Article: GarvSauce - A Proof Point in Falvey's Quest to Optimize Player Development

[Jamie Cameron]

Since Derek Falvey took over the Twins in 2016, there has been an organizational emphasis in gaining an edge in and optimizing player development. Over the next few weeks, I’ll look at some Twins who are out-performing their projections, how they are doing it, and wonder how they might serve as a blueprint for future Twins prospects.In their book The MVP Machine, Ben Lindbergh and Travis Sawchik succinctly summarized the focal point of the player development revolution: "Every team now knows which players are projected to be good. But the best teams are discovering ways for players to accomplish what they aren’t projected to do." Amidst an incredible 2019 Twins team full of surprises, no one player encompasses this tenet of player development more than Mitch Garver, who has transformed himself from fringey, solid hitting backup catcher, to a bat whose potency rivals that of Trout, Bellinger, and Yellich. It’s time for a saucy ode to Mitch-a-palooza, an incredible story in the ceiling of the player development revolution.

 

Background

Garver came to the Twins as a ninth-round pick in the 2013 Amateur draft (230th overall). Starting at Rookie ball in 2013, Garver progressed through approximately one level of the minors per season He quickly establishing himself has having a solid hit tool, strong on base skills and flashing some power -- hitting 29 home runs between two full seasons at AA and AAA. In 2017, Garver put himself firmly in the realm of intriguing Twins prospects, adding significant power to his swing which resulted in an additional .113 points of OPS from his 2016 stint at Rochester (more on this later). Garver got a cup of coffee in the majors in 2017 in which he struggled in the smattering of games he played but which laid the foundation for 2018. In 2018 Garver played 103 games with the Twins, putting together a .268/.335/.414 (.749) line, with seven home runs. In essence, Garver was a league average hitter (strong for the catcher position), with poor defense, who, nevertheless, put himself in a position to open the 2019 season splitting time with Jason Castro, himself returning from an injury ravaged 2018.

 

Good to Great

After his two home run performance on Monday night against the Yankees, Garver’s 2019 output ascended to new levels of incredulity. Among hitters with at least 200 plate appearances, Garver’s 1.059 OPS and 171 wRC+ ranked fourth among all hitters, behind only Mike Trout (1.111 and 187), Cody Bellinger (1.124 and 183), and Christian Yellich (1.156 and 185). Rarified air indeed. To add more color and context to Garver’s hitting performance, he’s 3rd in the league in SLG, fourth in OPS, second in ISO. Garver’s 162 game fWAR pace is 8.4. In short, he’s a superstar. So what turned Garver from promising hitter, into one who upped his Barrel % from 5.5% in 2018 to 15.5% in 2019?

 

Mechanical changes

Towards the end of the 2018 season, Roy Smalley detailed some of Garver’s swing changes on FSN. Garver, he explained, had an uphill swing, meaning the torso/upper body is not well centered, resulting in Garver losing the barrel of the bat throughout his swing. Smalley went on the explain that James Rowson was working with Garver to be ‘short to the ball’, pulling the hands in front of the chest towards the ball and maximizing the amount of time the barrel of the bat is moving powerfully through the plane of the swing.

 

Parker Hageman has posted several great twitter threads detailing Garver’s swing changes between his minor and major league careers. The following stills are taken from a video of his swing in a game in Toronto earlier in the 2019 season.

 

In the first picture, Garver’s hands have dropped and pulled the bat down to maximize barrel time through the zone

 

Download attachment: Garver 1.jpg

 

In the second screen shot, Garver’s barrel has now dropped lower, to just above his right hip, angled slightly upward to hit the ball in the air. His legs are positioned to torque and fire his hips as he completes his swing.

 

Download attachment: Garver 2.jpg

 

In the final picture, the ball is finally in the frame. Garver’s bat has been accelerated through the zone and is ready to meet the ball. It’s an incredibly efficient swing with little to no unnecessary movement.

 

Download attachment: Garver 3.jpg

 

Garver has transformed from having a promising hit tool, to having an extremely efficient, compact swing which maximized barrel time on plane, and, as a result, Garver has transformed himself into one of the best fastball hitters in baseball.

 

Defense

Another aspect of Garver’s development between 2018 and 2019 is his defensive work as a catcher. Garver’s defense was a noticeable hindrance to his ability to be a first option big league catcher in 2018. In 2018, Garver was worth -16 DRS (defensive runs saved) and -10.1 FRM (catcher framing runs above average. In 385 innings caught in 2019 (ahead of Wednesday’s rubber game against the Yankees), Garver has been worth +3 DRS and +0.5 FRM. Both Garver, and Twins Minor League Catching Coordinator Tanner Swanson deserve a ton of credit for this defensive improvement. In short, Garver has transformed from a poor defensive backup, to a slightly above average defensive catcher. Therein lies a key component of the Twins player development plans under Derek Falvey, amplify your strengths, and work to raise the floor of your weaknesses.

