For all the tools that Tomás Nido lacks, his ability to frame pitches has put him at an elite defensive tier over the last two seasons. It’s clear he studies Yadier Molina tape in his spare time, as Nido’s framing style shows the subtlety, elegance, and efficiency that Molina brought to the game over the last two decades. Nido has parlayed those skills into impressive framing numbers, as Statcast rated him the best overall framer in 2021 and the fifth-best in 2022.
Francisco Álvarez, meanwhile, does not seem to possess the same skills. He graduated from the Gary Sánchez school of pitch framing, preferring long, lumbering strokes from just outside the strike zone to the middle of the plate.