MLB analyst draws Mike Piazza comparison for Cal Raleigh amid MVP-caliber 2025 season

MLB analyst Paul Hembekides has heaped praise on Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, comparing him to Hall of Famer Mike Piazza for his proficiency at the plate this year.

Raleigh, 28, owns a slash line of .266/.373/.622 with an OPS of .995. He leads the majors in home runs with 27 and has already recorded 60 RBIs and eight stolen bases.

On the "Marine Layer Podcast," Hembekides broke down just how good Raleigh has been this season.

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"Cal Raleigh in the zone is Mike Piazza in the late '90s. He's hitting out of his ever-loving mind and he's been really good from both sides of the plate, and every single day as a catcher," said Hembekides. (0:02)

Per Baseball Savant, the Mariners backstop is in the 97th percentile in expected slugging percentage, 99th percentile in barrel rate, and 89th percentile in exit velocity.

"It's astonishing. His exit velocity data is off the charts ... Imagine if Yordan Alvarez, last year, was a plus defender behind the plate. The only reason he won't be considered an MVP favorite is because he happens to be playing in a league with Barry Bonds without taking steroids (Aaron Judge).

"I'm so impressed on a day-to-day basis with what Cal Raleigh does because the fact that he plays everyday is ultimately of the utmost virtue. [In addition] the batting line that he's putting forth right now, is basically unprecedented".

The MLB analyst further praised the "Big Dumper" and stated that the statistics he's posting are at the same level as legendary campaigns from the past.

"The best batting line of anybody to ever catch 100 games in a season is 185 OPS+ and it was Mike Piazza in '97 which is about Cal Raleigh is right now. And the only other catchers to clear 170 OPS+ are Joe Mauer and Buster Posey in their MVP seasons."

Piazza became the first catcher to record a 200-hit season, doing so in 1997 with the Dodgers. He hit .362, with 40 home runs and 124 RBIs.

Cal Raleigh claims home run lead in grand fashion

During the Mariners' game against the Red Sox on Wednesday, star backstop Cal Raleigh put himself on top of the home run charts in grand(slam) fashion.

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With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the second inning, Raleigh smashed a 370-foot blast to right field for his 27th home run of the season. The star catcher finished the game by going 3-for-4 with a grand slam, double, six RBIs, two runs scored, and a stolen base.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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Edited by Daniel Santiago