Assessing the Catchers

Spring Training games start in a week, and most positions on the field are up for grabs.  We will look at each position, and I will make some predictions about what I think we will see on opening day and beyond.

Today we will look at the catchers that are in camp.

What's important in a catcher?  A catchers defense, ability to stop the running game, and handling of the pitching staff are the most important aspects of catching.  Many offensively challenged catchers have long big league careers, because they have mastered the the defensive side of things.  Brad Ausmus is a perfect example of this.  I remember the calls for Mitch Meluskey in 2000, because he presented more of an offensive threat than Brad.  We all know how that worked out.

Rene Garcia

Rene Garcia is a product of the 2008 draft, which is same draft that landed Jason Castro in the first round.  He is only 21 years old.  When one looks at Rene Garcia's stats on Baseball Cube or FanGraphs, we see a player that has struggled offensively since rookie ball.  He peaked at .295 in rookie league and hovers around .240 most others.  We aren't loooking at an offensive threat.  He doesn't hit for average or for power.

What does he do?

Gathering information on Garcia has been a challenge, but what I have found is that he has a good arm and is quick behind the plate.  I am looking forward to seeing more of him.

Realistically he will start 2012 in Corpus Christi or back in Lancaster to start the season.

Chris Wallace

I want to believe in Chris Wallace.   He is a product of Cypress Fairbanks High and the University of Houston.  Its great when local kids get the call from the hometown team.  He comes in ranked as our number 30 prospect according to Baseball America.  He is my dark horse for being a very capable catcher in the big leagues.

Chris has some power when he makes contact.  The problem is that he strikes out a lot.  He struck out in 30% of his at bats at AA last season according to FanGraphs.  He is getting on the older side for a prospect.

I have very little to go on in regards to his defense.  From what I read in Baseball America and hear from those that have seen him, he is a capable catcher with his arm being his greatest weakness.

He will start the year in AA which will allow me to see him first hand whn the Hooks come through Frisco.  I suspect that we will be seeing Chris at Minute Maid in September.

Now let's move to some players that I have seen on a more regular basis.

Carlos Corporan

When I saw Carlos last year for the first time, I thought to myself that this is not a major league catcher.  His getting to the bigs was an indictment of the Astros farm system for their lack of organizational depth at the catching position.  He was the fourth man up after a ton of injuries.

I still contend that he is not a big league catcher in either aspect of the game.

On defense, he threw out only 17% of baserunners.  That's enough about his defense.

On offense, he hit .188 with on OBP of .253.  Those kind of offensive struggles are only acceptable for a catcher who throws out everything that even twitches on the bases.

He will start the season in either Corpus, OKC, or with his release papers.  I say he sticks around for depth.  Someone has to catch at the AAA level.

Humberto Quintero

I have always liked Q, but he took a big step back last year behind the dish.  He gave up a career high 48 stolen bases and only threw out 23%.  His caught stealing numbers have dropped in the last couple of years.  It could be the product of a younger pitching staff that has trouble holding runners, but I don't believe that is the only reason.

My theory for the decline goes as follows.  Until the last two years, Quintero has not been heavily relied upon as the catcher.  In 2011, he played in 77 games, and he played in 87 in 2010.  Those are the most that he is ever played in once season.  His previous career high was 59 games.

More games means more wear and tear and a larger sample size.  I think we are seeing what he is at the age of 32.  He is a decent back up catcher.

He will be on the Major League roster for opening day, but he might end up being the odd man out when Jason Castro is ready to return to the bigs and if Chris Snyder holds down his spot.

Jason Castro

The 2008 first round pick has been struggling to stay healthy over the last year.  His bat didn't deliver in his first stint in 2010, but he showed amazing ability behind the dish as a rookie.  It was quite impressive how he handled the pitching staff, blocked balls, and threw out baserunners.

I still believe that he is our catcher of the future, but I think he starts this season off in AA or AAA in order to work out some of the kinks of being out so long, but I think he is an early season call up.

Chris Snyder

Snyder was signed as a free agent from the Pirates where he was relegated to backup duty.  His season ended early when he had surgery to fix a herniated disk in his back.  Let's not pretend that he was putting Johnny Bench like stats before the injury.  He throws out around 30% of baserunners in most seasons.  He threw out 23% last year in a relatively small sample size to Quintero's.

He has shown that he can hit for power over the course of his career, but he has struggled to stay on the field for the last couple of seasons.  It is unrealistic to expect him to the everyday guy.

His defensive stats are similar to Quintero's.  He isn't going to hit for an incredibly high average, but he might run into one and deposit the ball in the Crawford Boxes, which is why I give Snyder the edge over Quintero.

I believe that, if Castro isn't ready, Snyder will be the opening day catcher.  I still think that Castro will ultimately get the majority of the games behind the plate.