Encouraging Early Returns: Is Korey Lee Catching On with the White Sox?

The backstop's walk rate is down to just 4.8% through those first 64 plate appearances, but he's combating that by lowering his strikeout rate to just 17.7%. One noticeable change through the admittedly small sample size is Lee's ability to lay off pitches out of the strike zone. He's swinging at just 26.4% of pitches out of the zone, which is actually 2% below league average. In his brief stint in 2022, Lee swung at 40% of pitches he saw out of the strike zone, and after joining the Sox last season the number was at 30.5%.

He's also taking advantage of mistakes in the strike zone. So far, Lee has seen Meatballs (pitches Baseball Savant defines as right down the heart of the plate) on 9.8% of the offerings to him. This number is 2.5% above league average, so it'll likely normalize as the season moves along, but Lee is being aggressive on these mistakes swinging at 95.2% of them, which is 12% higher than he did a year ago. Again, we're talking extremely small sample sizes here, but if these improved swing decisions are part of Lee's offensive profile going forward, he'll be better positioned for success. 

These are tangible improvements in Lee's game, and they're visible in real-time and on your favorite stats-based website. It's encouraging to see a White Sox player showing signs of improvement at the Major League level because such instances have been few and far between in recent years. Do we know if these improvements will stick over the long haul? No, but the fact that they've emerged to this point is still a positive sign from my perspective.

Behind the Dish 

With the gear on, Korey Lee has been somewhat of a mixed bag so far. He has the top average Pop Time (time measured from when the pitch is received by the catcher to when it's received by the intended target) among all catchers at 1.84 seconds. His average arm strength is also tops among catchers so far in 2024 at 88.4 MPH. The arm strength coupled with his quick release has resulted in one caught stealing run above average through the first month of play. Having a catcher who can control the opposition's running game isn't something the White Sox have been accustomed to in recent years, so it's certainly a welcomed sight.

Advanced metrics haven't been crazy about his framing or blocking, however. Lee has amassed -1 Catcher Framing Runs and -3 Blocks Above Average to this point. However, not all of this can be attributed to Lee, in my opinion. Admittedly, the Sox don't have control and command pitchers up and down their staff, which can play a role in a catcher's ability to get strikes called or prevent baserunners from moving up 90 feet.

Just as the positive numbers regarding Lee's offensive output this year have to be kept in context due to sample size, the same can be said about his defensive metrics which are below average. There are still five months of play ahead of us, so it'll be interesting to see how these shake out over the rest of this season.

Lee has certainly shown enough to warrant more time behind the dish as his catching cohort, Martin Maldonado, is clearly on his last legs. Maldonado was viewed as a defense-first catcher for the entirety of his career, but things have gone south quickly for the veteran.

Here to Stay?

Let me be clear, I'm not saying that Korey Lee has finally solved the White Sox catching dilemma and that he'll be behind the dish for the next decade. However, there are tangible improvements he's made offensively so far in 2024, and he has obvious strengths behind the plate. Will Lee continue to develop and improve at the Major League level? We don't know the answer to that yet, but it's certainly something worth keeping an eye on as this dreadful season continues.

I and many others still watching this team want to see Lee get the bulk of the innings behind the plate, as we know that Martin Maldonado is not part of this team's long-term future. In a lost season, the organization needs to find out if Lee will be part of a viable catching tandem going into the future. Many hope that switch-hitting backstop Edgar Quero will continue his success at Double-A Birmingham and blossom into a long-term solution at the position, but we've seen enough prospects in recent years not pan out to pencil that in at this point.

If Lee and Quero or some other backstop can provide stability to the position in the future, it'll help the White Sox tremendously from a roster construction standpoint. The team hasn't had the catcher position solidified since A.J. Pierzynski departed following the 2012 season. Lee showing improvement at the Major League level is very significant for the Sox as they need to see development this year from any players that might even be thought of as part of the future.