Catchers

The Seattle Mariners acquired 24 year old Dan Wilson on November 2, 1993.  Wilson was dynamite during his Mariner career, but the franchise has had terrible luck with their other young catchers ever since.  Jason Varitek was viewed under a microscope as a Mariner farmhand, having to deal with high expectations placed on him based on his amazing collegiate track record and a contract dispute that seemed to burn up a lot of patience.  Before he was traded in 1997 he was more or less labeled as a bust, with cries of “good riddance” being heard from a few as he left town. Of course, the Mariners should have given him a little more time, but hindsight is 20/20.  Ryan Christianson, on the other hand, was a spectacular bust.  Miguel Olivo struggled mightily after being thrust into a difficult situation, and Ben Davis never lived up to his physical tools and minor league numbers.  Jeff Clement struggled with injuries and his defense before being sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates.  While Seattle’s minor league catching depth isn’t deep, here’s to hoping one of the top ranked guys can break the “curse of Varitek.”

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1.	Adam Moore, C 05/08/84 (25) Seattle

Drafted in the 6th round (#171 overall) of the 2006 amateur draft. Listed at 6’3/220. Bats right. Moore is big league ready and will compete for a 25-man roster job come Spring Training, earning a starting role if we had a say in it. With Kenji Johjima, Jeff Clement and Rob Johnson getting the spotlight, Moore was allowed a very structured and methodical rise through the system under the radar, helping him develop all facets of his game. Offensively, he employs a sound approach at the plate and a pretty, compact stroke that sprays line drives all over the place. He walks enough and has some home run pop, though most of his slugging will come from pounding balls into Safeco’s spacious gaps, which is obviously a plus given the park’s dimensions. In a neutral park he could feasibly top out at over 20 homers down the road. Defensively he’s been a work in progress. Pitch blocking has been perhaps his greatest weakness, though he’s improved enough that it shouldn’t be too much of a hindrance going forward. He has a good arm and quick release, and has improved his footwork and accuracy to second base. After being told he focused too much on offense, Moore made a concentrated effort to get his defense up to snuff as well as his staff management and game calling. Moore is a solid yet unspectacular backstop that reminds of Michael Barrett, which is really all you can ask for. Perhaps most beneficial to Moore is that he has the support of GM Jack Zduriencik and his staff, something hard to come by for many of the Bill Bavasi-era top prospects.  Video: Home run, June 2009

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2.	Steve Baron, C 12/07/90 (19) Pulaski

Drafted in the first round (#33 overall) of the 2009 amateur draft. Listed at 6’0/195. Bats right. Baron was known as arguably the best defensive prep receiver a 2009 draft that featured some great high school talent behind the plate.  He is extremely advanced for someone of his age and experience level, showing off a plus arm, quick release, good footwork and overall instincts, making him very fun to watch behind the plate.  Offensively he’s more of a work in progress, as evidence by the .179/.241/.292 slash line he produced in his introduction to pro ball.  That said, Pulaski is a tough place to land for high school players and his swing has made progress  over the last year or so according to most reports.  He isn’t expected to hit for much average, but has the physical tools and raw power to hit 15+ homers some day, which would pair nicely with plus defense. Conditioning will be important for Baron, as he’s already fairly big and has had problems staying in shape in the past. His defense alone should get him to the big leagues one day, but his offense may determine his outlook as a starter.  He isn’t expected to be a quick riser. Video: High school highlights, offense and defense, 2009

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3.	Trevor Coleman, C 01/19/88 (21) Clinton

Drafted in the 9th round (#263 overall) of the 2009 amateur draft.  Listed at 6’1/205.  Bats both.  Coleman comes to the Mariners from Missouri, where he had the opportunity to catch first round pitchers Aaron Crow and Kyle Gibson.  What’s great about that is it gave him an opportunity to catch advanced arms with good secondary stuff, helping him improve his game calling and pitch blocking more than the average college catcher.  Though he’s a solid receiver, he’s not defensively advanced enough to make the big leagues alone; he’s going to have to hit.  Coleman’s bat never progressed as expected while at Missouri and he’s been more or less a singles hitter.  He didn’t show much in his short debut at Everett either, hitting .184/.306/.289 in 32 games.  But he is a switch hitter, which is rare out of a catcher, and knows how to the work the counts (more walks than strikeouts in college, 13% walk rate in Everett), so it may be worth keeping an eye on him in 2010.

Watch list - Ji-man Choi: 2009 IFA from Korea. Power LH bat. Engle called him “best left-handed abt in Korean High School play this year.”  Originally had him above Coleman, but we’ll wait for some more detailed scouting reports first.  Travis Howell: 25 year olds who haven’t escaped A-ball aren’t usually mentioned on posts like this, but Howell’s defensive reputation intrigues me. If he can stay healthy he could become someone worth watching.  Also keep an eye on Brandon Bantz and Tommy Johnson.  Hassiel Jimenez works the counts and is regarded as a hard worker with at least average offensive tools across the board.

as a prospect.  I’ll admit that he wasn’t on my radar at all, but I’ll trust their judgment. Will dig up some info and update this.

It’s looking pretty thin for the Mariners behind the plate. Outside of Moore and the two teenagers (Baron and Choi) the depth consists of a bunch of fringy guys that are either very old for their respective levels or are just not particularly exciting. Luckily, Moore and Rob Johnson should be able to anchor the position at the big league level for the foreseeable future. That said, it’s hard to predict young catchers, as illustrated by Seattle’s inability to develop one since acquiring Dan Wilson.

The disclaimer: I do these reports and rankings as part of my own baseball education, and figure that some people will enjoy the information and opinions I’ve compiled.  I am by no means an expert evaluator of minor league talent, so all views and rankings should be taken with a grain of salt and are very much up for discussion.  It is a hobby, but something that I am relatively new at.  I am inexperienced enough that I don’t have much of a track record in terms of predicting the outcomes of prospects, but hopefully these types of posts will allow me to look back in a few years and see what I got right and all I got wrong.