Matt Thaiss

29-Year-Old CatcherC

Los Angeles Angels

2024 Stats

AVG

.204

RBI

Rest-of-Season Projections

AVG

RBI

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2024 Fantasy Outlook

Thaiss is perfectly suited for what he is - a second string catcher. What he is not is what he was forced to be with the early injury to Logan O'Hoppe which forced Thaiss into everyday catching. The extra playing time left fantasy managers dealing with the poor batting average and limited run production The season was a clear demonstration of where the future is for both O'Hoppe and Thaiss as long as the duo remains intertwined with the Angels. Thaiss's best value to the club is he has thrown out 24% of attempted basestealers, but that is not something fantasy managers care about. The simple fact is Thaiss is someone to safely avoid on draft day unless you find yourself in a 12-team AL Only league and you just got sniped on your other end game second catcher option. Read Past Outlooks

RANKS

Rest of Season

From Preseason

#369

ADP

League Majors

Bats L

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 6'0"

Weight 215

DOB 5/6/1995

Born Jackson, NJ

College Virginia

Drafted 1st Rd 2016 LAA

Taking seat Saturday

CLos Angeles Angels

September 28, 2024

Thaiss is absent from Saturday's lineup against Texas, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

ANALYSIS
The lefty-hitting Thaiss will retreat to the dugout Saturday with the Rangers sending southpaw Andrew Heaney to the mound. Brandon Drury will serve as the designated hitter and bat fifth.

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Batting Stats

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2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

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2023 MLB Game Log

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2022 MLB Game Log

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2021 MLB Game Log

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2020 MLB Game Log

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2019 MLB Game Log

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Minor League Game Log

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Batting Order Slot Breakdown

vs Right-Handed Pitchers

vs RHP

vs Left-Handed Pitchers

vs LHP

Left/Right Batting Splits

Since 2022

+50%

OPS vs RHP

2024

+47%

OPS vs RHP

2023

+23%

OPS vs RHP

2022

+375%

OPS vs RHP

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022vs Left	.456	95	3	0	6	1	.169	.263	.193
Since 2022vs Right	.683	479	52	13	49	5	.220	.332	.351
2024vs Left	.456	41	1	0	4	1	.184	.220	.237
2024vs Right	.671	145	13	2	12	2	.210	.352	.319
2023vs Left	.547	41	2	0	2	0	.206	.341	.206
2023vs Right	.675	266	30	9	29	2	.215	.316	.360
2022vs Left	.154	13	0	0	0	0	.000	.154	.000
2022vs Right	.732	68	9	2	8	1	.259	.353	.379
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Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2022

+16%

OPS at Home

2024

+48%

OPS at Home

2023

+1%

OPS at Home

2022

+14%

OPS at Home

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2022Home	.692	279	30	8	36	4	.232	.319	.373
Since 2022Away	.597	295	25	5	19	2	.190	.322	.275
2024Home	.756	81	8	2	10	2	.254	.333	.423
2024Away	.512	105	6	0	6	1	.163	.314	.198
2023Home	.662	156	17	5	20	1	.221	.301	.360
2023Away	.655	151	15	4	11	1	.206	.338	.317
2022Home	.681	42	5	1	6	1	.235	.357	.324
2022Away	.596	39	4	1	2	0	.200	.282	.314
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Stat Review

How does Matt Thaiss 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

0.48

BB Rate

15.1%

K Rate

31.2%

BABIP

.306

ISO

.096

AVG

.204

OBP

.323

SLG

.299

OPS

.622

wOBA

.288

Exit Velocity

86.6 mph

Hard Hit Rate

23.0%

Barrels/PA

4.3%

Expected BA

.193

Expected SLG

.331

Sprint Speed

21.9 ft/sec

Ground Ball %

40.4%

Line Drive %

21.2%

Fly Ball %

38.4%

Prospect Rankings History

View Complete Matt Thaiss Prospect Ranking History

Advanced Batting Stats

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Additional Stats

Games By Position

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 Matt Thaiss See More

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2023

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

Thaiss has yet to get a real shot at big-league success despite a series of solid minor-league seasons and the ability to work behind the plate as well as at the corner-infield spots. He has good enough power to consistently hit 20-plus homers in the majors and has always been willing to take a walk, though holes in his swing have resulted in a 30.6% strikeout rate through 278 career big-league plate appearances. In his initial three stints with the Angels, Thaiss worked exclusively in the infield, but he got a look at catcher last season, logging 11 starts at the position. With Max Stassi coming off a down year and Kurt Suzuki retiring, 2023 could have presented a prime opportunity for Thaiss to audition for a more prominent role, but the emergence of rookie Logan O'Hoppe presents a substantial roadblock to that possibility. Stassi and O'Hoppe figure to work as the team's top two options behind the plate, and the offseason addition of Gio Urshela further impedes Thaiss's path to playing time in the infield. If he remains on the roster, he'll likely have a hard time finding at-bats as no better than a third option at any position.

