Tag Archives: Catcher

3 Catchers, 2 Spots; Who Gets Them?

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In the World Series run of 2018, the Red Sox got away with using three catchers on their active roster. With only 25 spots, carrying a third catcher is a rarity in today’s game. Despite the team’s success, this roster style is unlikely to carry over into 2019. Alex Cora already said it’s likely that Boston trades one of the three before the season starts. This is a team that could really use that extra roster spot for an extra arm in the bullpen, so one of the catchers has to go. But who?

All three catchers have both pros and cons, it’s just about finding the right balance between the two that stay. Between Blake Swihart, Sandy Leon and Christian Vazquez, there is a mixture of power, contact and defense. Keeping two that can work cohesively is crucial for Dombrowski and the Red Sox, and it’s going to be very interesting to see what path they choose to go down.

Blake Swihart

The most promising of the three options is Blake Swihart. Blake is a former first rounder who has been thrown at various positions throughout the field, but has yet to stick. Now, he finds himself with a chance to become an everyday catcher again. Being the youngest of the three certainly works in the favor of Swihart, however, his time is running out. If he can’t carry his hot spring into the regular season or stay healthy, and improve on his .678 career OPS, he could see himself traded.

If the team really wants the most value from a trade of a catcher, this may be their best bet. Teams like the Royals and Athletics are still in need of a starting catcher, and could be tempted by the upside of the former top prospect.

Swihart

Verdict: To me, I’m keeping Swihart and riding with him as my starter. He showed flashes of a solid bat down the stretch in 2018, and I’d at least want to take the chance on him as one of the two catchers on my team.

Christian Vazquez

Certainly the most perplexing of the three options. Vazquez seemed to take strides by hitting .290 in 2017, which is excellent for a major league catcher. He’s always been a good defensive catcher, with a fantastic knack for throwing out runners. However, in 2018 he regressed heavily. He signed a contract heading into the year with an average annual value of around 4.5 million, so expectations were raised after his successful 2017. The expectations weren’t met, as his average fell to .207 and his OPS fell almost 200 points.

At times his focus appeared to be elsewhere, and staying in shape was brought into question. As someone who loved Vazquez as a prospect, I think he can get past these things. I do believe he has a solid .270-.280 perennial average in him, and he could be a solid starter or a reliable backup.

Verdict: He has been ice cold in the spring, but Vazquez still offers plenty of upside for a Boston team yet to settle on a starting catcher. Being locked in with him through 2022 gives the Red Sox some incentive to be persistent with Vazquez. I think that earns him the second catcher spot on this team, at least to start the season.

Sandy Leon

One time a folk hero for Red Sox fans, Sandy Leon’s fall from grace has been quick and hard. In 2016 he hit .310 with an OPS over .840. These numbers came out of absolutely nowhere, as he hit .184 and .156 the two seasons prior. Everyone knew he wouldn’t replicate his 2016 again, as those numbers are just absurd for a catcher. Especially one who was always known as a defence-first backstop. The average fell to .225 in 2017, then under .180 last season.

I was very much an advocate to cut Sandy at many points throughout the season. However, the Sox’ front office felt differently. They felt him being the strongest defensive catcher of the three was worth holding onto, despite a miserable OPS slightly over .500. Leon is sneaky young, as he turns 30 later this week. He still holds upside strictly because of his defense. There is a glimmer of hope that stretch in the second half of 2016 wasn’t an anomaly.

Verdict: He doesn’t hold a ton of trade value due to his historically poor offense. He will appeal to many teams who are in search of a backup catcher. Or any team who may need to fill a hole that is left by injury. To me, you find a trade somewhere for Leon, likely K.C., and you take whatever you can get back for him.

The Best Catchers in Baseball Long-Term

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Lists have been circulating for the top 10 players at each position “right now”. Personally, I like to look at things with more of a long-term view. My lists factor in age and don’t just focus on the 2018 season. I take a look at it in more of a, “who would I draft if I were starting a team from scratch”, sort of way. So someone like Yadier Molina, who is a borderline future Hall of Famer, would have a very difficult time making the list at the age of 35. I also do not factor Minor Leaguers into the equation, so Francisco Mejia will have to wait his turn.

1. Buster Posey

Buster Posey remains in the top spot for me, although barely. I had a long debate with myself over this top spot. At 30 years old, Posey isn’t a young chicken anymore, but he is far from old. There are a couple young bucks knocking on his door, ultimately defense led me to keep him atop his throne. The two young catchers making a case for the top spot have troubles behind the dish currently, whereas Posey is a strong defender.

Posey has batted .300 five times in his career, and in three of the past four seasons. His home run power has been declining, but he still knows how to spray the ball all over the yard. I also expect to see a slight rebound in his power as he is too good to finish with just 12-14 home runs again. For his career, Posey has batted .308 while averaging 20 homers per 162 games played. He has an .850 career OPS and is coming off a season in which he produced the second highest batting average and on-base percentage of his career.

