KANSAS CITY -- Travis d'Arnaud twice has been traded for Cy Young Award winners. Now, he is on the receiving end of the hardest-throwing rotation in the majors and set to play in the World Series for the first time in his career.
“They all do throw hard,” d'Arnaud said about the New York Mets' World Series rotation of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz. “They all have great pitches. But the thing that impresses me the most is the command they have -- also the demeanor they have out there.
“I’ve got the best job in the world, and I'm very fortunate.”
How valuable is the 26-year-old catcher?
Ruben Amaro Jr., who traded d’Arnaud to Toronto in December 2009 in a four-player deal that returned Roy Halladay, once acknowledged that d’Arnaud was the prospect he was most reluctant to deal during his seven-year tenure as Phillies general manager. Amaro unsuccessfully tried several times to reacquire d’Arnaud from the Blue Jays.
Three years after he was traded to Toronto, d’Arnaud was dealt again for a high-end pitcher. Shortly after the winter meetings in 2012, the Mets heisted Syndergaard and d’Arnaud from the Blue Jays for reigning National League Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey.
D’Arnaud hit .268 with 12 home runs and 41 RBIs in 239 at-bats this season. He became the first Mets catcher to reach double figures in home runs in consecutive seasons since Mike Piazza in 2002 and 2003.
If there is a knock on d’Arnaud, it is his ability to stay healthy. This year, he spent seven weeks on the disabled list with a fractured right pinkie after getting struck by a pitch from Marlins reliever A.J. Ramos. D’Arnaud spent nearly six more weeks sidelined with a hyper-extended left elbow during the summer. The latter injury occurred when d’Arnaud reached in to apply a tag at the plate on Atlanta’s A.J. Pierzynski. As a rookie last season, a concussion and a bone spur in his right elbow curtailed d’Arnaud’s playing time.
The high velocity of the Mets' staff actually does not add to the pounding. Gloves are highly sophisticated these days. And because the Mets' pitchers, despite their oomph, are so precise, the pitches are rarely caught awkwardly in a bad spot of the glove.
“They have been freak injuries,” Mets bench coach Bob Geren said. “He’s in a position where you can catch 200 straight days and not get hurt, and then get hurt any pitch.”
While d’Arnaud provides power at the plate, it his ability to handle the Mets’ pitching staff at a young age that most frequently garners laurels. Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard and Matz have combined to average 96.0 mph with their fastballs this postseason. That is the highest average fastball velocity of any rotation over the past seven postseasons, since ESPN Stats and Information began crunching that data. The 2013 Pirates previously held the distinction at 95.0 mph.
D’Arnaud is particularly known for his ability to maximize strike calls through pitch framing. Among pitches taken by batters in the strike zone this season, d’Arnaud had the highest rate of strikes called in the majors (87.2 percent). His backup, rookie Kevin Plawecki, ranked second at 86.7 percent. They were followed by Miguel Montero (86.5), David Ross (86.4), Buster Posey (86.4), Yasmani Grandal (86.3) and Tyler Flowers (86.3).
At the bottom of the strike zone, d’Arnaud got a strike called 90.8 percent of the time, according to ESPN's Mark Simon. That’s more than six percent better than the major league average.
D’Arnaud has drastically reduced the number of pitches that elude him, too. He had 12 passed balls in 2014 and only one this season. He went from one wild pitch every 17.8 innings last season to one every 23.7 innings in 2015.
Geren, who caught for parts of five seasons in the majors, decided to perform a sophisticated analysis of d’Arnaud’s throwing this season.
Anyone can look up what percentage of would-be base stealers d’Arnaud has thrown out this season (32.6 percent -- 14 of 43), but Geren decided to track the time of every throw d’Arnaud made on a steal attempt. He recorded them as good, average or poor. He also had a column for no-throws. Geren noted that on scenarios such as first and third with two outs, the catcher is being told not to throw through to second base. And the basic caught-stealing percentage penalizes catchers for eating the ball in those scenarios.
“I was really happy with the results,” Geren said. “When you took the no-throws off and just added the good and averages, he was 75 or 80 percent. That was really huge.
“And then the blocking, every time a ball hit the dirt with two strikes or with a guy on, I put if he blocked it or not. If the ball went right through his legs with two strikes, even if the guy didn’t swing and nothing happened, I would write 0-for-1. If he blocked the ball, that would be 1-for-1. He was at like 95.6 percent. Almost 96 percent of balls in the dirt he blocked this year.”
D’Arnaud originally was drafted in the first round (37th overall) by the Phillies in 2007 out of high school in Lakewood, California. His older brother, Chase, was selected a year later by the Pirates in the fourth round out of Pepperdine. The brothers finally got a chance to face each other in a major league game on Sept. 29 in Philadelphia. Chase, now an infielder with the Phillies, struck out as a pinch hitter on a curveball from Jonathon Niese.
“I still can’t believe it happened,” d’Arnaud said about the family reunion at home plate.