratini (at bats as a catcher only)….
| Stat | Yainer Diaz | Victor Caratini |
| BA | .301 | .266 |
| OBP | .324 | .340 |
| OPS | .771 | .731 |
| Runs | 43 | 22 |
| Doubles | 19 | 6 |
| HRs | 11 | 5 |
| RBIs | 59 | 21 |
Both impressive numbers for the catcher position, though there is no wonder that Diaz is the starter. Caratini, as a switch hitter, gives the Astros an extra left-handed bat at times, something they will be short on with Kyle Tucker heading to Chicago.
What Else You Got?
Cesar Salazar (29 y.o.) – In a small sample with the Astros in 2024, Salazar was great slashing .320 BA/ .387 OBP/ .787 OPS in 32 plate appearances. While that should not be expected from him over more at bats – he did have a solid season at AAA last year hitting .250 BA/ .378 OBP/ .788 OPS. He is a decent bat and runs about average in throwing out runners – 29% in the minors – 23% in his stops in the majors.
Top Prospects – Hopefully winding their way up the organization are two catchers on the Astros’ Top 30 prospects list. Walter Janek (22 y.o.) was taken with their first round pick in 2024 and had a short stay at A+ Asheville where he didn’t hit a lick (.175 BA/ .214 OBP/ .502 OPS) but did throw out 31% of runners. Jancel Villarroel (about to turn 20) is their 27th ranked prospect signed out of Venezuela. In 2024 he hit very well at rookie ball (.284/.415/.892) and did not embarrass himself at A ball Fayetteville (.233/.339/.660) among much older players. He threw out below 20% of the runners at the two levels.
2024 AA – The majority of games at AA Corpus were caught by 25 y.o. Collin Price (.222 BA/ .316 OBP/ .690 OPS) and 22 y.o. Miguel Palma (.201 BA/ .301 OBP/ .585 OPS). Along with poor hitting stats, neither Price (16%), nor Palma (14%) have thrown out many runners in their time in the minors.
From Outside – Joe Hudson (33 y.o.) was signed to a minor league contract in December. Considering he only has 19 games at the MLB level over the last 11 seasons and his hitting stats in the minors has been below average (.222 BA/.320 OBP/ .677 OPS) he must be considered organizational depth. The one plus on his baseball card – he’s thrown out a strong 38% of runners in the minors.
Looking at the numbers deeply, one would hope that the rumor the Astros might send Caratini and his salary ($6 million) off in exchange for more payroll space is just that. Right now, he gives them a very good backup, who can play a solid first base in a pinch, gives them a late-game left-handed hitter off the bench, and someone who can DH at times. He also gives them insurance against the lack of MLB depth below him in the organization.
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
19 responses to “Astros’ 2025: A quick view of the catcher position”
The club is looking very good with the two major league catchers and the top three minor leaguers behind them. I have read a small handful of mock drafts, for 2025, and a catcher from Coastal Carolina, Caden Bodine, has been mocked to the Astros. Full service catcher who does all things well.
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Caratini and Diaz provide a real bargain for about 7 million. It’s a very solid combination behind the plate and at the plate. Does any other club have a better pair for the money?
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I expect regression from Caratini to a point. He could be a valuable left handed pinch hitter, but I don’t see a way he plays 87 games again. The last time he had a season like 2024 was 2019, and his 2020 was not so good. Last year he was better from the right side, but career wise the splits are about as even as you can get, with a slightly better eye from the right side but slightly more pop from the left and identical career batting averages.
Yainer is a gem. His barrel to the ball skills rival the best in the league. His struggles with the offspeed pitches moving away from him needs to improve, but I am sure every person in the organization knows this, as well as Yainer. Telling someone that needs to improve and them actually improving are two separate things. Maybe the best approach is him learning more about what pitchers are going to try and do and when they are most likely going to try and do it versus trying to physically improve that read could hide it more. What always impressed me about Bagwell in the booth (certainly not his delivery which is terrible) was his ability to pretty much guess what the pitcher is going to try and do on the next pitch and be right more than not. Get more of that, the sky becomes the limit. That’s why I wanted him out from the behind the plate, because I think it takes away the time he has to spend preparing a game plan. That time could be used preparing himself to hit. And if he got that time, man. But from a rotisserie baseball standpoint, the Astros probably feel like they have their first baseman for the foreseeable and their catcher for the foreseeable.
I expect Yainer to have a banner year, one that separates him into elite catcher status, and possibly being the best catcher in the league. And we have the best number 2 catcher in the league who might only see 40-45 games this year. I expect Yainer to see a bit of DH time again as they are going to need his bat in the lineup to keep a little length in the batting order, so he will probably push Yordan into LF at least 25-30 times.
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In an ideal world Caratini doesn’t get nearly as many at bats in 2025. If he does it either means one of our corner infielders has not performed or there was an injury somewhere. Regarding Diaz, I really like that he’s been willing to go the other way and take singles to knock in runs. I’d like to see him walk more, obviously, but also would like to see the power not disappear with two strikes. He still drove in 28 runs in two strike counts, but driving a few of those pitches into the RF seats would be nice.
