Mitch Garver - 2017

[Vanimal46]

Mitch Garver:

 

http://www.milb.com/images/641598/t534/180x270/641598.jpg He has a STRONG beard in this pic! 

Position: C 

B/T: R/R
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 220 lbs of STEEL

Birthday: January 15, 1991 AGE: 26

Drafted in the 9th round back in 2013 out of New Mexico. 

 

Starting the year in AAA Rochester platooning with John Ryan Murphy. Should be a good battle to follow throughout the year! 

2016 was Garver's breakout year you could say. He breezed through AA where he hit .257 with 11 HR 66 RBI .334/.419/.753 OPS in 95 games. He was promoted to AAA on August 10, 2016 and played 22 more games. He had a hot bat to finish the year in AAA, with a .329 .381/.434/.815 OPS slash line. 

Garver was added to the 40 man roster over the off-season, and, if all goes right, could get a cup of coffee in September with the big league club. 

 

[Vanimal46]

So far this season Garver is starting out RED HOT like his beard.... 

.429 BA with 5 RBI and a .714/.714/1.429 slash line. He's also drawn 6 walks compared to 4 K's. 

[ashbury]

Here is a three-pitch sequence from a game on the back fields on March 23. I didn't keep a scoresheet so I don't know the outcome of this PA. First, swinging and missing:

 

 

Next a take, apparently:

 

 

And then it looks like he connects, intending to take it to the opposite field:

 

 

Unfortunately, my pictures of an earlier AB that game, where he pulled a long home run to left, didn't come out. I could show you one of him on deck before he hit it, though.

 

 

[Vanimal46]

SSS Alert: 

In the battle between JRM and Garver, the numbers don't lie... 

JRM - 5 games, 15 AB, .067/.222/.067 for a whopping .289 OPS

Meanwhile... 

Garver - 6 games, 14 AB, .429/.619/.643 for a team leading 1.262 OPS... 

Maybe it's time to give Garver the keys for a little while. 

[diehardtwinsfan]

JRM... how in the world did he put up a .700+ OPS in two seasons for the Yankees?

[ashbury]

JRM... how in the world did he put up a .700+ OPS in two seasons for the Yankees?

A .700 BABIP.

 

_{^{No, not really.}}

[D.C Twins]

The Twins should call him up to develop and acclimate him to MLB THIS year and trade Catstro if/when he proves worthy (I think when).

 

Unfortunately, I think the FO is emotionally/intelectually invested in Gimenez. So the Garver era will probably not start as early as it should

[Taildragger8791]

 

JRM... how in the world did he put up a .700+ OPS in two seasons for the Yankees?

 

I presume some carefully selected matchups combined with short sample size. But I can't be bothered enough to even look up his stats to validate that theory.

[Vanimal46]

JRM... how in the world did he put up a .700+ OPS in two seasons for the Yankees?

The running joke would be he faced Twins pitching.... But surprisingly he only has a .636 career OPS against them! The culprit is Baltimore. .393/.419/.571 in 31 PA against them...

[Vanimal46]

Garver hit his 1st HR of the season yesterday! Hit a line drive over the LF fence in the 2nd inning. 

He's started the last 2 games for the Red Wings, and doing well in the driver's seat. 

[Vanimal46]

Garver's end of April stats:

12 games played - .278/.435/.500 with 1 HR 8 RBI along with 9 BB's and 11 K's in 36 AB's

Compared to JRM:

11 games played - .235/.297/.412 with 1 HR 3 RBI along with 3 BB's and 7 K's in 34 AB's 

The playing time is near 50/50, but Garver is winning this battle hands-down at the moment. 

I do wonder if they'll keep splitting time 50/50, or if Garver will take on more work going forward. 

[goulik]

I think, with this front office, how they are doing defensively is probably more important than offensively. 

[Mike Sixel]

50/50 is great, to me. No need to wear Garver out. That's enough to work on his defense.

[Vanimal46]

The 50/50 split in playing time between JRM and Garver continues on... 

Stats through 5/30 for Garver: 

26 games -- 104 PA -- .256/.413/.463 with 3 HR and 14 RBI

What's to like: He's drawing nearly as many walks (21) as K's (22) -- Out of his 21 hits so far, 11 have gone for extra bases -- He's also only hit into 1 double play so far, though I'm not sure how many times he's been in the situation to hit into one. 

Stats through 5/30 for JRM:

23 games -- 86 PA -- .213/.314/.373 with 3 HR and 11 RBI 

What's to like: I'm guessing his defense is still okay! 

[Mike Sixel]

Could certainly be hitting better, to force the FO's hands a bit more...

[Shane Wahl]

It's gotta be time soon for this Gimenez business to end, right?

[Vanimal46]

Yarnivek1972 pointed out in another thread that Garver is starting in LF tonight. His 2nd start in LF this season, and the 2nd start in his career out there.

 

TREND?! Or MIRAGE... Mirage.... mirage?

