Framing low pitches begins with a soft thump of leather, not a roar. On October 19, Tropicana Field shook as the Tampa Bay Rays fought to finish off the Cleveland Guardians. Freddy Peralta worked through Cleveland’s lineup while catcher Liam Hicks handled his pitches. Every count carried the weight of a possible World Series berth.
The highlights belonged to Tampa Bay’s hitters. Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz launched two-run homers, and the Rays finished off Cleveland 7-3 in Game 6. Peralta earned ALCS MVP honors after helping Tampa Bay reach its first World Series since 2020.
But beneath the noise sat a smaller contest. Every sinking slider or splitter presented a familiar problem: receive it cleanly, keep the glove from dropping, and give the umpire the best possible look at the bottom of the strike zone.
Then came the new complication.
For the first postseason, MLB’s Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System allowed hitters to contest those precious calls. A catcher could still steal a strike. Now, he also had to know whether that strike would survive a challenge.
That tension explains why framing low pitches has become one of October’s most fascinating defensive battles.
The Smallest Movement Can Change an Entire At-Bat
The best pitch framers rarely look busy. Their gloves move toward the baseball, absorb its momentum, and settle without unnecessary motion. Poor receivers make the same pitch look like an emergency.
Picture a splitter descending toward the hitter’s knees. A catcher who stabs downward at the last instant can drag the glove below the zone, even when part of the pitch crosses the plate legally. The umpire sees leather near the dirt and must judge a baseball that has already disappeared into the mitt.
A skilled receiver approaches differently. He gets his glove beneath the pitch early, tracks it into the pocket, and avoids letting the impact pull his hand downward. The goal isn’t to jerk a ball into the strike zone. It’s to keep a borderline strike from looking like a ball.
This is where catching has changed dramatically. Once, scouting reports concentrated on throwing strength, blocking ability, and game management. Those qualities still matter, especially when runners threaten to steal. Statcast has simply revealed another source of defensive value that traditional box scores largely missed.
MLB’s Baseball Savant measures how effectively catchers secure calls on pitches near the zone’s boundaries. Its shadow zone includes pitches within approximately one baseball’s width on either side of the strike-zone edges. That narrow area represents the central battleground for modern pitch framing.
The bottom edge offers a particularly demanding test. Sinkers run toward the dirt, changeups arrive with late downward movement, and breaking balls can cross the plate before finishing below the catcher’s knees. A catcher must handle all three without making the glove’s final position undermine the pitch.
Why One Stolen Strike Matters More Than It Looks
Baseball’s count statistics explain why teams invest so much effort in something as subtle as glove positioning.
According to MLB’s Statcast catcher-framing glossary, major-league hitters produced a .806 OPS after reaching a 1-0 count in 2025. Following an 0-1 count, that figure dropped to .607.
That 199-point gap doesn’t mean every successful frame produces an identical advantage. Pitchers, hitters, and game situations vary considerably. Still, the numbers show how different an at-bat can become after just one pitch.
With an 0-1 lead, a pitcher can attack the edges more aggressively. A slider below the zone becomes dangerous because the hitter must protect against falling further behind. Conversely, a 1-0 count gives the batter more freedom to reject a marginal pitch and hunt something better.
Now imagine that difference with two outs and runners at the corners.
A borderline strike can move the pitcher closer to escaping the inning. The same pitch called a ball might force him toward the heart of the plate on the next delivery. October managers understand that distinction because one extra baserunner can change how an entire bullpen gets used.
Low pitch framing doesn’t create runs directly. It helps pitchers reach the counts that make run prevention easier.
Unlike a spectacular throw to second base, the catcher’s contribution often disappears into the next pitch.
Patrick Bailey Shows What an Elite Receiver Is Worth
Few catchers demonstrate the value of framing low pitches better than Patrick Bailey. During the 2025 season with San Francisco, he produced 25 catcher-framing runs, the highest total in Major League Baseball. Six of those runs came from pitches around the bottom edge of the zone.
For comparison, Chicago White Sox catcher Edgar Quero finished with minus-13 framing runs that season. The difference between the two players reached 38 runs in overall framing value, though their workloads differed considerably.
Those numbers don’t represent actual runs scored or prevented in particular games. They reflect Statcast’s model of how receiving influences called strikes. MLB converts those outcomes into run values using approximately 0.125 runs per additional strike.
Bailey remained an above-average pitch framer in 2026, although his production dropped to five framing runs overall, including one along the bottom edge of the strike zone, according to Baseball Savant’s completed regular-season data.
The decline offers useful perspective. Bailey’s reputation rests on several seasons of exceptional receiving rather than one statistical peak, but even elite catchers experience fluctuations in their measurable framing value. His lower 2026 total also reinforces why teams must evaluate receiving across multiple seasons instead of treating a single year’s result as permanent.
