SF Giants rookie catcher Patrick Bailey is already Gold Glove worthy

It's no secret that SF Giants catcher Patrick Bailey has been sensational as a rookie, but Pat Ellington argues that he's earned a Gold Glove.

The SF Giants are still in playoff contention, and it's no secret that rookie catcher Patrick Bailey is a huge reason why. While Bailey's offensive production has cooled since a blazing hot start to his big-league career, his defense has remained elite. In fact, Giants announcers Dave Flemming and Hunter Pence argued on Monday that Bailey may be the best defensive player in the league. It's high praise for a rookie, but it's a warranted conversation. As wild as it sounds, Bailey deserves to be in Gold Glove contention.

“I had a baseball person say to me, maybe a couple weeks ago," Flemming recalled. "'Patrick Bailey, best defensive player at any position in baseball right now.'"

“I think that there’s a valid argument that that is true," Pence replied. "I mean, he’s changing games consistently back there. He’s been phenomenal.”

Bailey has established himself as the SF Giants' primary catcher of the mid to late 2020s since his MLB debut in late May. Drafted in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft, he was a part of a Giants draft class that included fellow top prospects Kyle Harrison and Casey Schmitt. He is one of the standout backstops in an absurdly deep group of talented, young catchers that includes Adley Rutschman, Sean Murphy, and a multitude of others. 

Bailey has proven to be one of the most productive defensive players in the sport regardless of position, despite making his MLB debut in late May at the most complex and demanding defensive position on the field. Based on how productive he has been in such a short time span for a team that is several games over .500 and in the midst of a heated race for the three NL WC spots, Bailey has put together an impressive rookie campaign. He has a very strong case for the Gold Glove for NL catchers and the NL Platinum Glove.

While he is currently 24th in defensive innings logged out of 97 qualified catchers, Bailey is first in assists, second in runners caught stealing, first in DRS, and fourth in FanGraphs Framing Runs. Baseball Savant’s blocking metrics have him ranked as a slightly below-average pitch blocker but absolutely love his pitch-framing skills. Baseball Savant gives him the second most catcher framing runs behind Austin Hedges and the highest strike rate out of 60 qualified backstops. He is currently tied for the second-fastest average pop time on throws to second base, owning the fourth-fastest exchange and the 12th-strongest throwing arm to go with a 35% caught stealing rate.

Patrick Bailey pairs his elite defensive skills with a .264/.312/.413 slash line across 255 PAs in MLB, good for a solid 98 wRC+. He is a competent switch hitter, and if he can maintain his elite defense while posting a wRC+ between 95 and 105, he will be one of the best catchers of his generation. It's impossible to replace Buster Posey, but the SF Giants seem to have the team's next catcher of the future.