Is Austin Barnes as Bad as You Think?

I am just going to jump right into this one: In 2023, the best Caught Stealing Rate by Catchers was +9. That means that the best catcher was good for +9 Runs Over League Average. Will Smith was -1 Run Below Average and Austin Barnes was -4 Runs Below League Average. If Austin Barnes is one of the worst throwing catchers in MLB, then Will Smith is right there with him. Is that what you think?

That is, unless you want to consider that these figures don’t tell the whole truth. You see, the Dodgers do things a bit differently. Simply put, the Dodgers don’t want their pitchers (and catchers too) to be overly concerned with baserunners. They want them to focus on the batter and not get overly…