Varsho’s athleticism on display behind the plate

Since moving behind the plate fulltime in the wake of Carson Kelly’s injury, Daulton Varsho has managed to make the catcher’s position look like the perfect spot for a player with standout athleticism.

That’s not the way a typical catcher would be described, but it is exactly how bench coach Jeff Banister wants Varsho to play.

“With Varsho, the idea was, ‘Let’s allow that athleticism to play behind the plate,’” said Banister, who oversees the club’s catchers. “So positionally, how you set up, how you receive, how you react — have that center fielder-type mentality. … I think that has opened up a different world for him, a different perspective, to be that athletic.”

Perhaps the play that best encapsulates what Banister is describing came on Monday night against the Miami Marlins, when Varsho scrambled to the backstop on a dropped third strike. He ran full speed to the warning track, slid, popped to his feet and fired to first to finish a strikeout on the Marlins’ Jesus Sanchez.

Banister compared Varsho’s physical skillset to a pair of catchers he previously crossed paths with in Jason Kendall and Russell Martin. Both were excellent athletes who, early in their careers, had the speed to steal 20-plus bases.

“The problem is, a lot of times when we take catchers and we train them, we try to make athletes like this traditional, you know, what you would imagine a catcher to be,” Banister said. “We took a different philosophy.”

Banister praised Varsho’s receiving skills, saying that Varsho has done well at ensuring that pitches that ought to be called strikes are, in fact, strikes.

Varsho had been playing standout defense in center field before Kelly’s injury prompted the club to move him behind the plate and promote outfielder Alek Thomas to take over in center. Varsho has been the club’s best and most consistent offensive contributor. He has a .248/.331/.476 line with six home runs.

Pushing through

Shortstop Nick Ahmed was guarded with his comments when asked for an update on the status of his right shoulder. A day earlier, manager Torey Lovullo said Ahmed’s shoulder was “cranky,” prompting him to hold Ahmed out of Friday night’s starting lineup.

“My shoulder doesn’t feel perfect, but I’m going to try to keep playing through it as long as I can,” Ahmed said. “That’s kind of all I have to say.”

Ahmed said he did not want to sit on Friday and sounded unsure about whether days off were beneficial.

“Maybe,” he said “(But) it’s been bothering me for a long time so it kind of is what it is right now.”