Mitch Garver

Mitch Garver

33-Year-Old CatcherC
Seattle Mariners
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Garver rebounded from an injury-riddled 2022 season with a productive campaign, posting a 138 wRC+, the third highest of his career. Garver played in 87 games, the most since 2019, but he missed just over one-third of the season after hurting his knee in early April. When healthy, Garver was the everyday designated hitter, mixing in 27 games behind the plate. Garver's success in the batter's box was fully supported by his underlying metrics, which bodes well for continuing to log playing time at designated hitter. Garver has never been known for his defensive prowess, so it's not a surprise the metrics were not kind to him in his limited time defensively. Even so, Garver regained catcher eligibility and at least for the upcoming season, he's borderline useful in single-catcher formats and a solid option in two catcher leagues. He will work as Cal Raleigh's backup and the Mariners' top option at designated hitter when healthy, after signing a two-year deal with Seattle this winter. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#174
ADP
$Signed a two-year, $23 million contract with the Mariners in December of 2023. Contract includes $12 million mutual option ($1 million buyout) for 2026.
Smacks 15th homer
CSeattle Mariners
September 27, 2024
Garver went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 2-0 win over the Athletics.
ANALYSIS
Garver's second-inning homer was all the run support Bryan Woo needed. Garver is up to 15 homers this year, including three over his last seven games. The 33-year-old has mostly had a disappointing season for the Mariners, posting a .172/.286/.341 slash line with 51 RBI, 37 runs scored and 17 doubles across 113 contests.
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Batting Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
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2023 MLB Game Log
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
6
8
13
11
15
8
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
3
12
7
5
9
6
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+29%
OPS vs LHP
2024
 
 
+39%
OPS vs LHP
2023
 
 
+11%
OPS vs LHP
2022
 
 
+79%
OPS vs LHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .866 304 43 14 46 0 .261 .388 .478
Since 2022vs Right .669 684 62 30 79 1 .194 .287 .382
2024vs Left .763 156 19 8 28 0 .218 .327 .436
2024vs Right .549 274 18 7 23 0 .145 .263 .286
2023vs Left .938 84 10 0 7 0 .344 .500 .438
2023vs Right .845 259 35 19 43 0 .250 .328 .517
2022vs Left 1.025 64 14 6 11 0 .269 .391 .635
2022vs Right .574 151 9 4 13 1 .184 .258 .316
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Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+8%
OPS at Home
2024
 
 
+5%
OPS at Home
2023
 
 
+15%
OPS at Home
2022
 
 
+9%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home .758 461 53 21 59 1 .220 .336 .422
Since 2022Away .702 527 52 23 66 0 .209 .302 .400
2024Home .644 185 17 9 23 0 .153 .281 .363
2024Away .614 245 20 6 28 0 .186 .290 .324
2023Home .928 176 27 10 27 0 .291 .392 .536
2023Away .809 167 18 9 23 0 .248 .347 .462
2022Home .665 100 9 2 9 1 .217 .340 .325
2022Away .728 115 14 8 15 0 .200 .261 .467
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Stat Review
How does Mitch Garver compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.40
 
