Do the Minnesota Twins have the best catcher in baseball? No Twins’ catcher has been part of that conversation since Hall of Famer Joe Mauer moved to first base in 2014. So, move over Salvador Perez, step aside William Contreras. Move to your left, Adley Rutschman and Will Smith. Here comes Ryan Jeffers.
Who is Ryan Jeffers?
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Ryan Jeffers was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. He played his high school ball at Sanderson High School in Raleigh. After high school, he was not drafted by any MLB team, so he walked on to the University of North Carolina Wilmington baseball team.
Jeffers played three years with the Seahawks, including two seasons in which he was named to the All-Conference Team. Then, the Twins selected him in the second round of the 2018 MLB Amateur Draft with the 59th pick.
Rapid Rise with the Twins
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He played in 64 games of Single-A ball that season and recorded an impressive slash line of .344/.444/.502. In 2019, he split his time between Advanced Single-A Fort Myers Miracle and Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos. Between the two stops, Jeffers hit 14 home runs and drove in 49 runners.
Jeffers sat out the first part of the 2020 season because minor league baseball was suspended that year due to the pandemic. But the Twins purchased his contract, and he made his MLB debut on August 20 against the Milwaukee Brewers. He produced two hits and an RBI in that game and finished the year with a slash line of .273/.355/.436. He was on his way. Or was he?
Jeffers Hits Hard Waters
Then, just like that, the bottom seemed to drop out of Ryan Jeffers’ career. Two sub-par offensive seasons and a question about his throwing arm forced the Twins to make an alteration at catcher. Fearing that they had made a mistake when they dispatched starting catcher Mitch Garver to Texas, Minnesota brought in veteran Christian Vazquez to take over the starting catching duties.
It appeared at that point that Jeffers might be relegated to a career as a backup backstop. How he responded to this challenge would determine his fate as a Major League ballplayer.
Twins Welcome a Rejuvenated Jeffers
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How did Jeffers respond? Very well, thank you. After a slow start, Jeffers went on a tear, hitting 11 of his 14 home runs and driving in 33 of his 43 RBIs in the second half of the season. And he leapfrogged over a struggling Vazquez to reassume the starting catcher position.
And as a bonus, his toss-out rate on runners attempting to steal a base on the Twins improved exponentially. And his 2023 performance was just a tease for what would transpire in 2024.
Jeffers on a Tear
Prior to last night’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Jeffers was leading the majors in WAR 1.4, batting average .434, and RBIs 17 since April 22. He has been so hot that Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has started deploying him in the leadoff spot. He exudes immense confidence at the plate and is completely in the zone.
Is Ryan Jeffers the best catcher in baseball? Recent trends suggest that he is in the conversation. The question might become moot if he continues producing at this elite level. Twins fans would love to sit back and watch this come to fruition.
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Greg Simbeck covers a variety of sports for Total Apex Sports. He specializes in MLB coverage. Greg has covered various sports for numerous other publications over the years.
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