Vazquez’s elbow holding up to big league rigors

Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez started his first game of the 2016 season on April 15, and he wasted no time proving he was ready to roll. When Rick Porcello struck out Michael Saunders on a pitch up and in for the second out of the second inning, Vazquez lept to his feet and rifled a short-armed, from-the-ear snap throw to first base.

Vazquez was so quick that Sox first baseman Hanley Ramirez had his back to the sprawling Troy Tulowitzki, and he had to deliver a backhanded tag to complete the inning-ending pickoff. According to Statcast™, the pop time on the throw was just 1.514 seconds. Boston is thrilled to have its dynamic, young catcher back after a year off rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, but watching that play could rightfully have been as terrifying as it was exhilarating.

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Nowadays, Tommy John surgery to repair torn ulnar collateral ligaments in pitchers is as common as bubble gum and eye black. Thirty pitchers underwent the surgery in 2014 and ’15, but only one other high-level catcher in recent memory — Matt Wieters — has undergone a Tommy John surgery. According to baseballheatmaps.com, based on public data, there have been only eight instances of a catcher having the procedure while in the big leagues.

Comparing Wieters and Vazquez is a bit like apples and oranges; while they do play the same position, they are hardly the same type of player. For starters, Vazquez, 25, is a nimble 5-foot-9, 195 pounds, while Wieters is 6-foot-5 and weighs 230. Wieters, while competent behind the plate, is not the throwback, throw-as-you-will defensive aggressor that Vazquez has shown himself to be.

Vazquez has thrown out 50 percent of attempted basestealers since he debuted in 2014 (19 of 38), which is best among catchers with at least 500 innings played. He’s thrown out 4 of 9 (44 percent) this year; that is way above the league average of 30 percent. Vazquez has made the snap throw an art. Yet, according to Red Sox manager John Farrell, Vazquez’s arm still isn’t even 100 percent.

“It’s plenty strong, right now, to be an above-average defensive catcher in the Major Leagues, but we’re talking about someone who is a very elite thrower,” Farrell said. “I wouldn’t anticipate that [he will be …

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