Casey Opitz throwing out potential base stealers at incredible rate

FAYETTEVILLE — Runners trying to steal a base against Arkansas do so knowing they have just about a 50/50 shot of being successful.

That is because Casey Opitz has proven to be quite the weapon behind the plate for the Razorbacks this season, throwing out an SEC-high 18 potential base stealers.

Kentucky learned that the hard way this weekend, as the sophomore catcher threw out five Wildcats in their seven attempts. It didn’t matter if he had to field a pitch in the turf or throw from his knees.

With two weeks left in the regular season, Opitz has thrown out 18 of 37 base stealers, which is an incredible 48.6 percent.

As you can see in the chart below, that is the best percentage by a starting catcher for Arkansas since Dave Van Horn took over in 2003. It ranks ahead of Jake Wise’s senior season, when he threw out 44.4 percent of base stealers in 2014.

Including his freshman season, Opitz has thrown out 25 of 50 base stealers, which is exactly half.

Even without him, the Razorbacks have been one of the top teams in preventing stolen bases in the SEC over the last four years - largely thanks to Grant Koch, a fifth-round pick in last year’s MLB Draft.

For perspective, though, Arkansas catchers other than Opitz have thrown out 37.6 percent base stealers since 2016, while the rest of the SEC has thrown out 30.6 percent. The national average over that span is just 27.1 percent.

Despite having a team-low .246 batting average, Opitz has also been important at the plate. He ranks second among Arkansas’ regular starters with a .333 batting average with runners in scoring position, including two walk-off hits and another game-winning hit - all three of which came in SEC play.

Van Horn has praised him for his leadership, as well, which is impossible to quantify but has been a key to the Razorbacks building a two-game lead in the SEC West and competing for the regular-season conference title.

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