Garver’s StatCast catching metrics show similar steady improvement. In 2018, Garver’s average pop time of 2.08 seconds was good for 72nd among 85 qualified catchers. In 2019, Garver’s pop time speed has averaged 2.00 seconds. That may seem like a nominal difference, but it’s huge when considering the margins involved in stealing bases (and that the best in MLB is around 1.90). Garver’s average of 2.00 is now good for 28th out of 64 qualified catchers.

 

Why Doesn’t he Play Every Day?

With Garver’s transformation into one of the elite bats in the AL, a relevant question for the Twins has become ‘is he getting enough ABs’? Garver is splitting time approximately 50/50 with Jason Castro behind the plate. It’s worth exploring getting Garver DH/1B ABs. Accruing Garver an extra 50-75 ABs over the course of the season seems like an easy way to optimize a lineup that has looked more like it’s May iteration in a tough series against the Yankees, an option the Rocco Baldelli should certainly consider for a playoff series.

 

Garver is evidence that the fruits of Derek Falvey’s push to optimize player development are producing results. Indeed, as a 28 year old in his second MLB season, Garver is forcing us to reconsider notions of what to expect from prospects and the idea that players have a fixed ceiling. No one saw this coming. The Twins now have the best hitting catcher in baseball locked down until 2024.

 

What do you think of Garver’s development this year? Do you expect him to sustain his current levels of performance? Who do you think is the Twins greatest player development success story this season?

 

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[diehardtwinsfan]

good article

[Patrick Wozniak]

Great article! Garver has been amazing.  It would be really nice to get his bat in the line up a bit more by putting him at first but I also think the amount of rest he has gotten has helped him stay fresh and sustain his high level of performance.  As with Buxton, I really hope he can stay clear of future concussions as he is such a large part of the Twins success.

[AceWrigley]

As a fellow Lobo, I knew The Garv had greatness in him.

[Ebby Calvin Laloosh]

I think fewer innings behind the plate is helping both catchers immensely. How much of Garver's bananas season can be attributed to that? I can't imagine that he would keep up at this rate if catching 70-75% of the games, closer to a traditional starter/back model. Catching is hard. Turns out 2 catchers OPSing over .800 is a pretty nice luxury.

[goulik]

I think fewer innings behind the plate is helping both catchers immensely. How much of Garver's bananas season can be attributed to that? I can't imagine that he would keep up at this rate if catching 70-75% of the games, closer to a traditional starter/back model. Catching is hard. Turns out 2 catchers OPSing over .800 is a pretty nice luxury.

I believe this is a major part of the equation. They are both well rested and performing well but to DH Garver and give him more at bats would require carrying a third catcher. Astudillo? I think we need to see him also improve his bottom and top lines.

Next year will also be interesting. Who’s splitting time with Garv sauce while we hope Astudillo improves and wait for Jeffers or Rortvedt to arrive?

[Parker Hageman]

Good post.

 

There are some exceptions I take to Smalley's assessment. Not that he's wrong, it's just that he fixates on one aspect of it (SHORT TO THE BALL) and doesn't explain, elaborate and compare to show viewers what he's talking about. Instead, he repeats that cue every time Garver does something good offensively.

 

Here are some additional things I think he should be talking about to expand on that topic:

 

1. Short to the ball. You highlighted some pretty good stuff there but let's take a look at what his short to the ball now means. 

 

 

The top clip is from 2019 and the bottom one is from last year. Both pitches are similar speeds and locations. Watch just the hands travel. In 2018's swing the hands turn at the same rate but then travel forward to meet the ball (a pulling the bat action, if you will). In 2019, they turn then just pivot. Hence, shorter action. 

 

The key for me, while it's quicker, is how in 2018 he releases his top wrist *before* contact. 

 

2. Long through the ball.

 

This aspect of his swing is not discussed enough on the broadcasts. Smalley did mention that Rowson was trying to keep him from "spinning out" with his front shoulder. What Rowson is trying to accomplish is to get Garver to swing long through the ball (having the bat path travel forward after contact instead of immediately turning toward his body). 

