Need some Pinto advice from the Twins fans

[Brock Beauchamp]

In Salt Lake City in the PCL vs the IL. If 100 points higher in PCL, advantage Pinto. But Pinto's AAA numbers are extra small sample. Compare their AA numbers.

 

LeCroy raked all the way through the minors. The lowest OPS he posted was .867 in A ball. I'm sure his AAA numbers were inflated by the PCL but he didn't spend his entire MiLB career in AAA.

[cmathewson]

LeCroy raked all the way through the minors. The lowest OPS he posted was .867 in A ball. I'm sure his AAA numbers were inflated by the PCL but he didn't spend his entire MiLB career in AAA.

 

The problem with LeCroy was not his bat. He was so good, Ryan felt confident in nontendering Ortiz to make room for him at DH. But he was never going to be an MLB catcher. Not only couldn't he throw, he was slow to block pitches and just plain slow overall. Pinto has none of those defensive issues. Though you would never project him as a DH, his defense will allow him to stick at catcher.

 

I think we need more than a month's worth of at-bats before we declare his floor is a solid starter.

 

That's not based on a September call-up. It's based on his minor league track record.

[Brock Beauchamp]

The problem with LeCroy was not his bat. He was so good, Ryan felt confident in nontendering Ortiz to make room for him at DH. But he was never going to be an MLB catcher. Not only couldn't he throw, he was slow to block pitches and just plain slow overall. Pinto has none of those defensive issues. Though you would never project him as a DH, his defense will allow him to stick at catcher.

 

As it turned out, the problem with LeCroy was pretty much everything. He ended his MLB career with an OPS+ of 98.

 

Which is kind of my point... LeCroy had a bat that should have played even at DH but it never came together... Banking on Pinto's bat carrying outside of catcher is a bit of a leap of faith.

 

Again, not down on Pinto, just tempering expectations a bit.

[PseudoSABR]

Let's hope he doesn't follow Parmalee's path...different players, but similar kind of hope after break out AA/AAA and enormous September.

[JB_Iowa]

Let's just hope he really doesn't have a "bad back".

 

 

• Rhett Bollinger ‏@RhettBollinger 5m
  Josmil Pinto was held out of action with a stiff back today but Gardenhire said he hopes to have him back tomorrow.
   
  I would think some stiffness might be expected as he settles in for spring training ..... just don't want this to be hints of things to come.
   
   
  

[TheLeviathan]

That's not based on a September call-up. It's based on his minor league track record.

 

That's no more of a guarantee. His floor is still much lower, but he's got a nice ceiling too.

[DJL44]

"he's not been old for his age"

 

Maybe he has some Yogi Berra in him.

 

I thought one of the complaints with Pinto is he isn't a particularly good receiver - glove is moving, doesn't make it easy for the umpire, etc. He has room to improve for blocking pitches but he can throw. I would like to see the Suzuki/Pinto "replacing the Chevy with two used cars" platoon.

[Madre Dos]

PINTO - you are not going to find a better offensive catcher. His defense is much improved. I think he is here for the long haul....but I am a little prejudice - he frequented my dinner table many nights when he played in Elizabethton.

[cmathewson]

As it turned out, the problem with LeCroy was pretty much everything. He ended his MLB career with an OPS+ of 98.

 

Which is kind of my point... LeCroy had a bat that should have played even at DH but it never came together... Banking on Pinto's bat carrying outside of catcher is a bit of a leap of faith.

 

Again, not down on Pinto, just tempering expectations a bit.

 

I guess my point is they are not very comparable. LeCroy was a hitter who could catch. Pinto is a catcher who can hit. He's just below Butera with the glove. But unlike Butera, he can drive the ball.

[jokin]

The problem with LeCroy was not his bat. He was so good, Ryan felt confident in nontendering Ortiz to make room for him at DH. But he was never going to be an MLB catcher. Not only couldn't he throw, he was slow to block pitches and just plain slow overall. Pinto has none of those defensive issues. Though you would never project him as a DH, his defense will allow him to stick at catcher.

That's not based on a September call-up. It's based on his minor league track record.

 

I guess my point is they are not very comparable. LeCroy was a hitter who could catch. Pinto is a catcher who can hit. He's just below Butera with the glove. But unlike Butera, he can drive the ball.

 

Pinto's first 2 years of full-season ball (2010 and 11) were so suspect, that no national or local ranker had him above #38 on the Twins prospect lists-even after his 2012 breakout-- his OPS/wRC+ numbers were no better than mediocre in "10 and '11, even as a Catcher- and his fielding has always been a question mark (although he is certainly better than LeCroix). No question the light switched on at the plate in 2012. While what he's done the last 2 years as a batter are encouraging, he still has a ways to go before he's a certified major league backstop.

[Riverbrian]

I think Pinto starts the year in Rochester... If he puts up decent numbers in AAA... He becomes the starter in Minnesota when Suzuki gets put on the DL.

 

If Pinto continues to hit... Not a sure thing but possible... Suzuki gets Wally Pipped and Pinto will be the guy for a long while.

 

His defense needs some work but it's not brutal by any stretch of the imagination.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

Pinto's first 2 years of full-season ball (2010 and 11) were so suspect, that no national or local ranker had him above #38 on the Twins prospect lists-even after his 2012 breakout-- his OPS/wRC+ numbers were no better than mediocre in "10 and '11, even as a Catcher- and his fielding has always been a question mark (although he is certainly better than LeCroix). No question the light switched on at the plate in 2012. While what he's done the last 2 years as a batter are encouraging, he still has a ways to go before he's a certified major league backstop.

 

Agreed. There's a reason that he's not very highly regarded among analysts. That doesn't mean he can't succeed, it just means he has a few things to work on.

[Guest USAFChief]

I'd say don't buy one...not one of Ford's better ideas.