 

Copyright Dan Cole the Common Man.

[twinssouth]

But can he pitch. He needs to pitch to take Gimenez spot. Seriously, Garver should be ready for a call up, he's ready and he's one heck of a hitter.

[Vanimal46]

After cooling off a bit in May, Garver's bat is HEATING UP again during the month of June! 

June stats through 6/26:

19 games -- 76 AB -- .289/.368/.526 for an OPS of .894 -- 4 HR -- 9 RBI

 

One sign of concern: He's striking out a lot more this month. 10 BB's to 27 K's.  

[Vanimal46]

Seth wrote a tidbit about Garver in today's Article "Four-Bagger: Jorge, Gordon, Garver, and Bullpen Arms"

 

"Wednesday afternoon, Mitch Garver went 2-5. On the season, he is now hitting .278/.387/.486 (.873) with 16 doubles and seven homers. He now has a 14-game hitting streak. He caught on Wednesday, but he has also played five games at first base and now six games in left field.

 

With Jason Castro signed for three years, and Chris Gimenez playing more than expected, Garver becoming more versatile can only make him more valuable to the team."

[Vanimal46]

Garver had himself a career day yesterday in an 8-2 victory against Syracuse! 

Per Cody Christie's report:

"Mitch Garver put on a hitting clinic in this contest. As part of a four-run second inning, Garver clocked his first home run of the day, a two-run shot. He stepped up with two outs in the fourth inning and blasted a solo-shot. Two innings later, he sent his third ball of the day over the fence, his twelfth home run of the season. He ended the day 3-for-5 with four RBI."

[Vanimal46]

Mitch Garver was featured in Seth Stohs' Three-Bagger Article today. Below are Seth's words about him:

 

Those that follow me on Twitter know that I’ve been including the hashtag #CallHimUp on any of the tweets that mention Garver. He’s 26, and he’s put up tremendous numbers. In fact, someone close to the Red Wings said he’s “having one of the best seasons as a catcher in recent Red Wings history.”

Through 81 games this season, he is hitting .276/.378/.521 (.898). He’s hit 23 doubles and 16 home runs. Since being drafted in the 9th round of the 2013 draft, after his senior season at the University of New Mexico, he has continued to improve each season. That’s great since he was the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year in 2014 while playing in Cedar Rapids. This year, he’s been impressive, showing a strong knowledge of the strike zone and attacking driveable pitches into the gaps and over the fence, to either field.

 

As important in a catcher’s development, he’s improved tremendously behind the plate as well. He’s blessed with a very strong arm, and has always thrown out base stealers at a strong percent. While his pitch framing numbers aren’t as strong this year as last year, pitchers rave about his ability to call a good game.

 

My first thought was maybe Wilson Ramos put up some strong numbers for the Red Wings. However, in 71 games for the team in 2010, he hit .241/.280/.345 (.625) with 14 doubles and five home runs (as a 22 year old) in 71 games.

 

In 2014, Josmil Pinto hit .279/.376/.457 (.833) with 17 doubles and six homers in 60 games for the Red Wings. In 2008, Jose Morales hit .315/.348/.426 (.774) with eight doubles and four homers in 54 games. In 2007, Morales hit .311/.366/.399 (.765) with 25 doubles and two homers in 108 games. In 2005, Rob Bowen hit .268/.368/.402 (.770) with 13 doubles and six homers.

 

And that takes us back through the Twins affiliation with Rochester. I think it’s safe to say that the season Mitch Garver is putting together is the best in the last 15 years, to be sure.

 

Meanwhile, Jason Castro is hitting .227/.322/.371 (.693) with 20 doubles and six homers in 80 games for the Twins. Backup Chris Gimenez is hitting .202/.317/.355 (.672) with four doubles and five homers in 47 games.

 

Garver has versatility too. He’s caught in 61 games. He played first base in five games, and he’s played 14 games in left field. While his range may be that of a catcher in left field, he would be a right-handed bench or DH option for the Twins.

 

There is no question that Mitch Garver will be called up for September. There should be little question that he should be given every opportunity next spring to break with the big league club. For good.

[goulik]

I was/am really hoping some playoff team needs a defensive catcher due to injury and trades for Gimenez so Garver can get that LOOOOOOOOONNGGGGG overdue promotion. It is time and he shouldn't be blocked by veterans anymore...

[goulik]

And he gets that long overdue promotion

 

TD discussion

http://twinsdaily.com/topic/27202-mitch-garvers-college-coach-tweets-that-hes-headed-to-mlb/

 

It's official

http://m.mlb.com/min/roster/transactions/

 

Congratulations rookie

[Vanimal46]

To finish up this adopt-a-prospect series, Garver was named Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year! 

Check out the article. I can't break down his season better than Steve Lein.

 

Hopefully this will be the end of us knowing Garver as a prospect. He should be the backup C in Minnesota heading into 2018.