This week’s Prospect Positional will cover catchers; a position that contains many high-ceiling players who need to make substantial strides in their development, a couple of prospects whose value comes from being a league-average hitter who are good defensive catchers and three hot prospects who are making waves in the low minor leagues.
Note: All statistics are current through Sunday, July 20.
Updated top-10
| Updated | June 2 | Pre-Season | Name | MLB Team | MiLB Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Jorge Alfaro | Rangers | Myrtle Beach (High-A) |
| 2 | 3 | 10 | Blake Swihart | Red Sox | Portland (AA) |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | Gary Sanchez | Yankees | Trenton (AA) |
| 4 | 4 | 12 | J.T. Realmuto | Marlins | Jacksonville (AA) |
| 5 | 7 | 11 | Kevin Plawecki | Mets | Binghamton (AA) |
| 6 | 5 | 8 | Reese McGuire | Pirates | West Virginia (Low-A) |
| 7 | 6 | 5 | Austin Hedges | Padres | San Antonio (AA) |
| 8 | N/A | N/A | Chance Sisco | Orioles | Delmarva (Low-A) |
| 9 | N/A | N/A | Luis Torrens | Yankees | Staten Island (SSA) |
| 10 | N/A | N/A | Francisco Mejia | Indians | Mahoning Valley (SSA) |
Graduates
| June 2 | Pre-Season | Name | MLB Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 7 | Christian Bethancourt | Braves |
Christian Bethancourt is a defense-first catcher who could hit enough to be a league-average hitter, which would make him a top 10 catcher. After a brutal first 28 games of the season, Bethancourt was hitting .231/.261/.333. He then hit .309/.341/.407 over his next 35 games, before his call-up to Atlanta after Evan Gattis went down with an injury. Gattis is nearing his return and Bethancourt will likely be sent back down to Triple-A Gwinnett, but he should be back in Atlanta in April, and should be a full-time member of the Braves in 2015.
Superb performance
| Updated | June 2 | Pre-Season | Name | MLB Team | MiLB Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | 10 | Blake Swihart | Red Sox | Portland (AA) |
| 8 | N/A | N/A | Chance Sisco | Orioles | Delmarva (Low-A) |
| 9 | N/A | N/A | Luis Torrens | Yankees | Staten Island (SSA) |
The 22-year old catching prospect Blake Swihart has had a great year with Double-A Portland, hitting .294/.348/.488 with 19 doubles, three triples and 11 home runs. His walk rate has decreased, but his strikeout rate has decreased as well. Swihart projects as a .280 hitter with 10-15 home run potential while playing above-average defense. He could see time in Boston in September, and could take over as the starting catcher in 2015.
Chance Sisco has done one thing since he signed for $785,000 after being drafted in the second round of the 2013 draft: hit. He has been particularly impressive in 2014, putting up a .342/.404/.461 line with 21 doubles, one triple and four home runs over 329 plate appearances. He lacks the upside of many of the prospects ranked ahead of him, but he has the potential to hit .290 with 10-15 home runs as a serviceable defensive catcher. His calling card will be his quick, compact swing, and if he continues to hit he will climb up prospect lists. Sisco is still quite raw, and is unlikely to see the major leagues until mid-2017.
Luis Torrens received a $1.3 million signing bonus from the Yankees, and agreed to move from being a SS/3B to behind the plate. He made his stateside debut in 2013, hitting .240/.348/.292 over 47 games with the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Yankees. In 2014, he opened the season with Low-A Charleston, but struggled, hitting just .154/.353/.269 over nine games, and he was sent to extended spring training. After a five game return to the GCL, Torrens has been lighting up the Short Season-A New York-Penn League, hitting .397/.438/.632 over his first 17 games. Torrens has an easy swing, a good eye at the plate and the potential to hit .280 with 15-plus home runs. While his defense is the definition of raw, he has a strong, accurate throwing arm and the athleticism to turn into an above-average defensive catcher. He turned 18 in May, and is unlikely to see the major leagues until late-2017 at the earliest.
Holding serve
| Updated | June 2 | Pre-Season | Name | MLB Team | MiLB Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Jorge Alfaro | Rangers | Myrtle Beach (High-A) |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | Gary Sanchez | Yankees | Trenton (AA) |
| 4 | 4 | 12 | J.T. Realmuto | Marlins | Jacksonville (AA) |
| 5 | 7 | 11 | Kevin Plawecki | Mets | Binghamton (AA) |
| 6 | 5 | 8 | Reese McGuire | Pirates | West Virginia (Low-A) |
| 10 | N/A | N/A | Francisco Mejia | Indians | Mahoning Valley (SSA) |
At some point in the near future, Jorge Alfaro is going to stop getting a pass for being so much younger than his competition and have to hit for a higher average, strike out less and start throwing out more base-stealers. At the end of May, he was hitting .277/.329/.431, but has been in a brutal funk, hitting just .226/.293/.413 over his last 40 games. He has struck out in 24.2% of his plate appearances, and thrown out 25% of base runners. The power potential, speed, canon-like arm and overall athleticism is an attractive package, but he needs to start producing or he will turn into a cautionary tale of “what if”.
