The young player initially split time at his position for AJ Hinch and the Detroit Tigers. Now, he could turn into one of the most important pieces on the team.

The Detroit Tigers’ road to the best record in baseball through late May has been built on the backs of their young players. Make no mistake, Tarik Skubal is worth every ounce of praise he gets. But top to bottom, the Tigers have one of the most complete batting orders in all of baseball with no “real superstar” to speak of.

All of Detroit’s most reputable bats are 30 years old or younger. Riley Green (24), Kerry Carpenter(27), Justyn-Henry Malloy (25), Colt Keith (23), Gleyber Torres (28), and Spencer Torkelson (25) make up the core of the team and many of them haven’t reached their ceiling yet.

But one young player has been lost in the shuffle, and if he keeps up the numbers he’s having, there’s no limit to what the Tigers offense can look like.

Dillon Dingler has been exceptional at the catcher position for manager AJ Hinch and company.

According to Baseball Savant, the metrics indicate that Dingler is one of the best, if not the best, defensive catchers in baseball. His Blocks Above Average is in the 100th percentile, and his framing is in the 89th percentile.

With young, developing pitchers on the roster like Jackson Jobe and Reese Olsen, having a catcher with elite defensive skills like Dingler can make a world of difference