Bailey’s value became particularly interesting when Cleveland acquired him from the Giants on May 9, 2026. The Guardians sent pitching prospect Matt Wilkinson and the No. 29 selection in the 2026 MLB Draft to San Francisco. Cleveland wanted an established defensive catcher who could improve its options behind the plate.
Cleveland’s Game 5 gamble
By the ALCS, manager Stephen Vogt faced a decision that illustrated the catcher’s complicated responsibilities.
Rookie left-hander Parker Messick had developed a strong relationship with veteran Austin Hedges. Hedges caught 34 of Messick’s first 35 starts between the regular season and postseason. That familiarity gave him valuable insight into the pitcher’s tendencies.
Yet Cleveland started Bailey behind the plate in Game 5 against Tampa Bay. He entered the contest batting .333 with two home runs over nine postseason games. The Guardians wanted that offense without sacrificing an elite defensive presence.
There was one concern: Bailey had never caught Messick in a game.
Vogt accepted the risk. As MLB.com’s October 18 report detailed, the manager trusted Bailey’s receiving skills and preparation enough to break up the familiar battery. Cleveland lost 3-1, although that outcome alone says little about the quality of Bailey’s framing.
The decision demonstrated something more significant than a lineup adjustment. Even teams with excellent defensive catchers must weigh receiving against pitcher familiarity, offensive production, and game planning.
Framing low pitches can separate two talented defenders, but it cannot replace the rest of the position.
How the One-Knee Stance Changed Modern Catching
Watch a major-league catcher receive a sinking pitch today, and his stance may look nothing like the traditional squat of earlier generations.
Many catchers lower one knee toward the ground before the pitcher releases the ball. That position allows them to establish a lower receiving target and work upward toward pitches near the knees.
The advantage becomes obvious on a sharply dropping splitter. Instead of reaching down as the ball approaches, the catcher can position his glove below its expected path. A clean reception then requires less emergency movement.
The technique also helps the umpire see a stable glove rather than a mitt plunging toward the dirt.
According to Baseball Savant’s catcher-stance research, catchers using knee-down positions recorded a 47% called-strike rate on shadow-zone pitches from 2020 through 2024. Traditional knee-up stances produced approximately 45%.
More surprisingly, the two setups recorded identical passed-ball and wild-pitch rates of approximately 0.6 per 100 pitches.
That doesn’t mean every catcher should use the same stance. Hip mobility, flexibility, pitching repertoire, and comfort all affect the best setup. A receiver who struggles to move laterally might gain little from lowering his knee if the adjustment compromises blocking.
Still, the evidence helps explain why framing low pitches has reshaped catching instruction.
Coaches no longer have to treat traditional squatting mechanics as the default for every situation. They can build receiving technique around the pitches a staff actually throws. For a catcher facing a steady diet of sinkers and splitters, those adjustments can make the bottom of the zone considerably easier to defend.
The 2026 LCS Showed Why Receiving Is Only Part of the Story
Milwaukee’s sweep of Los Angeles offered another reminder that postseason catching involves far more than collecting borderline strikes.
In Game 4 of the NLCS on October 15, Shohei Ohtani helped give the Dodgers a 4-0 lead. Milwaukee answered with six unanswered runs, including Garrett Mitchell’s go-ahead home run in the sixth inning.
Then Aaron Ashby took over.
The left-hander delivered three scoreless innings and recorded the final nine outs of Milwaukee’s 6-4 victory. His performance completed the Brewers’ sweep and secured the franchise’s first World Series appearance since 1982.
Behind the plate, William Contreras guided Milwaukee through a tense bullpen game. His work demonstrated why teams value catchers who manage pitchers confidently when a postseason contest turns into a parade of pitching changes.
Tampa Bay followed a different path.
The Rays acquired Liam Hicks from Miami at the August 3 trade deadline, adding a catcher who brought significant offensive value. During Game 2 of the ALCS, Hicks contributed a two-run single while Peralta threw six scoreless innings in a 3-1 victory.
That combination mattered again during the pennant-clinching Game 6, when Hicks caught Peralta in Tampa Bay’s decisive win over Cleveland.
Neither series provides sufficient evidence to declare that a particular framed low strike won the pennant. Home runs, defensive plays, and pitching execution produced the documented turning points.
But both series show why catchers must offer a complete skill set.
Framing low pitches can create an advantage that accumulates quietly across innings. The best October teams combine that skill with reliable blocking, intelligent pitch selection, and timely contributions from the lineup.
ABS Has Changed the Art of Stealing Strikes
For generations, pitch framing depended on persuading the person standing behind the catcher. The 2026 postseason introduced a second judge.
Under the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System, teams begin each game with two challenges. Batters, pitchers, and catchers can immediately contest a ball-strike decision. Successful challenges remain available.
MLB’s official 2026 rules explanation established the electronic strike zone’s dimensions. It spans the plate’s 17-inch width, with its lower boundary set at 27% of the batter’s officially measured height and its upper boundary at 53.5%.
