Chris Herrmann

[Shane Wahl]

Chris Herrmann

Catcher/Left Fielder

6'0, 200

Bats: Left, Throws: Right

DOB: Nov. 24, 1987

 

After 962 plate appearances in AA with a .754 OPS, Herrmann is finally playing at AAA this season. He is struggling early on, but that is to be expected. He has posted a .182/.234/.227 (.461) line in 48 plate appearances. He will be a solid depth guy on the Twins bench in the future, providing both the club with both a backup catcher and fifth outfielder.

[Shane Wahl]

Herrmann is 11-for-27 in his last 6 games with a double and 7 rbi. The k/bb rate is disappointing so far this year, again. I am looking forward to this turning around soon.

[Shane Wahl]

Herrmann is 5-for-22, with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts in his last six games. He is obviously not performing very well this season and it might now be cause for concern.

 

A big problem for him this year has been LH pitching. He is 3-for-20 on the season against them. For a backup catcher and 5th OF, this won't be such a big deal as his time spent against lefties can be minimized.

 

What I am going to watch for in particular in the next few weeks is whether or not he starts to slug at all. His OBP is bound to bounce back up to around .350. The key for him is if he can back to that .390 SLG mark so that he can project forward as a .700 OPS player at minimum.

[Shane Wahl]

Herrmann is really struggling. His season numbers:

 

.226/.293/.277 (.571), 5/1/2, 3-0, 13-29 are bad. Of note are two things: first, the slugging is abysmal. He's hit well in 2 of his last ten games; second, his K/BB rate was what made him intriguing before last season. Last season it became a problem and now it is only getting worse.

[Shane Wahl]

Herrmann has started to hit in his last four games. He is now at .238/.313/.286.

 

The slugging is still not there and that is a problem. Basically a .20/.30/.100 raise is needed for viabilty. His k/bb rate is improving over time.

 

Fun fact: Herrmann is terrible in day games this year. In 51 at bats he has an OPS of .352. In night games? 96 at bats and an OPS of .729.

[Shane Wahl]

Chris Herrmann has been recalled by the Twins as Wilkin Ramirez is headed to the 7-day DL. This move is likely only to last for the remainder of Trevor Plouffe's DL stint, so Herrmann may only be with the team for the Brewers 4 game split series. I am sure Gardy will try to get him one or even two starts somewhere. Hopefully per my last post, he isn't starting in tomorrow's day game.

 

Chris was 3-for-7 in his last two games, so his numbers are inching up there.

[Shane Wahl]

Actually, seriously. 100 AB in night games for a .290/.360/.360 line.

[Shane Wahl]

As everyone knows, Herrmann hit his first major league homer on Sunday, and opposite field shot. And . . . in a day game no less.

 

He's 3-for-7 with a homer and 2 rbi. He fills out the roster nicely as a player with positional flexibility.

[Shane Wahl]

Herrmann had a big day in the second game on Sunday, going 3-4 with a 2 rbi double.

 

This year he has 15 plate appearances, 12 at bats, 3 runs scored, a double, a homer, 4 rbi, 2 walks, no strikeouts, and a sacrifice. Currently that all amounts to a 1.405 OPS.

 

Herrmann played 11 games in CF in 2010 for Fort Myers. He is a good athlete (SS in high school) and can probably fill-in adequately if the Twins reward his hot bat and give him time out there or after Clete Thomas continues to be completely unable to hit major league hitting.

[Shane Wahl]

Herrmann ended his brief stint with the Twins with a 1.303 OPS in 16 PA. Drastically different result than similar time in his first call-up last September.

 

Trevor Plouffe needed to come back, so Herrmann was sent down.

 

He is 2-for-5 with a double and 2 rbi since returning to Rochester.

[Shane Wahl]

Herrmann is clawing his way up and now has a AAA OPS of .622.

 

He has caught 9 out of 22 runners (41%) at Rochester this season, which is close to his 44% rate at AA last year. At least that aspect of his defense is going well and 1 1/3 seasons of 42% CS% is a good sign.

[Shane Wahl]

Herrmann has only one hit in his last 16 at bats. He is really struggling again. I see nothing other than a September call-up in the future this year (Pinto to AFL).

[Shane Wahl]

Herrmann finally homered for the Red Wings and posted an OPS of .678 over the past week. His ISO numbers are still very low for the season, and that is a discouraging sign. He should still be on track for a September call-up. If the Twins are smart and trade Ryan Doumit, however, Herrmann could be up for good in August.

[Shane Wahl]

Not much to report in Herrmann's limited time back with the Twins. 0-4 while catching. I really hope that trading Doumit is on the horizon.

[jorgenswest]

I agree on the necessity to Doumit trade. The Twins need to find out if Herrmann can receive the ball well enough to be the back up catcher. If not Herrmann, then they need to find out about Pinto.

 

Have you seen any reports about Herrmann's defense and in particular his ability to receive the ball?

[NC-Twins]

Why do you think Doumit should be traded? A switch-hitter capable of playing catcher, RF, and DH that can drive in runs and isn't too expensive seems to be a good compliment to Mauer. Plus, we have him through end 2014. I'd like to see him stay.