The Giants like to play Posey at first base some to save his knees and keep him fresher, and I think it would be smart of them to continue to do that more now that he is in his thirties. Ultimately, I think Posey will move off catcher in a couple of years and continue to be a good hitter for years to come.

2. Willson Contreras

Contreras is the youngster I most debated with moving into the top spot. Looking into his defense though, I found he has plenty of work to do to become the all-around catcher Buster Posey is. Contreras has made 19 errors and allowed 13 passed balls in 165 games at catcher. His 13 errors last season tied for the most at the position. Contreras does have a strong arm though and still plenty young to improve on defense.

At the plate, Contreras is already showing a lot. After debuting on top prospects list before the 2016 season, Contreras raked at AAA Iowa to the tune of a .353 average and 1.035 OPS. Since getting the call-up midseason, Contreras has batted .278 with 33 home runs and an .851 OPS in 629 Major League at-bats. Not too shabby for a guy just starting out. His 21 home runs last season came in just 377 at-bats. With regular playing time, Contreras looks like a catcher who can hit above .280 with 25-30 home runs. With some improvement on the defensive side of things and I might just change my mind about that top spot.

3. Gary Sanchez

Sanchez is, admittedly, a lot better than I ever thought he’d be. He has put up much better numbers at the Major League level than he ever did in the minors. Strange how all the Yankees players seem to go from mediocre minor leaguers to stars in the Majors. Sanchez did make the top 100 of prospects lists many times however, and here he is following up on that promise. After destroying the baseball following his call-up two seasons ago, Sanchez batted .278 while homering 33 times last year. His .876 OPS was tops at the position, edging out Posey and Contreras. Sanchez appears to be a perennial 30 home run threat.

The reason Sanchez comes in at third on my list is his defense. Quite frankly, Sanchez has no business even being a catcher. It seemed like every time I watched him play last year he was dropping at least one pitch every game. His 13 errors last season tied him for the Major League lead, as did his 16 passed balls. Leading just one category is bad enough, but both? Just give the man a bat and sit him on the bench at all other times.

4. Salvador Perez

It seems like Perez has been around a while, yet he is still only 27. Perez comes in 4th on this list due to his great defense and his power bat. He never walks, leading him to an on-base percentage under .300 four years running. However, he has homered over 20 times in each of the last three, topping out at 27 last season. This power still led him to the 5th highest OPS at the position last year among guys with 400 plate appearances. I’ve also always gotten the feeling his bat would perform a little better if Ned Yost would give him a few more days off. Perez seems to play catcher more than anyone else year in and year out, and his bat typically fades in the second half.

Perez is thought very highly for his ability to handle a pitching staff. He also is very good at blocking balls in the dirt and at throwing out runners. As such, he had won four straight Gold Gloves before last season. He also has made the same amount of errors over the last three years combined as the two catchers above him on this list made last season alone. It took him four years to compile the amount of passed balls Sanchez did last year.

5. J.T. Realmuto

Realmuto, despite being in the league for half as long as Perez, turns 27 before the season starts. He is perhaps the fastest catcher in baseball, using that speed to steal 28 bases over the last three seasons. He also is a pretty decent hitter, hitting .303 in 2016. His average dropped to a still respectable .278 last season, but he added more power, hitting 17 home runs. His .783 OPS was just a little behind Perez.

His defense needs a little work, as he has made 22 errors and allowed 28 passed balls over his three seasons in the bigs. His defense isn’t so bad that he might get moved to a different position, but he has some work to put in before moving up the list.

6. Welington Castillo

Castillo has been perennially underrated the past few seasons. He has a power bat, for the position, and a strong throwing arm. Castillo broke out in 2015 after joining the Diamondbacks, hitting 17 home runs over just 274 at-bats. He was decent again in 2016 before setting some personal bests last season. Castillo hit a career high 20 home runs in only 341 at-bats. He batted .282 with a .490 slugging percentage and .813 OPS. Behind the plate, Castillo led the league by throwing out 49% of would be base stealers. At 30 years old and not a lot of innings on his legs, Castillo should remain a solid contributor for a few more years.

Welington Castillo watches a home run sail.

7. Mike Zunino

Zunino was drafted third overall by the Seattle Mariners in 2012. He tore up minor league pitching the rest of that season and was ranked by Baseball America as the 13th best prospect in baseball. The Mariners rushed him to the Majors the next season and Zunino wasn’t ready. Not given the proper time to develop, Zunino hasn’t been the player he was supposed to be. Before last season he was a .195 career hitter at the Major League level.