Those measurements create a problem for traditional pitch framing.
Human umpires historically called a lower strike zone than the electronic system. MLB’s research placed the average bottom of the human-called zone near 24.2% of batter height, below the automated boundary.
A low slider that looks convincing in the catcher’s glove might still miss the electronic zone. If the hitter challenges, a beautifully presented strike can become a ball.
Good framing can influence the umpire. It cannot change where the baseball actually crossed the plate.
That difference has forced catchers to develop another skill: knowing precisely when a call deserves a second look.
Carson Kelly showed the other side of the equation
Chicago Cubs catcher Carson Kelly provided an early example of how the new system could reward catchers.
On May 4, Cubs pitcher Ben Brown threw a low-inside fastball to Cincinnati’s Will Benson during the eighth inning. The umpire called it a ball. Kelly immediately tapped his helmet, and the automated review overturned the decision.
Brown had his strikeout.
According to MLB.com’s May 11 report, Statcast valued Kelly’s successful challenge at approximately 0.4 runs. Chicago eventually won 5-4.
The moment demonstrated something beyond sharp eyesight. Kelly understood the pitch’s location, recognized the umpire’s mistake, and reacted before the opportunity disappeared.
That judgment adds a new dimension to catching without replacing the old one. Teams now need receivers who can secure favorable calls and recognize the ones technology can correct.
The Numbers Are Changing How Teams Develop Catchers
The rise of framing analytics has transformed how organizations evaluate defensive performance.
Statcast calculates framing value by comparing an umpire’s actual call against the likelihood of a similar pitch being called a strike. That model helps identify catchers who consistently earn difficult calls and those who lose strikes through poor receiving.
The information becomes especially useful near the bottom of the zone.
Coaches can examine how a receiver handles low sinkers, whether his glove drifts downward on splitters, and which stances produce the cleanest presentations. Instead of treating pitch framing as an instinctive talent, teams can isolate specific movements and improve them.
The challenge system adds another layer to that development.
A catcher might possess exceptional hands but struggle to recognize the electronic boundary. Another could make excellent challenge decisions while losing too many favorable calls through inconsistent glove work.
Those weaknesses require different solutions.
Framing low pitches remains a valuable development priority, but teams now have a more complete picture of what makes a catcher effective. Statcast’s 2026 methodology separates the value of the initial reception from the value of a successful ABS challenge, allowing clubs to evaluate those skills independently.
The strongest defenders won’t simply steal more strikes. They’ll understand which ones they can keep.
The Next Battle Begins in Milwaukee
When Milwaukee and Tampa Bay open the World Series on October 23, their catchers will carry the same quiet responsibilities that shaped the LCS.
William Contreras must manage a Brewers staff that leaned heavily on its bullpen against Los Angeles. Liam Hicks will work with a Rays rotation led by an ALCS MVP in Freddy Peralta. Both must prepare for lineups capable of punishing mistakes and forcing difficult decisions.
The margin for error will be narrow.
One extra ball can extend an at-bat. A missed block can move a runner into scoring position. A poorly received slider might leave a pitcher facing a dangerous hitter in a count he desperately wanted to avoid.
For years, elite receivers built their reputations around the subtle glove movements that helped human umpires recognize borderline strikes. Technology has complicated that craft without making it obsolete.
Patrick Bailey’s framing numbers show the value of exceptional receiving. Carson Kelly’s timely challenge demonstrates how quickly a catcher can adapt when the game offers another way to win a strike.
The World Series will demand both instincts.
Contreras and Hicks won’t control every pitch or every umpire’s decision. Their value will emerge from hundreds of small choices: where to set the target, how to receive a sinking fastball, and when to trust their judgment with an inning on the line.
The crowd will remember the home run that clears the wall or the strikeout that ends a rally. Few will notice the catcher settling his glove beneath a breaking ball, giving the umpire one last clean look.
In October, the difference between a ball and a strike can be barely an inch. And sometimes, that inch is everything.
READ ALSO: The October velocity tax makes back-to-back bullpen outings a pennant gamble
FAQs
What does framing low pitches mean in baseball?
Catchers frame low pitches by receiving them with controlled glove movements. A clean reception helps the umpire recognize borderline strikes near the bottom of the zone.
Why is pitch framing so important in the MLB playoffs?
One borderline strike can change the count and give a pitcher the advantage. In October, those small edges can decide crucial at-bats.
Does MLB’s ABS system make pitch framing useless?
No. Human umpires still make the initial calls, and players don’t challenge every pitch. Catchers can still earn valuable strikes through good receiving.
Why do MLB catchers receive pitches on one knee?
A one-knee stance helps catchers get underneath low pitches and control their gloves. Statcast data also shows improved framing results with knee-down setups.
How many ABS challenges does each MLB team get?
Each team starts with two challenges. A successful challenge stays available, while an unsuccessful attempt costs the team one.