[jorgenswest]

Why do you think Doumit should be traded? A switch-hitter capable of playing catcher, RF, and DH that can drive in runs and isn't too expensive seems to be a good compliment to Mauer. Plus, we have him through end 2014. I'd like to see him stay.

 

Doumit isn't capable defensively at either spot. He hurts the team more at catcher than he could possibly help with the bat. The only reason RF might be better is he has less opportunities to do damage.

 

There has been a shift in catchers the last few years and the Twins haven't been paying attention. The Yankees seek catchers who can manage the strike zone and they don't care about the bat. The Rays sign Jose Molina and give him a good contract in spite of a terrible bat. The Pirates sign Russell Martin and their pitching staff is transformed. Since 2007 data has been collected about a catcher's ability to manage the strike zone. Doumit is at the very bottom every single year. Other teams have abandoned bad catchers so it isn't even close this year. The guy who was closest, Jesus Montero, has been moved to 1B in the minors.

 

If Doumit stays, it must be in Jim Thome role of DH/PH only. Anything else would hurt the team and the development of the young pitchers. Does he hit well enough to do that role?

[NC-Twins]

He has been playing well in RF. I remember only one ball that he has misplayed (could have been caught, freaked out by limestone overhang). Parmalee has made a number of great plays out there, but has also thrown to the wrong base a number of times. Doumit has a few important put-outs and seems to rival CP's defense out there when all is considered.

 

As a catcher, it would be very difficult to charge him with lackluster strike zone management given the egregious problems of our starting pitching staff over the past two years. If that is taken into account, are we to conclude that Mauer is a horrible catcher, too?

[goulik]

Grand Slam in the 10th inning while Joe is away receiving baby's instead of baseballs. It seems with the catchers we have coming and our current state of the team, Doumit and Butera both need new homes in new organizations. Nothing against them... Thank you for your time, but its time for the Twins to move on!

[Oldgoat_MN]

You gotta be pretty happy for Chris Herrmann today.

Bet he can't wipe the smile off his face.

 

Good game, young man.

[Shane Wahl]

First grand slam for the Twins this year, I think, and it comes off the bat of Chris Herrmann! That slam gives him 8 RBI this year in only 25 plate appearances.

 

Herrmann's defense behind the plate is probably average when all is said and done.

[Shane Wahl]

Why do you think Doumit should be traded? A switch-hitter capable of playing catcher, RF, and DH that can drive in runs and isn't too expensive seems to be a good compliment to Mauer. Plus, we have him through end 2014. I'd like to see him stay.

 

He is nowhere close to good as a defensive catcher and is definitely below average as a RF. And no one "plays DH." Everyone can do that.

 

Not to mention that Doumit's OPS has dropped 100 points since last season. He is a player clearly on the decline and should be traded for whatever the Twins can get for him, basically. Herrmann and Pinto are the new guys for 2014 and beyond.

[Siehbiscuit]

He is nowhere close to good as a defensive catcher and is definitely below average as a RF. And no one "plays DH." Everyone can do that.

 

David Ortiz diagrees with you. He plays himself some DH!!!

[Shane Wahl]

Herrmann has come down to earth, but he is still reaching base quite a bit. He is drawing walks and working counts more. This was something he was quite good at in 2011 in the minors. A key for Herrmann to be successful in any role with the Twins is to have good isolated discipline.

 

I have noted this before, but it continues: the day/night splits are bizarre for Herrmann. He should simply not play in the day right now!

[jorgenswest]

Thanks for the updates on Chris.

 

This may be his last week until September. Willingham and Mastroianni could be ready in a week.

 

He is in the lineup for today's day game. I don't share your same concern. His overall major league data is not large enough to merit any discussion. His splits couldn't possibly have any meaning other than random variation.

 

I haven't seen career minor league splits for day/night. Is that the foundation for your observation?

[Shane Wahl]

Yes, above I noted this. At least for this year. His splits were huge for day/night at Rochester this year (see above). The major league numbers are basically in line with them. I noted it earlier, must have sounded crazy since no one responded. But now it doesn't look completely crazy.

[jorgenswest]

I think it is simply the randomness of sample size. Once he gets to 200 plate appearance for both day and night data sets, the strikeout and walk ratios might tell something if they were significantly different. It would take a few full seasons to get enough day game data for stuff like OBP to become reliable.

[Shane Wahl]

Herrmann's .694 OPS is about what I would imagine in his first bit of extended time in the majors. He is in a slump with a decrease in playing time (it happens) because Ryan Doumit was not traded for some A- pitcher and still clogs the roster with "versatile" poor defense everywhere and an OPS below .700.

[Mr. Brooks]

Does he have blue eyes?

I know people laughed at this when Josh Hamilton discussed it, but it really is a legit medical thing.

A small % (I think something like 8%) of blue eyed people have a condition that makes it very difficult to pick up the baseball during the daytime.

[Shane Wahl]

About that day thing . . . .

 

nevermind