Throughout the course of the 2017 season, Austin Barnes outplayed Yasmani Grandal to earn the starting catching spot for the Los Angeles Dodgers down the stretch of the regular season and into the postseason.
This season has been much different though, as Barnes has struggled greatly at the plate while Grandal has perhaps been the best hitting catcher in all of baseball.
It is known that the switch-hitting Grandal hits better from the left side of the plate than right in his career. So Barnes has still received plenty of playing time against southpaws this season despite struggling for the most part.
It appears that is going to change. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Grandal will see a majority of the time behind the plate regardless of the handedness of the opposing pitcher, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“I think, one, in the batter’s box against a left-hander he’s put forth better at-bat quality, for me,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Also if you look at the next 10 days, we’re going to face a lot of left-handed pitching. He’s our starting catcher so we’ve got to get him in there.”
Grandal and Barnes’ numbers against left-handers are actually quite similar. Grandal is batting .208/.333/.333 with one home run and 13 RBI in 72 at-bats, while Barnes is hitting .239/.337/.295 with one home run and five RBI in 88 at-bats.
Overall, Grandal has been far superior at the plate, especially since the beginning of July when he has been among the best hitters in all of baseball. He leads all National League catchers with 20 total home runs on the season.
The Dodgers face an interesting scenario with their three-game series against the Giants, as they will face all left-handers in Madison Bumgarner, Andrew Suarez and Derek Holland.
