Article: Catching up with Eric Fryer

[Seth Stohs]

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php/2692-Catching-up-with-Eric-Fryer

[Monkeypaws]

Over parts of 3 seasons, Fryer has a career MLB batting average of .302.

 

43 AB's but hey, wouldn't Hicks have loved a .300 average after 40 ABs.

 

He hasn't hit well in AAA in part time duty the last 2 seasons, but he has put up decent numbers before.

 

Never paid much attention, but he looks like the ideal back up down the road if his defense is all it is cracked up to be.

[whosafraidofluigirussolo]

Yeah, for all people talk about him as a Drew Butera clone, I'd never seen his minor league numbers before and that's real hitting for a catcher. If his bat didn't make the transition to AAA, obviously that doesn't speak well for how he's going to do in the majors, but you'd think there was some potential there to be a good backup even based on the lower-minors numbers.

[DAM DC Twins Fans]

Great article Seth. I agree, he looks like a good backup catcher and deserves a shot at starting a couple games a week in 2014.

[Otto von Ballpark]

Thanks for the write-up, Seth. However irrationally, I've adopted Fryer as my new favorite Twin.

 

I know you try to focus on the positive, but Fryer's offense definitely took a downturn once he was promoted to AAA in 2011 (or more accurately, when he was promoted from AA to MLB, then back to AAA, I guess). Admittedly a bit older for his levels, he was nonetheless a .298/.385/.453 hitter over 1344 PAs from A-ball through AA. Since then he's basically been a .200 hitter at AAA, with 2012 especially lacking in both power and walks too.

 

Did you get any sense from him what may have caused that offense drop in 2011? And maybe how he's dealt with it? If it's mainly just a little bad BABIP luck, he could be a real sleeper (not necessarily a starter, but a solid or even plus backup). His K rate isn't the greatest, but his isolated power/discipline seemed to bounce back last year at Rochester, and he hasn't been overmatched in his brief MLB trials.

[cmathewson]

Yeah, for all people talk about him as a Drew Butera clone, I'd never seen his minor league numbers before and that's real hitting for a catcher. If his bat didn't make the transition to AAA, obviously that doesn't speak well for how he's going to do in the majors, but you'd think there was some potential there to be a good backup even based on the lower-minors numbers.

 

He hit .704 last year in AAA. Not terrible for a catcher.

[Seth Stohs]

Yeah, I was surprised at the offensive success up to AAA. But he certainly isn't overmatched. I'd have zero problem with him as a backup catcher.

 

Obviously you talk to a guy for 10-15 minutes and see the energy and excitement that he shows when he talks about baseball. He gets that he's probably not going to be a big league starter, but he can certainly be a quality reserve for a long time.

[ashbury]

Admittedly a bit older for his levels

 

This is what jumps out at me too, and helps explain the seeming wall he hit at AAA; he'd already achieved most of his potential by the time he got there, by that reading.

[JP3700]

However irrationally, I've adopted Fryer as my new favorite Twin.

 

I know you try to focus on the positive, but Fryer's offense definitely took a downturn once he was promoted to AAA in 2011 (or more accurately, when he was promoted from AA to MLB, then back to AAA, I guess). Admittedly a bit older for his levels, he was nonetheless a .298/.385/.453 hitter over 1344 PAs from A-ball through AA. Since then he's basically been a .200 hitter at AAA, with 2012 especially lacking in both power and walks too.

 

Did you get any sense from him what may have caused that offense drop in 2011? And maybe how he's dealt with it? If it's mainly just a little bad BABIP luck, he could be a real sleeper (not necessarily a starter, but a solid or even plus backup). His K rate isn't the greatest, but his isolated power/discipline seemed to bounce back last year at Rochester, and he hasn't been overmatched in his brief MLB trials.

 

Fryer is also my irrational favorite Twin. I even wrote a blog about him a few months ago http://twinsdaily.com/entry.php/4676-Finding-Value-Eric-Fryer.

 

In 2011 Fryer was actually promoted to AAA for 21 games prior to getting called up to the majors. He was hitting .262/.377/.446 in AAA at the time. When he got called up he had 29 PA in almost six weeks before being sent back down to AAA. When he got sent back down he hit .132/.281/.151 in the final 17 games of the AAA season. It was probably tough to play every day, then see 5 plate appearances a week and go back to playing every day. Or perhaps I'm just making an irrational excuse for my favorite Twin.

 

As for 2012, I had read that he was battling a shoulder injury all year.

[Seth Stohs]

Or as a backup and part-time catcher now, he isn't getting ABs every day, and is focusing on his defense because that is what matters in the big leagues for a backup catcher.

[Thrylos]

Good stuff!

 

Yeah, I was surprised at the offensive success up to AAA. But he certainly isn't overmatched. I'd have zero problem with him as a backup catcher.

 

The only problem I have with Fryer as a back up catcher is that this will mean that Suzuki will be the starter and Pinto in AAA, which decreases the possibility of the Twins winning in 2014.