One of the best things we do at Sports Info Solutions is track injuries. Our injury databases for baseball and football are extensive such that if a player fouls a ball off his foot or limps off the field for one or two plays, we note it.

When the subject of catchers getting hit by foul balls in sensitive places came up in Zack Meisel's recent article in The Athletic, we were able to provide a perspective that others could not.

From 2023 to 2025, as the percentage of pitches caught with a one-knee-down catching stance rose from 80 to 95%, the number of times a catcher got hit with a foul ball in the pelvis or hips rose by 26% (from 283 to 357). The 2026 numbers are shaping up to be similar to 2025.

Poor Rays catcher Nick Fortes. He's had the most such instances since the start of 2023 with 39 and his 10 in 2026 lead all catchers. It takes a lot of guts to be a catcher these days, as Fortes can attest.

For more on this subject, be sure to read our Stat of the Week (and subscribe too).

Speaking of injuries, hopefully you've listened to our last Off The Charts Football Podcast, which we discussed here last week. We're going to spoil one thing for you. The "Stats" crew in our Scouts vs Stats debate had Aidan Hutchinson rated as its No. 1 defensive player on its Top 10 list, impressive given that Hutchinson missed most of 2024 with an injury. That was two spots ahead of recently-traded defensive end Myles Garrett. The "Scouts" crew had Hutchinson No. 14 on its list.

Here's one thing that's particularly interesting about that. Though Garrett had 23 sacks in 2026 to Hutchinson's 14.5, he didn't beat Hutchinson out in our all-encompassing player value stat, Total Points. Hutchinson had 16 more pressures than Garrett did. Thus, Hutchinson came out 9 points better than Garrett in Pass Rush Total Points and edged Garrett out in Total Points overall, 66-62.

 "A one-of-one physical specimen who is also very skilled technically, and is a generational player," Bryce Rossler said describing the recently traded Garrett. "He's big, he's long, he's strong, he's very explosive. He can bend well, he uses his hands exceptionally well, awesome run defender, true high-level-impact-in-all-phases-of-the-game guy. We had him No. 1 last year. Then he comes out and he breaks the sack record, so there's no reason for us to change."

All fair. But let's not forget just how good Hutchinson is. For more on this subject, listen to the latest Off The Charts.

The NFL Draft Website has scouting reports for more than 400 of the top players. With that, we’ve got ratings and rankings. It’s basically everything a GM would want to know about the NFL’s top rookies heading into the 2026 season.

Our statistical information package includes Total Points, our proprietary metric that values everything that happens on the field, as well as position-specific performance data in the form of raw totals, averages, and percentile rankings. And we explain our stats in our glossary.

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On Off the Charts, members of the R&D team, and special guests dig into statistical insights, tactical analysis, and personal opinions, aimed at providing listeners with a comprehensive understanding of the week's key matchups and the intricacies of the sport. On The SIS Baseball Podcast, we interview current players and coaches about defensive excellence and review the latest baseball news.

The FieldingBible.com website is a great resource for your defensive stat needs. It features player and team stats, Defensive Runs Saved leaderboards, and more.