Is the league sleeping on Ryan Jeffers as elite offensive catcher?

Originally posted on FanNation Inside The Twins | Last updated 2/21/24

Depending on how you look at it, Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers is either flying under the radar or being overlooked by the mainstream baseball media.

The 26-year-old catcher put together the best season of his young career in 2023, hitting .276 in 335 plate appearances, both career highs. Among catchers who had over 200 plate appearances, Jeffers was top five in batting average, on-base and slugging percentages – and his .360 wOBA was second only to Texas' Mitch Garver.

Yet, despite the outstanding season Jeffers doesn't appear in MLB.com's top-five underrated catchers list or top fantasy catchers list.

Who's your pick for most underrated catcher in the game? pic.twitter.com/yVdKU3HFm4
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 20, 2024

Jeffers compares incredibly well against the top-five underrated catchers" on the list.

Ryan Jeffers (26): .276/.369/.490, 14HR, 43RBI, 93K, 33BB, 27.8% K-rate, 135 OPS+
Jonah Heim (28):.258/.317/.438, 18HR, 95RBI, 96K, 40BB, 19.2% K-rate, 103 OPS+
Patrick Bailey (24): .233/.285/.359, 7HR, 48RBI, 100K, 21BB, 28.3% K-rate, 77 OPS+
Yainer Diaz (25): .282/.308/.538, 23HR, 60RBI, 74K, 11BB, 19.6% K-rate, 128 OPS+
Yan Gomes (36): .267/.315/.408, 10HR, 63RBI, 81SK, 21BB, 19.3% K-rate, 92 OPS+
Cal Raleigh (27): .232/.306/.456, 30HR, 75RBI, 158SK, 54BB, 27.8% K-rate, 112 OPS+

Are the baseball elites expecting a regression for Jeffers in 2024? In 2022 he hit just .208 in 67 games before raising that average to .276 in 96 games last season.

FanGraphs is projecting a regression, predicting a slashing line for Jeffers of .232/.317/.425 in 85 games.

What's odd is that FanGraphs is predicting him to play fewer games, which seems like the opposite of what could happen considering the Twins are high on him and he has coveted power from the right side of the plate.

Only one catcher hit a ball harder than Jeffers did last season: Wilson Contreras, a three-time All-Star whose max exit velocity of 117.5 mph was a hair harder than Jeffers' maximum rip of 117.4 mph.

Time will tell, but if 2023 was a glimpse of what's to come, Jeffers could be in line for a big summer.

This article first appeared on FanNation Inside The Twins and was syndicated with permission.

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