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July 23, 2008
Looking Over the Catchers
“You have to have a catcher because if you don’t you’re likely to have a lot of passed balls.” -Casey Stengel Jerry Grote. Mike Piazza. Todd Hundley. Gary Carter. These names resonate with die-hard Mets fans who have seen their favorite team churn out some great catchers during the team’s history. However, since the departure of Paul LoDuca, the Mets don’t really have a stellar everyday catcher (although the case could be made that Ramon Castro should be starting daily). However, if we look in the Mets’ farm system, there doesn’t seem to be much to look forward to there either. Triple-ARaul Casanova: An offensive catcher who served some cups of coffee with the Met this season, he probably could be platooned with Castro if one of them could play adequate defense. Like the other Zephyr catchers, he’s no spring chicken, and is in the system purely to be the backup’s backup. Mike Nickeas: The player the Mets received from the Texas Rangers in the Victor Diaz trade is an all-glove, no-bat catcher. He has a .637 OPS this season. Gustavo Molina: A poor man’s Raul Casanova offensively and a poor man’s Mike Nickeas defensively. Nothing pretty on either side, really. Double-ASalomon Manriquez: A big, slugging catcher turning 26 in September, he should be out of the farm system by next season. He’s put up decent numbers this year (.748 OPS), but that just might earn him a promotion if the Zephyrs ever need a third-string catcher. Rafael Arroyo: Another catcher turning 26 in AA and just awful offensively. Salvador Paniagua: Surprise. A 25 year old catcher with a .699 OPS this season and hitting .222 High-AJosh Thole: Maybe an underrated bright spot in the system, Thole is a 21 year old who can certainly get on base at a solid rate. Playing in Savannah last season, Thole had a 57:61 strikeout-to-walk ratio, good for a .372 OBP. This year, Thole has an .809 OPS, thanks to a .384 OBP. The Illinois native is a left-handed hitter who has hit 21 doubles this season as well. Jason Jacobs: This 24-year-old University of Georgia alumnus is an interesting case. If he can be given a tryout in Binghamton, he may impress. Although he’s only hitting .241 this year, he has an incredibly impressive .402 OBP. In fact, Jacobs had a .377 OBP in Brooklyn last season, also. Low-AFrancisco Pena: The big name prospect and son of Yankee coach Tony Pena, Francisco has shown some promise, but has been an overall disappointment early on. However, Pena is only 18 and has much room for improvement. Last year Pena had a .546 OPS for the Sand Gnats, and this year it’s at .699, a pretty solid improvement. However, he needs to work on his plate patience, at his strikeout-to-walk ratio is 70:19. Sean McGraw: A 22 year old light-hitting catcher who has been designated as “Crash Davis,” referring to his mentoring of Pena. Not much upside. Tony Maccani: He’s hitting well thus far (11-for-34), but he’s turning 24 and was 1-for-21 for the Gnats last year. Short Season ARalph Henriquez: A 21-year-old whose .563 OPS is actually an improvement from last season (.507) while in the Astros system. Cesar Cordido: Don’t worry about it. Jordan Abruzzo: Turning 24 in two weeks, Abruzzo has always hit well (.291 career minor league average), and is up to .303 this season. However, his age may be an impediment to any hopes for continued progress. RookieCharles “Dock” Doyle: A 22-year old in Rookie ball is a tough situation (especially when a kid six years his junior is hitting in the .340s), but Doyle has hit .293 with a .372 OBA this year. The only problem, besides his age, is his measly .317 slugging average. Overall, the Mets farm system is thin in terms of catchers. Unless Reese Havens is converted to backstop or the Mets sign some international prospect, the team needs to rely on trades and free agency, or hope for Thole or Pena to put together some good seasons and move up the ladder. 16 Responses to “Looking Over the Catchers”Leave a ReplyYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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I suppose that two more years of Schneider and Castro won’t be optimal but also won’t be the Mets’ worst problem by far. I’d like to see Castro get half the at bats. There was something about Castro having an arthritic back a year or two ago. What’s the story with that? One writer suggested that he “lose.the.fat” or something like that - that knocking off 20 pounds would put less strain on his back.
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Historically we´ve been lucky as a team at the catcher position, so we´re spoiled. The truth is that most catchers are not offensive powerhouses– the demands of the position are just too high. I still think the loss of Jesus Flores was one of Omar´s worse f-ups as GM.