Thaiss was a late arrival to summer camp and later told reporters the delay was due to a positive COVID test in June. While Thaiss said he was asymptomatic throughout the subsequent quarantine period, it took several weeks for him to get the requisite two negative tests in 24 hours. Thaiss was on the expanded Opening Day roster regardless, but he hardly played and was optioned Aug. 6. He was brought back a month later and ran into a homer shortly thereafter, but then was hardly heard from again the rest of the year. Draw a line through his 2020 stat line as it means nothing, but plenty of holes in his swing were exposed in his 2019 sample (164 PA). Shohei Ohtani and Justin Upton need to DH, Anthony Rendon was brought in last winter and Jared Walsh has leapfrogged Thaiss at the other corner-infield spot, at least for now. Thaiss was a first-round pick in 2016 and will be given more chances to succeed.

Thaiss made his major-league debut in July and saw a couple stretches of semi-consistent playing time in the second half, but overall he struggled with a .211/.293/.422 slash line in 53 games. He enjoyed a much more productive season at Triple-A with an .867 OPS, 14 home runs and a 59:64 BB:K. Strikeouts haven't been a significant problem throughout his minor-league career, so there should be room for improvement in the 31.7 K% he posted during his first taste of the big leagues. Thaiss can play both corner infield spots and had a .211 ISO and 10.8 BB% last season, but with Albert Pujols still owed big money and Tommy La Stella and David Fletcher both coming off quality seasons, he may be hard-pressed to find significant major-league opportunities in 2020.

Thaiss reached Triple-A for the first time last season, but his .277/.328/.457 line (good for a 102 wRC+) in 85 games was underwhelming for a first-base prospect. If he were still a catcher like he was in college, those would be promising numbers, but he's played nowhere but first in his professional career. He could possibly provide competent enough performances in a pinch for the Angels this season, but with Shohei Ohtani, Albert Pujols and Justin Bour already on the roster, it's hard to see Thaiss getting much of a look. Hope for improvement stems mostly from his patience in the batter's box. He walked an impressive 16.7% of the time in a 49-game sample at Double-A in 2017, and while that number cratered with the jump to Triple-A, he's had near-double-digit marks at every other full-season stop.

Thaiss is a catcher turned first baseman who turns 23 in May and has hit 15 home runs in 200 pro games. That wouldn't be an encouraging sign if he were a third baseman or corner outfielder, but as a first baseman or designated hitter, the bar is even higher. He walked at a 16.7 percent clip at Double-A last year, which is awesome, but he also posted a .096 ISO at that stop. There is no denying that he projects to get on base at a pretty solid clip, but that might be his only above-average offensive skill. Scouts have put 60s on his hit tool in the past, but his production in full-season ball has not matched that outlook. He is also not a defensive asset, so his glove won't be able to buy his bat developmental time. If he overhauled his swing with an emphasis on lofting the ball more, he could potentially tap into 20-homer power. Even in that optimistic scenario, he would struggle to ever finish as a top-15 fantasy first baseman.

Thaiss was an offensive-minded catcher at Virginia and the Angels thought enough of his bat that they drafted him with the 16th overall pick and immediately transitioned him to first base. Their evaluation appears to have been accurate, as he quickly earned a promotion from the Pioneer League to the Midwest League, posting a 129 wRC+ and 28:22 K:BB in 226 plate appearances against Low-A pitching. Thaiss will not offer light tower power, but he has enough pop to profile as a 25-homer threat in his prime years. A plus hitter who makes excellent contact and showed more of a willingness to work the count after his promotion, Thaiss could be a .300 hitter who walks at a 10 percent clip. That hit tool will be his money maker. If it reaches its plus projection, the game power will play to plus. If his hit tool falls short, he probably won't do enough with the bat to profile as a regular at first base.

More Fantasy News

Starting in place of O'Hoppe

CLos Angeles Angels

September 18, 2024

Thaiss will start at catcher and bat sixth in Wednesday's game against the White Sox, Erica Weston of Bally Sports West reports.