Grandal vs Mesoraco

[Trajinous]

I was wondering if the Reds choose incorrectly on which rookie catcher to keep. One is in AAA the other is earning a starting position. I've been underwhelmed by Mesoraco offensively. He seems to call a good game but his offense is bad. I have no idea how Grandal calls a game but his bat is much better this year and a switch hitter.

What do you guys think?

DISCLAIMER: Its waaaaaaaaaaaay too early but Grandal would have helped us more than Mesoraco this year.

[R_Webb18]

so im glad to know you know how grandal would do playing 2/5 days

[Mutaman]

He seems to call a good game but his offense is bad.

When it comes to catching, what you do behind the plate vastly outweighs your offensive contributions. Grandel can hit but in another year or two, he will be playing another position. As I recall, when we played San Diego, we were running every time we got on base.

[Trajinous]

I'm putting my faith in the Red's scouting/front office's decision. They've been pretty good evaluating talent lately.

I don't think Mesoraco's playing time is an issue because he hasn't earned it. People can complain about his playing time but when Hanigan's OBP is .380 and calling great games, Meso doesn't deserve the starts over him. I wish it was easier to evaluate catcher's calling abilities since I'm not going to watch every Padres game.

[Eric from NC]

It does seem Grandal is limited defensively. I saw a bit of Braves and Padres last night. Braves announcers mentioned Grandal was throwing out 20% of runners. Mes seemed to hit for power at one point in the season. It is a little hard to tell since Hannigan plays much more, which seems to be the way to go.

[50YrRedsFan]

I can't say much about Grandal, as I have seen him only once in a game, and that was the game he pulled a muscle and only played 2 innings. As for Mesoraco, wasn't he just an average hitter coming out of High School when he was drafted? I remember he did not hit much his first 2 or 3 years in the minors. I don't think he is going to be much more than .235-.240 hitter in the majors with maybe a dozen HR's if he gets enough at bats per season. Good hitting catchers are a rare commodity. Not everyone is a Joe Mauer. I personally would have kept Grandal ONLY because he is a switch hitter. Neither have been around long enough to evaluate how good a catcher they are.

[CALIREDSFAN72]

Give Mesoraco time...even when he was up he was in for 2 games and back on the bench for 3...makes it real hard to get any kind of rhythm going, especially for a rookie. He's down in AAA to get consistent at-bats...I'll take a defensive catcher any day of the week over a guy like Grandal who couldn't throw out Scott Rolen.

[scott91575]

It does seem Grandal is limited defensively. I saw a bit of Braves and Padres last night. Braves announcers mentioned Grandal was throwing out 20% of runners. Mes seemed to hit for power at one point in the season. It is a little hard to tell since Hannigan plays much more, which seems to be the way to go.

It's not like Mesoraco was throwing out guys left and right. He was at 21% in the majors this year, and in the minors was only threw out 29% of runners. Grandal was at 34% in the minors. Grandal also has a pitcher ERA of 3.53 vs. Mesoraco with 4.30. You can point to GABP for some of that difference and the fact Mesoraco did not catch the Reds best pitchers. So that one is tough to truly get a handle on.

You can also point to catching for Bailey for his caught stealing percentage, but his minors numbers were not that great either.

[DocRed]

Way too early to say..

[Who Dey Time]

I was wondering if the Reds choose incorrectly on which rookie catcher to keep. One is in AAA the other is earning a starting position. I've been underwhelmed by Mesoraco offensively. He seems to call a good game but his offense is bad. I have no idea how Grandal calls a game but his bat is much better this year and a switch hitter.

What do you guys think?

DISCLAIMER: Its waaaaaaaaaaaay too early but Grandal would have helped us more than Mesoraco this year.

The first four words of your disclaimer says it all.

[Biff Pocoroba]

OP suggests that it was our call whether to include Mes or Grandal in the deal with the Padres. Is that accurate?

With regard to the broader question - yes, it's way too early to tell.

[Helms1]

First and foremost catchers must catch, hence the name.

[Trajinous]

I guess I'm asking, who would you guys pick?

It's seems fairly unanimous that posters would pick Mesoraco. I think Grandal/Mesoraco's performances truly determine the value of the Latos trade.

[malcontent]

For me it's Grandal, and not that close.

And if you've got faith in the Reds' FO....they didn't pick Grandal to play 1B.

[jback76]

I think Mesoraco was the right choice.

[Biff Pocoroba]

I guess I'm asking, who would you guys pick?

It's seems fairly unanimous that posters would pick Mesoraco. I think Grandal/Mesoraco's performances truly determine the value of the Latos trade.


If Latos is a meaningful contributor to a World Series title, then Grandal vs. Mesoraco won't matter in determining the value.

[malcontent]

Bench likes Grandal. I assume that means as a catcher.

On the Reds’ catching tandem of Ryan Hanigan and Devin Mesoraco: “(Mesoraco) is still developing. I think you’re going to see a lot of good things from Devin. Hanigan has always been a great receiver. He’s got his average up around .290. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him. I think he’s an even more productive hitter than he’s shown. He’s only got 23 RBIs; I thought that was a misprint. He has a good eye. I’ve talked to him about being more of a hands hitter than a body hitter and to get his hands to stay up. And (catcher Dioner) Navarro comes up and does a good job. We gave up (Yasmani) Grandal (in a trade to San Diego), and I thought that he was the best of all of them. Somebody knew that, too. I guess that’s why they wanted him in San Diego.”

http://www.indystar.com/article/20120919/SPORTS/120919058/Hall-Famer-Johnny-Bench-visits-Indy-talks-Bobby-Knight-Reds-World-Series-chances