Is Joe Mack already a top-5 defensive catcher in MLB?

Joe Mack arrived to the big leagues with a supreme defensive reputation. During his first half-season on the Miami Marlins, he showed what the hype was all about, routinely making perfect throws to catch potential base-stealers and athletic plays with his glove.

The defensive metrics back it up. Mack already has plus-6 fielding runs (including three from framing), per Baseball Savant, ranks in the 99th percentile in caught stealing above average, and averages a 1.89 second pop time.

Digging deeper, Mack excels at framing runs on the top shadow of the zone. He has recorded the highest strike rate of any catcher in baseball in that zone at 52.6%. Mack is tied for the most shadow strikes in general with veteran catcher Victor Caratini. 

Mack's elite ability in this regard is routinely turning balls into called strikes. Even in a day and age with ABS challenges, many of those have been uncontested by batters and benefited Marlins pitchers.

Mack enters Friday with a 36% caught stealing rate, which ranks ninth in all of baseball. Beyond his consistent accuracy, he separates himself by getting rid of the ball quickly with an average exchange time of 0.60 seconds. 

Mack makes opposing runners second-guess before taking off, a complete 180 from how teams were approaching the Marlins early in the season against catchers Agustin Ramirez and Liam Hicks.

This visual via Baseball Savant shows where Mack has struggled or performed well with blocking balls in the dirt. He only ranks 39th of all qualified catchers with minus-1 BAA. With that being said, he has had to deal with the fourth-most "tough blocks," which are balls with a 85% or less chance of being blocked. Perhaps Mack has been unlucky in this department.

Considering the whole package, I do believe it is safe to say Mack is among MLB's five best defensive catchers. He is genuinely comparable to the likes of Patrick Bailey (Cleveland Guardians), Adley Rutschman (Baltimore Orioles) and Dillon Dingler (Detroit Tigers).

It's no coincidence that the Marlins have dominated in the games Mack has started (29-17 record). With the potential to improve even more as his career progresses, he is a cornerstone for Miami to build around.