Over the offseason, one of the hottest topics among Detroit Tigers fans was the subject of catching prospect James McCann. Last September, McCann received a call-up from the Tigers when rosters expanded, and it appeared to be a foregone conclusion that he would make the 25-man roster out of Spring Training this year, which, of course, he ultimately did.

Early in the season, McCann was essentially the right-handed-hitting half of a platoon with Alex Avila. When Avila was placed on the 15-day DL on May 9 with a knee injury, however, McCann’s role expanded.

Through a total of 52 MLB games this season, McCann has been quite impressive. He is currently hitting .254/.294/.391 with three home runs and 15 RBIs, which is quite solid for a rookie catcher. Out of his three homers, one was actually an inside-the-parker and the other two were walk-offs.

One part of McCann’s offensive game that could still use a little bit of work, however, is his performance against right-handed pitching. He has done quite a bit of damage against southpaws this year, but he has only hit .238/.270/.338 against righties. Therefore, the return of Avila could be beneficial to McCann as he works on fine-tuning this aspect of his game.

McCann’s overall 4.9 percent walk rate could be a little bit better as well. Once he starts drawing a few more walks, it will elevate his OBP into a more respectable territory.

The area where McCann has absolutely shined, though, has been behind the plate. He has now thrown out an astonishing 52 percent of would-be basestealers, which leads all qualified catchers in MLB. It is truly beginning to look like the Tigers may have a very special defensive catcher for years to come, and his offensive game appears likely to improve as well.

McCann’s First-Half Grade: A- with room to improve to an A before the All-Star break in two weeks.

Brad Faber is a Senior Writer and Sabermetrics Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Brad_Faber or “Like” him on Facebook.