I think you´re being too pessimistic– I´m not too high on these guys either, but you have to give some benefit of the doubt. Pena is 18 years old– he´s just starting! He´s already 1/2 way thru his second year when most kids are just finishing HS. And with Dock Doyle it´s just too early to tell. Many new draftees out of college are started at Kingsport or Brooklyn to get their feet wet. Wait til next year on Doyle, at least; he might be in St. Lucie. And it´s unfair to make a comparison to Wilmer Flores, who at 16 is an abberration– no one would stand up to a simple comparison to his offensive performance so far.
1. He´s still 25.
2. Last year he hit 275/341/518 in 247ABs in the Texas League. He had 12 doubles and 16 HRs. I don´t know about his defense. Why do you say he should be out of the farm system by next season?
Some numbers:
Todd Hundley lifetime BA: .234
Jerry Grote lifetime BA over 18 seasons: .252 with only 404 RBIs. Grote was one of the best defensive catchers in baseball history, but not an offensive force.
More on Todd Hundley: he should not be included in the list of great Mets catchers. His biggest value was his power, but he was later mentioned in the Mitchell Report as using PEDs. With his lifetime BA of .234, he was actually a below average ML player at any position.
Great article about the shortage of catchers.
http://www.netshrine.com/rosciam.html
excerpt to follow
Great article about the shortage of catchers.
http://www.netshrine.com/rosciam.html
excerpt to follow below
sorry about the double post…
Um, PLD was not exactly “stellar”
In 2006 he was great, and what I meant was a guy who was going to be the “No.1 penciled-in” catcher every day, that’s all.
IMO, Castro is without question a better choice than LoDuca (this year and last)
In 2006 LoDuca was not great. His line was 318/355/428 for an OPS of 102 (which is very good for a catcher). He had no power, didn’t walk, but hit for a high enough average to be good at the plate. He never was a great defensive catcher, so a good year.
I’m a fan of Jordan Abruzzo; I feel like he’s a recent victim of NY’s goofy roster shuffling to shore up the Cyclones team. I feel this is pretty unfair to Abruzzo–I guess the figure with Josh Thole playing Catcher the only full-time spot he has is in Brooklyn, but this can’t be good for a guy’s psyche when you’ve been hitting well and all of the sudden you’re demoted two spots.
Also, I wouldn’t worry too much about Dock Doyle being old for his league; I think it’s just a matter of finding a place for him to play everyday–he’ll be in a full-season league next year.
As for Josh Thole, I remember last year reading that there was concern about his power; when he was a 1b, obviously this was a big problem, but if he’s made a successful conversion, then maybe he’s turned himself into a C/C+ prospect.
I have seen Abruzzo, Thole, McGraw and Pena play in person. It’s obvious, when watching these guys, who has the promise. His name is Francisco Pena. I love how he has handled the pitchers when I’ve seen him. It is funny to see him stand next to Moviel, counciling him.
Now, he needs to mature as a hitter. He seems almost apprehensive swinging at times. Like his only goal is making contact.
I liked Thole when I saw him. Abruzzo isn’t be screwed over or anything playing shuttling around class A. I think he is a guy who has DH written all over him, only problem is his lack of power. McGraw isn’t anything to write home about. A solid backstop
I agree with the lack of talent of catchers, as a person who caught in college, the system has a lack of players that can PUSH each other. I have watched Pena, he definantly has great upside, but he is known as a hitter, currently waaaay to many passed balls. 18 or not, he been around talent, receiving is somthing that is hard to teach and as a hitter still has some big holes in the swing. I do like Abruzzo, saw him in college and in A ball. Age is scary, but the kid hits everywhere he goes. He has power, contrary to the comment above, I saw hit a bomb in St Lucie. His power numbers are pretty good, considering he has had to adjust to 3 diferent levels, strike zones and pitch philosophies. Also, pitchers throw well to him, check the outcome of the games he catches. Dock is tough, needs more time with wood in his hands and how he handles teams that get a book on him, but good arm, good receiver. After those 3, the others are pretty one sided (and even horrible in some cases) and betweem an 18, 22, 23 year old, that leaves little room for error on the way up.
Sorry, to be fair to Thole, have watched him, good hitter and a solid 21 year old prospect with the bat, but no arm to speak of. There is a reason he was being moved to first.