Much like Alfaro, Gary Sanchez has the tools to be an elite baseball player, but he has not put up an OPS above .766 since he played for Low-A Charleston in 2012. Additionally, Sanchez was benched in mid-June for disciplinary reasons, which was the second time in his career that he was benched for his attitude and actions. He has hit much better since he came back from his suspension, putting up a .298/.348/.404 line over 26 games, raising his season line to .267/.334/.410.
After spending nearly three weeks playing sporadically as the backup catcher for the Marlins, J.T. Realmuto returned to Double-A Jacksonville and has continued to hit, putting up a .291/.360/.430 line with six doubles, one triple and one home run. Realmuto lacks elite offensive potential, but he could hit .280 with 10-15 home runs and 25-plus doubles while playing solid defense.
Kevin Plawecki hit spectacularly while playing for Double-A Binghamton, putting up a .326/.378/.487 line with 18 doubles and six home runs over 58 games. He was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas and has struggled despite the hitter-friendly environment, putting up a .234/.321/.404 line over his first 15 games. With Travis d’Arnaud hitting a solid .297/.333/.486 since he was called back up from Triple-A Las Vegas, Plawecki could turn into d’Arnaud’s backup in 2015. As a starter, Plawecki could hit .290 with 10 home runs, but his value would be diminished as a backup or if he were to split time.
Reese McGuire’s overall .256/.306/.300 line is not particularly impressive, but he is a 19-year old in a league where the average age is roughly 22, and has struck out just 32 times in 300 plate appearances (10.7%). McGuire projects as a cannon-armed defense-first catcher who hits .275 with 10-plus home runs, and his real world value exceeds his fantasy value. However, he has the raw physical tools to exceed his projection, and should be owned in deep fantasy leagues.
Francisco Mejia signed for $350,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2012, and projects as a .280 hitter with 15-plus home run power. He has one of the best arms of any catching prospect not named Jorge Alfaro, and could turn into an elite defensive catcher. He is holding his own as an 18-year old in the Short Season-A New York-Penn League, hitting .264/.324/.380 with eight doubles, two triples and one home run in 33 games. Mejia has a ways to go, especially in his defense, and is unlikely to reach the major leagues until 2018. However, his All-Star ceiling makes him someone to watch for the future.
Struggling
| Updated | June 2 | Pre-Season | Name | MLB Team | MiLB Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 6 | 5 | Austin Hedges | Padres | San Antonio (AA) |
Austin Hedges may be the best defensive catcher in the minor leagues, and has the potential to rack up gold gloves. His defensive acumen has pushed him to a level that is more advanced than his bat, and he is hitting just .241/.286/.354 with 18 doubles, one triple and five home runs through 84 games. Hedges is likely to make his major league debut at some point in 2015, and projects to turn into a major league average hitter with outstanding defense.
On the Bubble (listed alphabetically)
| Updated | June 2 | Pre-Season | Name | MLB Team | MiLB Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bubble | 10 | N/A | Nick Ciuffo | Rays | Princeton ® |
| Bubble | Bubble | N/A | Tommy Joseph | Phillies | Reading (AA) |
| Bubble | Bubble | N/A | Peter O’Brien | Yankees | Trenton (AA) |
| Bubble | 8 | 6 | Max Stassi | Astros | Oklahoma City (AAA) |
Nick Ciuffo has struggled at the plate so far in 2014, hitting just .190/273/.215 through 22 games for Rookie-level Princeton. Ciuffo is viewed as a high baseball-IQ catching prospect that could hit .300 with the power to hit 10-plus home runs, but he is unlikely to reach the major leagues before 2018 at the earliest. The Rays’ willingness to select Ciuffo with the 21st overall pick in the 2013 draft shows their dedication to drafting high-ceiling players with the goal of developing them.
Tommy Joseph has missed more than two months with a sprain of his left wrist, and only began playing in rehab games earlier this week. He has played in fewer than 75 total games over the past two years due to injuries, though he was hitting .282/.345/.551 with five home runs in 87 plate appearances with Double-A Richmond when he was healthy. He has the potential to be one of the top offensive catchers in baseball, but he is a poor defensive catcher and may need to move to first base, where his bat would likely be below average.
During his two months with Double-A Trenton, Peter O’Brien has played fewer than one-third of his games as the catcher, so his time on this list may be limited. He has 29 home runs in 369 plate appearances with High-A Tampa and Double-A Trenton, but his overall season line is just .256/.298/.568. He has an aggressive approach with top of the charts power, but he strikes out too much (25.7% of total plate appearances) and recently turned 24. O’Brien will need to improve his approach at the plate, but has the potential to turn into a low-batting average slugger.
Max Stassi has struggled in 2014, hitting .233/.279/.366 with 16 doubles, two triples and six home runs over 310 plate appearances, a far cry from his .277/.333/.529 line with Double-A Corpus Christi in 2013. Much of his value is due to his good defense behind the plate, but he will need to improve his production in order to avoid being a third-string catcher who spends every season shuttling between Triple-A and the majors whenever there is an injury to a team’s top two catchers.