BB Rate
12.3%
 
K Rate
30.9%
 
BABIP
.216
 
ISO
.169
 
AVG
.172
 
OBP
.286
 
SLG
.341
 
OPS
.627
 
wOBA
.284
 
Exit Velocity
89.9 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
31.2%
 
Barrels/PA
4.7%
 
Expected BA
.181
 
Expected SLG
.342
 
Sprint Speed
20.4 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
36.3%
 
Line Drive %
15.2%
 
Fly Ball %
48.5%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Mitch Garver See More
The Z Files: Strategy and Rankings for the Underdog Fantasy Playoff Contest
40 days ago
Todd Zola examines strategies for the Underdog postseason contest, and notes that while Shoehi Ohtani may be the best player, you may not want to take him first overall.
Collette Calls: Bold Hitter Predictions Accountability
41 days ago
Jason Collette reviews the hits and misses from his hitting half of his preseason bold predictions, including big hits on Brenton Doyle and Mark Vientos.
Lineup Lowdown: American League
49 days ago
Trevor Story is back from a long injury layoff and back in an everyday role, but he's yet to hit his way into the top half of the Boston lineup.
Weekly Hitter Rankings: The Playoff Push
52 days ago
Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers are one of 14 teams with a seven-game schedule from September 16-22. Todd Zola highlights the matchups and unveils his weekly hitter rankings.
Weekly Hitter Rankings: Scoring is Way Down
59 days ago
The Cleveland Guardians are one of six teams with seven games the week of September 9 to September 15. See how they and the rest of the MLB rank in Todd Zola's weekly hitter rankings.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
Garver was acquired by the Rangers ahead of the 2022 campaign, but he was limited to 54 games due to a forearm injury that eventually required surgery. He saw action in only 14 contests at catcher and worked primarily as a designated hitter while he tried to play through the injury. Jonah Heim took advantage of the opportunity and had a bit of a breakout, which could put him in line to receive regular playing time behind the plate in 2023. Garver had a .207/.298/.404 slash line with 10 home runs, though the fact he played through the injury for a while likely affected those numbers. Now entering his final season of arbitration eligibility, Garver should split his time between catcher and designated hitter and could be a late-round option for fantasy managers looking for a rebound. Availability remains a question mark given he's played in over 100 games only once in his big-league career.
Garver found a happy medium between his breakout 2019 (31 home runs, 24.2 K%) and his disastrous 2020 (two homers, 45.7 K%), reaching 13 long balls and striking out at a 29.2% clip in 243 plate appearances. Most catchers are banged up early on in the Major League Baseball campaign and remain that way. Garver was no different in 2021, battling shoulder and knee injuries before finally requiring IL stints due to groin and back issues. That's been a theme throughout his career (he attributed his 2020 struggles to an intercostal injury) and the Twins managed him carefully when they were lucky enough to have Garver on the field over the past five seasons. Minnesota was ready to move on after the lockout, however, trading Garver to Texas in exchange for Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ronny Henriquez. The change in home ballparks is negligible for a right-handed hitter, but Garver will be in a less talented lineup. Even so, his fantasy value in 2022 will be directly tied to how many games he is healthy for.
Garver's 2020 could hardly be more different than his 2019 breakout season. Garver went from hitting 31 home runs with a .630 SLG, to struggling with injuries, being lost at the plate and slugging just .264. Garver was hitting just .154 with a .474 OPS in his first 17 games before landing on the injured list with an intercostal strain. He missed a month with the injury and played sparingly when he returned. When he was healthy, he struggled to make contact with a 45.7 K%. He did at least maintain his improved defense with 3 DRS at catcher. Garver does draw walks (8.6%) and makes hard contact (41.7% hard hit rate). His 2019 season may have been unsustainable due to a 29% HR/FB rate. However, his 2020 campaign is likely the other extreme and his injury may have been a factor all season. Either way, the Twins will likely continue to make a concerted effort to keep their catchers well rested. As a result, he could split playing time with Ryan Jeffers, who established himself in Garver's absence, even though both hit right-handed.
Garver took a quantum leap in his second full season. His 31 home runs ranked second among catchers, and he did that despite amassing just 359 plate appearances, 20th among backstops. The Twins made a concerted effort to keep their catchers well rested and didn't alter the plan even with Garver's success. Garver also improved with his defense as he changed up his catching stance behind the plate to get lower and improve his pitch framing. He went from -16 DRS to 0 DRS at catcher as a result. Garver drew walks (11.4 BB%), made hard contact and had a passable strikeout rate (24.2 K%), which indicate his improvement was mostly legitimate. However, a 29% HR/FB rate is clearly unsustainable. Thankfully, the inevitable dip in rate stats should be offset to an extent by more playing time, as Garver is the team's clear top catcher with Jason Castro leaving via free agency.
Garver took over as the primary catcher last year when Jason Castro was lost for the season with a knee injury and showed he can hit well enough to be a significant part of the equation behind the plate in 2019. He hit .293/.340/.474 in the second half while splitting starts behind the plate. Garver draws walks at a decent clip (8.7%) and has modest power (seven HR, .146 ISO). However, he is not as strong against right-handed pitchers (.629 OPS) and wasn't a young rookie (turned 28 this offseason). He's a below-average defender behind the dish (-15 DRS, 34th among catchers), which could limit his playing time. He'll likely occupy the lesser side of a platoon with Jason Castro, which would help boost his batting average, if not his counting stats. Garver has shown he can hit well enough that even in a limited role he'll offer fantasy value in deeper two-catcher leagues.
Garver will contend for the backup catcher role with the Twins after a breakout season at Triple-A, where he hit 17 home runs with a .928 OPS. He showed some promise by posting a .753 OPS at Double-A in 2016, but wasn't considered a notable prospect since he was already 25. He hit for more power (.250 ISO), drew more walks (13.4 percent walk rate), and improved his defense at Triple-A, but it’s not clear if the improved offensive numbers were a product of him actually getting better or simply getting older. He could be a late bloomer at age 27 this season, although history tells us that is unlikely. That said, the catcher pool is so barren when it comes to offensive production, that Garver’s success at Triple-A, even as a 26-year-old merits notice. He is the favorite to win the backup spot over Chris Gimenez, but given Jason Castro’s contract and defensive prowess, Garver is unlikely to earn more than a third of the at-bats.
Given the dearth of catching in the Minnesota system, Garver has gained some steam as a sleeper at the position. He hit 11 home runs with a 118 wRC+ in 95 games at Double-A and dominated a brief run at Triple-A, thanks largely to a .436 BABIP. At age 25, he's not a top prospect but could find a role in the majors in 2017.
More Fantasy News
Slugs 14th homer in win
CSeattle Mariners
September 26, 2024
Garver went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in a win over the Astros on Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
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Swats three-run homer
CSeattle Mariners
September 16, 2024
Garver went 3-for-5 with a three-run homer in Sunday's win over the Rangers.
ANALYSIS
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Four-RBI breakout Wednesday
CSeattle Mariners
September 5, 2024
Garver went 2-for-5 with a two-run double, an RBI single, a run-scoring groundout and a run in a win over the Athletics on Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
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Rare offensive success Friday
CSeattle Mariners
August 31, 2024
Garver went 2-for-5 with a two-run double in a win over the Angels on Friday.
ANALYSIS
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Successful as pinch hitter Thursday
CSeattle Mariners
August 9, 2024
Garver entered Thursday's win over the Tigers as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning and singled in his one plate appearance.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Alone as backup catcher
CSeattle Mariners
June 19, 2024
Garver will serve as Seattle's backup catcher moving forward after Seby Zavala was designated for assignment Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
Garver has started 59 of the Mariners' 75 games this season, but only four of those starts have come behind the plate. Cal Raleigh will continue to work as Seattle's primary backstop, but Garver should now see occasional starts at catcher in addition to serving as a designated hitter. The 33-year-old has a .179/.301/.358 slash line this season but has shown signs of life in June with a .927 OPS in 44 at-bats.
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