Sports

Caputo: 3 Reasons "Fan Hate" For Tigers Catcher Alex Avila Is Misguided

/ CBS Detroit

By: Pat Caputo
@patcaputo98

1. Avila is an above-average catcher defensively. Only Kansas City's Salvador Perez has a better defensive WAR among American League receivers. He is ranked third in the Major League Baseball in percentage of runners thrown out attempting to steal. A recent poll by Baseball America of AL managers rated Avila as the second-best defensive catcher behind only Perez.

2. Avila's batting average is misleading because he draws a lot walks and has a relatively high on-base percentage (.322,) which is above both the AL and MLB averages.

3. Avila does have some power. His 162-game average as a major league player over 5-plus seasons is 16 home runs.

First published on August 6, 2014 / 9:03 AM EDT

© 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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