Year of the Catcher? Not for the Reds

[kpresidente]

There's absolutely nothing in it for him to consider a move to catcher.

Then why don't all catchers who can hit demand to be moved?

[RedlegJake]

When I look at catchers in other organizations I don't see any great seperation from Mesaraco or after a point from Hanigan. Wieters, Clement, Towles, Conger, Teagarden and Montero plus the new guys Posey and Skipworth. Skipworth and Montero are years away. Wieters is in a class by himself. Towles and maybe Conger are next. Clement isn't looking like the beast he was once thought to be. Neither is Teagarden, though both have a ton of upside. Mesaraco compares favorably with most of the rest - I'd rate him ahead of Bryan Anderson, Cervelli, Salome, Navarro, Josh Donaldson, Mitch Canham for instance. I'd rate Hanigan favorably with any of that group although he is older - Ryan is not going to get a lot better than he is - he just needs to put up similar numbers as his did inthe minors, while a coupleof these guys could develop some power but so far the griup looks a lot like him actually. Same good OBP but little power. Max Ramirez can flat hit but his defense is really iffy. Chris Stewart is a backup. Max Sapp has been really disappointing actually, Jesus Flores looks pretty good but not immeasurably better as a prospect than Mes. Yes, there are a lot of names and some organizations can count 3 or 4 reasonable prospects behind the plate, basically one at each level. The Reds have basically one real bullet in Mesaraco unless one of the kids in the GCL or Billings suddenly steps up. Saying that Hanigan is AAA filler, though, is a ridiculous statement on the same level with saying Mesaraco isn't even a top twenty catching prospect. But what burns me most I guess is when someone disagrees and gets called clueless, unimaginative or deficient in ideas. COULD the Reds convert one of their players like Yonder or Francisco? Sure, if the kid agreed to it and the Reds felt he could do it but I'm not sure that would solve the problem as much as some think itwould. It might even backfire and take the focus from improving plate discipline from a kid like Francisco.

[nate]

Moving him to catcher will shorten his career, reduce his stats, and probably the money he'll make over a career. It will almost certainly slow down his progress to the majors. He's already on the fastest of tracks. There's absolutely nothing in it for him to consider a move to catcher.

I'd say there's a pretty big payday awaiting him if he can hit well and catch OK.

[M2]

Saying that Hanigan is AAA filler, though, is a ridiculous statement on the same level with saying Mesaraco isn't even a top twenty catching prospect.

Hanigan's got a light stick, always has, always will (.372 SLG in the minors). He just turned 28. He's not a stellar defender (e.g. like a Henry Blanco). That's the kind of guy you generally keep stashed in AAA as filler, to be called up in case of emergency.

Could he be a passable backup? Certainly. It's not like that requires any outstanding ability, but in terms of age/ability/experience Hanigan absolutely qualifies as the sort of fellow you commonly find employed as AAA filler.

As for Mesoraco, we've seen reports this year that his catching mechanics are poor and his swing has gotten slow and long. His raw numbers are positively yawn inducing. Given the number of kids who had good seasons in high A and AA, three top 10 picks in this year's draft and a few kids from the 2007 draft who've probably passed Mesoraco in terms of prospect luster (D'Arnaud, Lucroy, Norris), Devin would be hard-pressed to make a top 20. Again, BA just named 19 kids in its article about all the nifty catching prospects in the minors. Do you think they'd omit a clear top 20 selection? I don't think so.

Mesoraco might make the tail end of a top 20 list, but it's far from a given. There are 29 other organizations out there, some of which have something to brag about in the catching ranks. Assuming Mesoraco makes a top 20 strikes me as a case of being generally unaware of what else is out there. Maybe he would. Maybe he wouldn't. It will be interesting to see if Mesoraco makes BA's MWL top 20, which should be out soon.

None of that means Hanigan shouldn't be given a shot to be on a major league roster or that Mesoraco's dropped eternally from the land of hot prospectdom, but Hanigan's ceiling is "passable" and Mesoraco's yet to thrive in professional baseball. I fail to see where anyone should be smug about those guys.

[RedlegJake]

None of that means Hanigan shouldn't be given a shot to be on a major league roster or that Mesoraco's dropped eternally from the land of hot prospectdom, but Hanigan's ceiling is "passable" and Mesoraco's yet to thrive in professional baseball. I fail to see where anyone should be smug about those guys.

I agree on Hanigan's ceiling but think he's likely to reach it for a couple years anyway. I also have reservations about Mes but point out that a great number of BA's prospects have some holes in their game, either hitting or fielding. I still feel Mes fits in the second ten as well as any of them. The top 9 or 10 guys on the list though are well ahead of him, that I agree with. And it's thin as heck at catching (in the Reds system), I agree with that. There are two key positions where the hopes ride on only a single guy - the other is SS. If Mesaraco or Cozart don't develop there is a huge vacuum. I think SS is a bigger problem, though. While it's probably harder to find a great catcher, imo it's easier to find a "passable" catcher, than it is a decent SS.

[M2]

I think it's probably fair to guess that all Reds fans are nervous about the SS situation as long as the team doesn't have an annual All-Star at the position. I know I am.

[fearofpopvol1]

Why would Alonso be interested in being a catcher?

This is the point that I wanted to bring up for all those who think converting kids from other positions is the way to go.

Who says these guys "want" to be converted? Catching is not for everyone.

While it'd be great to get some of these kids converted (or try to get them converted), I just don't think it's a given that this is what they want to do.

I don't think these kids would care about the fact that they could be above average offensively at their position. To take it a step further, at least for the kids that are in the high minors (or even high A), learning a new position only means it's going to take longer for them to get to the majors.

There is just not a lot of upside, as a player, to becoming a catcher unless you're really fantastic or really mediocre.

[M2]

Who says these guys "want" to be converted? Catching is not for everyone.

I agree with that to an extent, but there's a question the organization can ask them to help them along with that choice - do you want to play in the majors?

For Alonso and Frazier, they probably don't need to squat behind the plate to get a regular gig in the majors. Yet for others, it might be the choice between a fringe infielder or a plus catcher.

[fearofpopvol1]

I agree with that to an extent, but there's a question the organization can ask them to help them along with that choice - do you want to play in the majors?

For Alonso and Frazier, they probably don't need to squat behind the plate to get a regular gig in the majors. Yet for others, it might be the choice between a fringe infielder or a plus catcher.

Yeah, I agree. I just think it would be tough to get kids who are older or in the high A and above class to convert. The younger kids in rookie ball though I think would be great targets. The Reds would be smart to invest in scouts that specialize in catching and have them give their best guesses on who would be good fits and who wouldn't be.

I think your original point/idea is spot on...the Reds do need to start to explore some additional options to strengthen the catching in the system.

[kpresidente]

It can't hurt to ask, can it?

Like I said earlier, Alonso grew up playing catcher, up until college. He was originally drafted as a catcher. He might prefer it. It's not like you're asking somebody to do something they've never done before.

[dougdirt]

Here is a name to toss into the catcher equation. Logan Parker. He is currently a first baseman, but there doesn't seem to be a future at the position.

[Redman15]

Logan Parker is left handed isn't he?

[dougdirt]

Logan Parker is left handed isn't he?

Yeah.... I for some reason had it in my head he threw righty and hit lefty. Don't mind me.

[Redman15]

It's too bad he is not a righty. He would of of been a good candidate. Good size,
hits from the left side and has decent pop.

[HokieRed]

Some years ago I thought Rosales would be the ideal guy to do this with but it's probably too late. I think we don't want to underestimate Castillo. This kid could be the kind of guy who just gets better and better each year and will be a very good answer at the position by two years out.