Dodgers need A.J. Ellis and Tim Federowicz to improve pitch-framing

Pitch framing is all the rage these days, thanks to advanced statistics and guys like Ben Lindbergh (Baseball Prospectus) and Jeff Sullivan (FanGraphs).

I remember being taught a little about the art whilst playing baseball growing up. It's not as easy as some may think, but it's something that should be learned and catchers should at least attempt to improve as their careers progress.

Enter A.J. Ellis and Tim Federowicz. While they're both really good at throwing runners out, their pitch framing leaves a lot to be desired.

From Grantland (May 15):

"'We can make you better if you have an open mind and you're willing to work and willing to try certain things,' says (Steve) Yeager, who mentions Russell Martin, A.J. Ellis, and Tim Federowicz as some of his best students. '(You've) got to want to get back there and take the time of squatting and blocking balls, transferring balls, throwing balls, receiving balls, getting your hands beat up, getting foul tips into you. You've got to realize that you're going to get beat up physically back there.'"

There was also a footnote to accompany this quote:

"(Max) Marchi's stats suggest that Ellis still has more work to do: He's more than 30 runs below average since the start of his career, though he's shown some positive progression. Between Ellis and backup Ramon Hernandez, who rates below everyone but (Ryan) Doumit, the Dodgers are costing themselves a lot of extra strikes."

Overall, Ellis is a not great at framing, despite learning from a former Dodger in Steve Yeager. He was good at pitch framing, and it showed with former Dodger Russell Martin. Martin is one of the game's finest pitch-framers.

As of June 11, Ellis was 58 runs worse than average when it came to stealing strikes, making him the seventh-worst framer in the game at the time.

Here's an example of some shoddy pitch-framing by Ellis during the 2013 season.

And an explanation from Lindbergh:

"The bulk of Ellis’ body doesn’t move much while the pitch is in flight, but seemingly on every pitch, he initially lowers his glove, then brings it back up, which has to distract the umpire. He also catches this one awkwardly, rolling the glove over instead of just shifting it toward the inside part of the plate without changing its orientation. (Zack) Greinke didn’t miss the target by that much."

Despite his shortcomings, Ellis "clutched up" his framing. He was the seventh-best pitch-framer last season with runners in scoring position. He got 9 percent of called strikes when it mattered most. Odd, but that means there's hope.

Federowicz was the sixth-worst framer overall, getting just 7.6 percent of called strikes in 2013. He's good at blocking pitches, but his framing needs a lot of work.

An example:

And a brief, yet apt, analysis from Lindbergh:

"Similar to (Chris) Stewart's, but even stabbier."

I bring all this up because Sullivan did some framing projections (admittedly, on his part, they weren't terribly logical) over at FanGraphs on Thursday, and they weren't pretty for the Dodgers. They're projected to not get 0.67 strikes per game due to framing, which would be a 0.12 decline from 2013. The -0.67 is good for fifth-worst in baseball. At least the change from 2013 to 2014 is almost stagnant.

Luckily, the Dodgers have the pitchers to make up for this framing deficiency. Still, if the Dodger backstops could help the hurlers, it'd be best for all involved.

Photo credit: EephusBlue, Paint the Corners

Dodgers ink former Astros' prospect J.R. Towles to minor-league contract

The Dodgers on Wednesday signed former Houston Astros top prospect J.R. Towels to a minor-league deal. Don't worry, A.J. Ellis' job is plenty safe.

Towles, a catcher, has played in parts of five seasons in the majors and has posted a horrific .187/.267/.315 triple slash.

Towles, 29, is nothing more than minor-league depth, if you consider a catcher who can't hit depth. He has a career .284/.381/.453 line in the minors and had a .942 OPS in 19 games with the Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals Triple-A affiliate) this season. He played in the Twins' minor-league system in 2011.

With Tim Federowicz ripping up Triple-A pitching, he shouldn't be long for the Pacific Coast League. Matt Wallach is the Isotopes' backup catcher after the club cut ties with Jesus Flores earlier this month.

The fact the Dodgers signed Towles to any kind of deal shows the complete lack of catching depth in the organization. Perhaps that's an area the Dodgers will address in next week's MLB Draft and the subsequent international signing period.

In theory, Towles is going to Triple-A Albuquerque to replace Federowicz, who should be displacing Ramon Hernandez in Los Angeles. In actuality, Towles is going to replace Matt Wallach, who will be demoted to Double-A and will likely replace Jan Vazquez.

The Dodgers really need Gorman Erickson to regain his flash of goodness from 2011 or for Pratt Maynard to take off behind the plate. Guys like Eric Smith and Tyle Ogle aren't good bets for long-term production behind the plate, even though I like Smith as a potential sleeper going forward.

Photo credit: SBoyd, Flickr

Report: Dodgers acquire Ramon Hernandez from Rockies for Aaron Harang in confusing deal

In a bit of surprising news from Saturday morning, the Dodgers have acquired catcher Ramon Hernandez from the Rockies.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweeted the Dodgers traded Aaron Harang and cash to acquire Hernandez.

Hernandez was designated for assignment last week by Colorado, so the team could only trade or release him, as he wouldn't accept an assignment to Triple-A.

Hernandez was unimpressive last season, hitting just .217/.247/.353 -- a line that could make Baby Jesus weep -- in just 52 games. He played in 91 games the year before with the Reds and hit much better: .282/.341/.446.

Hernandez is due $3.2 million this season. Not a bad price for a starting catcher, but Hernandez won't be a starting catcher with the Dodgers. That honor belongs to A.J. Ellis.

However, the fate of Tim Federowicz is uncertain at this point. The 25-year-old won the backup job in spring training, but that is apparently short-lived. Hernandez is set to displace Federowicz as the team's backup, meaning Federowicz is slated for Triple-A or, perhaps more likely, a trade.

This move is a tad puzzling. Yes, Hernandez has better offensive potential (even at his advanced age), but Federowicz is miles ahead of him on defense.

Hernandez hasn't had a positive defensive runs saved number since 2008 when he was with the Orioles. He's at -24 in the last four years -- the second-worst number of any catcher in that time.

While the Dodgers have started slow on offense this season, acquiring marginally better offensive backstop in lieu of a better defender is weird.

Hernandez will take Harang's 40-man roster spot. And with Chad Billingsley set to come back on Wednesday, the team needs to free up a spot for him on the pitching staff. The spot on the staff is open, and it seems Federowicz, barring a trade as mentioned earlier, is heading back to Triple-A.

Federowicz has nothing left to prove in Triple-A. He's a marginal offensive player, who can draw a walk, with a plus glove. He isn't going to learn how to be a better hitter in Triple-A -- his third go-round.

The return for Harang wasn't going to be much, but you'd think the Dodgers could do a little better than this for Harang. Hell, even a low-level reliever would have been a better return. But, here we are.

Harang's stay in Colorado could be short, as Ken Rosenthal tweeted Harang isn't likely to stay with the Rockies.

This screams of a 3-way deal, as it doesn't make a lot of sense to send Federowicz back to Albuquerque, especially with Jesus Flores and Matt Wallach likely able to hold the fort down there.

We'll see what happens. This is a fluid situation right now. and we haven't heard the end of this deal yet.

Photo credits

Hernandez: Commonist, Wikimedia Commons

Federowicz: EephusBlue, Paint the Corners