Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh leads MLB in this category

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has been one of the league’s best defenders this season. And he’s leading the way in one of the key stats to prove it.

In a 2-0 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday, Raleigh caught Cedric Mullins stealing second base in the top of the third. It was just the fourth time Mullins has been caught stealing in his last 20 attempts. It was also the 23rd runner Raleigh has caught trying to pick off a bag this season. Seventeen of those outs have come against runners trying to steal second base.

Raleigh has sent those runners into the dugout on 71 attempts, giving runners a successful steal percentage of just 67.6% against him. That’s well below the league average of 80.2% in 2023. Since Raleigh was first called up in 2021, he’s caught 80 of 278 potential runners, giving him a steal percentage of 28.8, which ranks 10th among active catchers.

According to a tweet from Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, Raleigh had a pop-up time of 1.89 seconds after receiving the pitch and had a throw time of 82.7 miles per hour.

Raleigh’s 82.7 MPH pitch would rank seventh in the league among catchers, according to Baseball Savant.

Raleigh’s keen eye and strong arm behind shortstop were invaluable to the Mariners.

Seattle is sixth in the league in points allowed (328), or just 3.78 points per game.

The Mariners’ solid defense allowed them to remain atop the American League West standings with a 47-40 record, three games ahead of the second-place Houston Astros.

Seattle will have a chance to extend that lead in a 7:10 p.m. PT game Wednesday against the Orioles at T-Mobile Park.

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