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Torres to Detroit. Significant to us because it’s one more Bregman destination gone. With the Yankees out by most reports, it looks like Boston or broke. The 6/156 may end up the best offer he gets this offseason. To me, a Boston deal doesn’t make sense for the Red Sox, as they will have to move Devers to 1B and send Casas to either DH or trade him for pitching (a rumored Luis Castillo/Seattle deal would make sense for both teams). But if you do all that, your payroll goes into Yankee-land, and while Boston isn’t exactly Miami, I don’t know if they are looking for 3rd level tax thresholds on repeater penalty type bills. Maybe.
Did Boras over play this thing?
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I think it’s safe to say Bregman will not be approaching the 350 million Boras suggested early on. I would have been okay with Alex staying in Houston for 6/156, but I don’t think (along with most apparently) it would have aged well. I’m pleased with the way this club has been reshaped so far.
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I think Boris/Bregman just @$!* in his mess kit. Remember a bird in hand is worth two in the bush. Sometimes you can’t always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need or deserve. The longer this drags out the value decreases. As the Billy Joel lyrics go, “If I go cold, I won’t get sold, I’ll get put in the back of the discount rack like another can of beans”.
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I also wonder back and forth if maybe Bregman wanted to move on. He might think the Astros have seen their best days. I’m not ready to write them off yet, but if perhaps Alex feels that way, it’s a bit ironic, as he really did not help his team enough in 2024 to justify the contract he seems to be fixed on. I also wonder if we might see Jose Altuve come to the plate amid boo’s at Fenway while Cora stands in the dugout as Bregman looks on from third base.
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Yes, I think he cost himself significant money because I don’t see a scenario where he performs well enough to earn such a contract next season. As Chip suggests below, I expect we’re going to see a short term deal for less than what Houston offered with player opt-outs. I’m not sure any teams realistically were wanting to go above what Houston offered before the Soto/Snell/Fried signings, but we all knew the options were limited to begin with.
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It may be an outlier, but could Bregman possibly end up with a Blake Snell-type deal…two years with an opt-out after one year? It’s way too early for that I believe, but ultimately, if he doesn’t get the deal he wants, would he wait one year for another market?
Cons: He’s 30, so it would be a risk.
Pros: It gives him a chance to prove he’s still got it.
His market is slimming down. Who’s left? Detroit? Boston? Will they ante up?
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Bregman and Alonso are The Bridesmaids!
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Burnes to the Diamondbacks for 6/$210mil. With an opt-out after 2 years if he wants to try for more!
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WAR-wise, the Astros had the #2 catching combo in MLB in Diaz, Caratini and Salazar. What kept them from being #1 was either Diaz’s defense or his lack of walks. What got them to #2 was Caratini’s defense, Diaz’s RBIs and their #3 catcher having positive numbers all the way around, which is rare.
What I believe could propel the Astros to #1 at the catcher position is Diaz’s patience at the plate, resulting in a 6-7% BB rate and his listening to advice on improving his fundamentals behind the plate to get his defensive metrics into positive territory. The only thing stopping Diaz from being the best is his attention to detail.
The Astros are thin at catcher in the minors. I have some hope for Price, but he is 25 and he would need to turn things around quickly to become a real asset. Janek’s future development could be the rise or the fall of Dana Brown’s tenure with Houston. That draft pick was out there in the City of Space.
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I see these six and seven year deals for starting pitchers and I keep hoping someone at some point soon makes it very difficult for Dana Brown not to consider a deal for Framber.
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Yesterday evening we went to 4pm Mass in a town 45 minutes away. Then we went to dinner in a bigger town 30 minutes farther away and it was delightful. I didn’t have to drive, as our daughter’s family took us as guests. We spent an hour and a half of relaxing dining and then headed further into this town to their famous Christmas Lights by the Lake display
Instead of driving thru, we parked and beheld the beautiful scenes from a carriage pulled by giant Belgian hoses. That was wonderful. But wait! There’s more! From there they took us to the local airport. By this time it was 9pm. Mrs1op and I piled into the back seat of the Cessna and our wannabe pilot granddaughter got up front with the young female pilot taking us up at night, to view the city and the Christmas light show.
Mom and I flew at night in a small plane for the first time. It was a Christmas present to us and to our Granddaughter, who is the gymnast and wants to go to college to compete in that, while studying aviation. When we landed we found out that our not-so-little-anymore girl was flying the plane, with her pilot, some of the time, without us knowing. It is the fifth time she has been able to do this, under the tutelage of several instructors.
The nighttime beauty and everything we experienced was all the talk on the long drive home with a lot of sharing and hugs at the end of the night. This time was a reminder to us being open to new things, even in the later times of our life journey. It was an incredible night.
Baseball is life, but not all of it. Happy New Year! 1oldpro.
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Wonderful story OP. I’m glad you had such a beautiful and memorable weekend!! And lovely description for us to picture it all.
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That’s a beautiful Christmas story.
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I just finished a post on the first base position – thank you Steven for the position inspiration and hopefully that will appear soon
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I think I saw a snippet where Bregman signed with the Tigers. I can’t find it anymore.
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