 

 

With the top wrist releasing, it is difficult to have a long through swing. You almost will always start to turn away from the pitch plane. Think about Sano earlier in the year. His pull-centric approach had him pulling off that plane quickly. By straying from that path, a hitter's contact zone decreases and they swing and miss more often. Garver's improvement in this area is one of the reasons he has so much more power to center field this year versus last year. 

 

.500 BA/1.094 SLG with 6 HRs in 2019 vs .352 BA/.451 SLG with 0 HRs in 2018 when hitting the ball to center. 

 

3. Rear Hip Load

 

Compared to last year, Garver loads up on his rear leg/hip much better, creating power connection from the lower half to the upper body better. You'll see an inward turn of his hip, loading power. This was not nearly as pronounced last year (you'd see him turn the front hip inward but not the back hip). 

 

 

One of the things a Twins coach told me that Garver focused on was hitting the ball outfront more than he did in the past. The contact point is one way to increase your fly ball rate without dropping the barrel all the time. It also helps a hitter become more pull focused but staying through the ball (as noted above) keeps him from pulling off of the pitch plane. 

[DocBauer]

Yes, a great article! And thank you Parker for your additions.

 

1] I know what certain statistics say and the opinions of others. But while I saw some bad plays last season, I saw a solid receiver overall with potential, and caught some very good games despite being put in a tough position. He wasn't supposed to be the starter last year.

 

2] Garver, and the Twins in general, missed the experience of Castro last season. Not a great hitter, not the best defender un the world, he is experienced and solid and I liked his signing 2 yrs ago.

 

3] I like having Castro back. I'd like him to return next season, at a lower salary, but I doubt it happens. It is a tremendous luxury to have these 2 guys to share the load. And I dont doubt part of their success is because they are sharing that load.

 

But I do object to a 50/50 split, if that is indeed the projection ahead. With all due respect to Castro, Garver is the better and more dangerous player. I'd think he should be more than capable of catching a few more games.

[highlander]

I would like to see the "Sauce" get a little more playing time next year. Say 60-65%, I believe the freshness really helps him.

 

Playoff time all bets are off. They need his bat in the lineup, DH, First Base, Catcher, the Twins need the boom stick!

[Jamie Cameron]

Super appreciate the feedback, add ons, and extra knowledge. Banked.

Good post.

 

There are some exceptions I take to Smalley's assessment. Not that he's wrong, it's just that he fixates on one aspect of it (SHORT TO THE BALL) and doesn't explain, elaborate and compare to show viewers what he's talking about. Instead, he repeats that cue every time Garver does something good offensively.

 

Here are some additional things I think he should be talking about to expand on that topic:

 

1. Short to the ball. You highlighted some pretty good stuff there but let's take a look at what his short to the ball now means. 

 

FSFrameGIFImage (5).GIF

 

The top clip is from 2019 and the bottom one is from last year. Both pitches are similar speeds and locations. Watch just the hands travel. In 2018's swing the hands turn at the same rate but then travel forward to meet the ball (a pulling the bat action, if you will). In 2019, they turn then just pivot. Hence, shorter action. 

 

The key for me, while it's quicker, is how in 2018 he releases his top wrist *before* contact. 

 

2. Long through the ball.

 

This aspect of his swing is not discussed enough on the broadcasts. Smalley did mention that Rowson was trying to keep him from "spinning out" with his front shoulder. What Rowson is trying to accomplish is to get Garver to swing long through the ball (having the bat path travel forward after contact instead of immediately turning toward his body). 

 

FSFrameGIFImage (4).GIF

 

With the top wrist releasing, it is difficult to have a long through swing. You almost will always start to turn away from the pitch plane. Think about Sano earlier in the year. His pull-centric approach had him pulling off that plane quickly. By straying from that path, a hitter's contact zone decreases and they swing and miss more often. Garver's improvement in this area is one of the reasons he has so much more power to center field this year versus last year. 

 

.500 BA/1.094 SLG with 6 HRs in 2019 vs .352 BA/.451 SLG with 0 HRs in 2018 when hitting the ball to center. 

 

3. Rear Hip Load

 

Compared to last year, Garver loads up on his rear leg/hip much better, creating power connection from the lower half to the upper body better. You'll see an inward turn of his hip, loading power. This was not nearly as pronounced last year (you'd see him turn the front hip inward but not the back hip). 

 

FSFrameGIFImage (3).GIF

 

One of the things a Twins coach told me that Garver focused on was hitting the ball outfront more than he did in the past. The contact point is one way to increase your fly ball rate without dropping the barrel all the time. It also helps a hitter become more pull focused but staying through the ball (as noted above) keeps him from pulling off of the pitch plane.