MLB's most complete catcher has made a total transformation (in two weeks?!)

Defense has always been Dillon Dingler's strength behind the plate. As he made his way through the Tigers' system, his work in the field commonly earned him his highest scouting grades.

Offensively? The thinking was Dingler's overall approach would leave something to be desired, but his plus power could make him a serviceable bat.

Last year, his first full season in the bigs, we saw this exact package. Dingler tied for third among catchers in fielding run value (+12), good enough to land in the 95th percentile of MLB. That Gold Glove-worthy defense was the backbone of his 4.1 FanGraphs WAR, fourth-best among catchers. And at the plate, he was ... fine. Dingler hit 13 homers in 469 plate appearances, and his 109 wRC+ meant he was 9% better than league average as a hitter. His batting run value was right around the league median at +2.

Right now, however, you can call Dingler the most well-rounded catcher in the game. You couldn't say that at the start of this season. Heck, you couldn't honestly say that at the start of this month. But while Dingler's defense remains elite -- and may actually be improving in some areas -- his skills with the lumber have turned him into an extremely potent batter.

If Dingler keeps this up, he will ultimately turn in what could be considered one of the most complete seasons by a catcher in the Statcast Era (since 2015).

Here's why.

All stats updated through Saturday.

As a way to show just how well-rounded and complete Dingler has become, let's return to using run value metrics.

• Fielding run value combines all of Statcast’s individual fielding metrics into one overall measure of defensive performance.
• Batting run value is the sum of a player's contributions based on their pitch-by-pitch outcomes.

Entering Sunday, Dingler's fielding run value ranked in the 97th percentile (+7). His batting run value ranked in the 91st percentile (+16). Some catchers have come close to finishing a season inside the 90th percentile in each metric. For instance, Cal Raleigh combined his historic year at the plate last season (+45 batting run value, 98th percentile) with great defense (+7 fielding run value, 88th percentile).

Players such as Sean Murphy in 2023 (94th percentile fielding run value, 88th percentile batting run value) and Adley Rutschman in 2022 (98th percentile FRV, 84th percentile BRV) also came close to cracking the 90th percentile in each. But no qualified catcher has done so in the Statcast Era ... yet. Dingler might be the first because he seems to be improving in both facets.

Dingler's defense: Building upon greatness

We'll get to the recent changes that the 27-year-old has made at the plate. They are the impetus for this article anyway. But first, let's quickly go through how Dingler is building upon his stellar 2025 season behind the plate.

It was known to those around the Tigers entering this season that Dingler wanted to get better at blocking balls in the dirt. He was already plenty good in that area as he logged +10 blocks above average in '25, tied for third among qualified catchers. But sure enough, Dingler's desire to get better is showing up this year as he has recorded +7 blocks above average through the first few months of the season.

How about framing pitches? Dingler finished with +7 catcher framing runs last year. He's already at +6 -- tied with Rutschman for the most in the Majors -- this year. He has also shortened his pop time from 1.94 seconds to 1.88 seconds.

So, yeah, this just in: Dillon Dingler is good at playing catcher. The scouts knew this. The Tigers know this. The coaches and managers who vote for the Gold Glove winners know this. And you probably know this, too, if you've paid a decent amount of attention to the Tigers over the past couple of years.

What you may not have noticed is how Dingler has gone from a slightly-above-average hitter to an offensive star over the course of this season. Actually, he's done it over the course of the past two weeks!

Dingler's offense: Something has been unleashed

There would have been no reason to write this story on May 31. Sure, Dingler was definitely having a more productive season in the batter's box compared to last year. By the end of that date, he had 11 homers, two shy of his 2025 total. His hard-hit and barrel rates were up. He had shaved his strikeout rate by a couple of percentage points while his walk rate had nearly doubled (4.9% last year to 9.3% this year).

It all added up to this: A .226/.313/.458 slash line, a 114 wRC+ (ranks sixth among qualified catchers) and a 1.9 fWAR (ranks third).

Perfectly cromulent.

Then June arrived. Here are those same statistics, but with the first two weeks of this month added in: A .254/.330/.525 slash line, a 135 wRC+ (ranks third) and a 3.0 fWAR (ranks first).

Yes, Dingler has gained more than a full win above replacement over his past 11 games.

He has five home runs and is batting .370 with a 1.204 OPS this month. What's led to this breakout? Dingler was asked about it last week:

"Not to make it simple," he said, "but I feel like I'm getting good pitches in the heart of the zone. And we've been working on turning barrels, or whatever you want to say. But I feel like, ultimately, it's just getting pitches in the heart of the plate. They're what I'm looking for right now."

There is a little truth to that. This month, Dingler is seeing a slightly higher rate of pitches in the heart of the zone -- defined as pitches that are more than one baseball’s width inside the strike zone -- and he is annihilating them. But the location of the pitches Dingler sees seems to matter less than how he is attacking them. That brings us to bat speed.

Since his debut in 2024, Dingler's average monthly bat speed has ranged from 71 mph to 72.3 mph. He was at 71.4 mph in March/April of this season. He was at 71.7 mph in May. And in June, he is at 73.6 MPH!

That is a massive spike. And no, swinging hard isn't everything, but it sure helps when you're looking to make damaging contact. Consider that Dingler's fast-swing rate -- his percentage of swings at 75 mph or greater -- has jumped from 12.7% through May to 38.7% in June. The numbers show that fast swings commonly lead to good results.

And this isn't about a player selling out hard contact. Dingler's whiff rate in June is the lowest of his career for a single month (20.0%). His 18.0% K rate is his second-lowest.

He's also approaching pitches at better angles as his ideal attack angle rate has increased from 55.9% to 65.3%. Plus, of Dingler's 38 batted balls this month, only six have been hit on the ground. That 15.8% ground-ball rate is the second lowest among 302 qualified hitters.

So, in Dingler, we have a hitter with good raw power who is doing all of these things:

--Swinging harder
--Unleashing his most powerful swing more often
--Making harder contact more often
--Contacting pitches at better angles
--Hitting the ball on the ground less
--Whiffing less

That's a pretty good recipe for success. And when it comes from the same player who is already an award-winning defender at the sport's most demanding position, you get the most complete catcher in baseball today.

Senior reporter Jason Beck contributed to the reporting in this story