Angels’ Martin Maldonado has been a steady presence behind the plate

Over the first six seasons of his major league career, Martin Maldonado never caught more than 74 games in a season. He was forever Jonathan Lucroy’s backup in Milwaukee.

Now, in his first season as an Angel, the 30-year-old Maldonado leads the big leagues in games caught. Saturday marked his 82nd appearance and 79th start of the season, out of the Angels’ 99 games. He is on pace to appear in 134 games.

Among major leaguers, only St. Louis’ Yadier Molina has started more games — 81 — and he has never entered as a substitute.

Yet the Angels say Maldonado is not exhibiting any signs of fatigue because of the increased workload.

“The first thing is the mental strain on the catcher,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “That gets to you before the physical strain. Some catchers will start to take some shortcuts or get a little lazy in how they present the target. We’ve seen none of that with Martin. He’s been on point every pitch. He never takes a pitch off.

“From that aspect, he’s holding up very well.”

No team played more games than the Angels in the first half, which contributed to Maldonado’s lead. But because of their two off days in the last week, other teams have caught up to their pace.

It is just difficult for Scioscia to sit Maldonado. His throwing arm presents a threat to opposing base-stealers, his game calling is widely praised by his teammates, and his offense is far better than the Angels’ alternatives.

Maldonado entered Saturday’s game hitting .247 with a .728 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, a marker that essentially matches the career high he set as a rookie. He believes he is hitting better because of his playing time.

“When you play every day, the timing is there,” he said. “You see pitchers more often. I’ve never played a lot in my career. I’ve maybe played two, two and a half months, on an everyday basis. So, I think the longer you play the game helps. I haven’t done anything else different.”

Former Angels catcher Jose Molina, a fellow Puerto Rican and current catching coordinator in the club’s minor leagues, spent a few days with the team last week. He and Maldonado discussed their field. Over his 15-year career, Molina never caught more than 102 games in a season.

Short hops

Left-hander Tyler Skaggs threw four innings for triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday, in the second game of his minor league rehab assignment from an oblique strain. He is slated to start again with triple A in Memphis later this week. He could be activated thereafter. … After two Arizona League starts, left-hander Andrew Heaney will next pitch Wednesday, still in Arizona. He is returning from July 2016 elbow ligament replacement surgery. … Right-handers Matt Shoemaker (posterior interosseous nerve syndrome) and Garrett Richards (biceps nerve irritation) continued to play catch, Shoemaker from 75 feet, Richards from 90.

pedro.moura@latimes.com

Twitter: @pedromoura