Early last season was much the same for Zunino, as he was batting .167 when he got sent to the minors in early May. Something clicked for Zunino after a second call-up though. Starting in June, Zunino batted .272 the rest of the way with 24 home runs. He had a stellar .582 slugging percentage and .936 OPS during that time, numbers that would even surpass Gary Sanchez. So the question is, which Zunino will we see moving forward? Will he revert back to the hitter he was before last season, or will the improvements take permanent hold?

Mariners catcher Mike Zunino hits a home run during the fifth inning against the Astros.

8. Austin Barnes

Barnes is a name not many people knew until the postseason last year. Barnes entered last year with a total of 61 career at-bats. He earned more and more playing time as last season progressed before ultimately usurping Yasmani Grandal for the starting catcher role. Barnes had batted .289 with 8 home runs and a stellar .408/.486/.895 slash line on the season. He then played in 15 games in the playoffs as opposed to just four for Grandal. There is precedence for Barnes’ hitting, as he was a career .299 hitter with a .388 on-base percentage during his minor league career.

9. Christian Vazquez

Red Sox fans have heard about Vazquez’ defense and amazing arm for years now. We finally got a chance to see it on a regular basis last year. Vazquez was the Red Sox main catcher and threw out 42% of attempted base stealers. This was right in line with his 43% in his career. He does have some work to do with blocking pitches, but I have little doubt the rest of his game behind the plate will improve.

Vazquez has always been good at getting his bat on the ball, so I thought he could develop into a solid contact hitter with decent averages. I was surprised to see him bat as high as .290 last year though in his first full season. Even if he can’t maintain an average that high moving forward, a contact hitter at catcher who can bat .270 while controlling the running game is a definite asset.

Christian Vazquez hits a walk-off three run homer of Indians closer Cody Allen.

10. Yasmani Grandal

This spot was up for grabs, and I ultimately went with Grandal, who might not even have a starting job this year. A low average hitter, Grandal has historically drawn a lot of walks while hitting for power. Last season though, his walks dropped off quite a bit while he struck out more than ever. This is a concerning development for Grandal fans and made me want to go in another direction. There aren’t a whole lot of options though, and with his power and just 29 years old Grandal still seemed like the choice. He has homered 49 times over the last two seasons.

Grandal is also considered to be an excellent pitch framer. That’s really all he has working for him behind the plate though, as he has led the league in passed balls in three of the past four seasons. His defense tends to be overrated by analytics.

Honorable Mentions:

Wilson Ramos, Yadier Molina, Jonathan Lucroy, Robinson Chirinos, Brian McCann

 

Featured picture from minorleagueball.com

Red Sox sign Tibetan-born Prospect

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Sox sign another talented catcher

On July 13th 2017 the Red Sox became the first MLB team to sign a Tibetan-born baseball player when they signed sixteen year-old Qiang Ba Ren Zeng. The versatile youngster’s primary position is catcher, but he is also experienced at both shortstop and pitcher. Zeng currently stands at six feet tall and weighs 185 pounds, certainly a sizeable frame for a young kid. His best attribute seems to be his strong and accurate throwing arm, obviously a vital skill for an aspiring catcher.

Zeng’s transition to the MLB

While there are currently no stats available for Zeng, he began playing for the Gulf Coast League Red Sox in August. He seems to be tremendously talented defensively but there are questions about his offense. Some scouts are skeptical about his abilities at the plate, but ultimately it is too early to jump to conclusions. His large frame is an indication of at least some potential for power.

MLB’s absence of catchers

I love this move by the Red Sox. They may not know everything about this kid, but it is a good gamble. Modern baseball seems to lack both depth and talent at the catcher position, which is arguably the most important position on the diamond. It is very unlike the depth at a position like shortstop, which is absolutely loaded with talent. Among the top 100  players in the game today, about four of them are catchers (Yadier Molina, Gary Sanchez, Buster Posey and Salvador Perez) The game seriously lacks talent at a key position. Due to the scarcity at the position, I think many teams in the league are undervaluing the importance of loading up on young catching prospects.

Surplus of catching options for the Sox

The Red Sox seem to be one of the better organizations at scouting catchers. Currently, we have two of the very best defensive catchers in the MLB in Christian Vazquez and Sandy Leon. Also, the Sox are developing yet another brilliant defensive catcher in Daniel Flores. Flores is currently the fifth-ranked prospect in the organization. Impressively, he has drawn comparisons to Austin Hedges. Scouts say he has Gold Glove potential.

 

Zeng signing is underrated

Having a plethora of talented catchers has two major benefits. One,  they can be used by the team to help them win. Another benefit, they contain high value because of scarcity. All teams are looking for a solid catcher and many are willing to pay a hefty price for one. If the Red Sox are smart they will be able to use one of their many catchers as “trade bait” and receive a substantial reward in return. #RedSoxNation should be excited about this signing, even if it takes a few years to pay off.