The Future of Twins' Catchers

I'm surprised Graver hasn't moved up. I haven't seen reports on his defense or how it compares to Turner's but he has earned a promotion imo. I wish their draft spot didnt determine their hierarchy in the org so much. He was only 3 rounds lower, lets see them compete and split time in Fort Meyer.

Garver finished second to the Johnny Bench winner two years in a row at New Mexico, once behind Turner.  Our on-site correspondent SD Buhr gives Garver's plate-work a thumbs-up at the Low-A level. It looks like it's going to take a Turner injury for Garver to catch up to him for the time being. 

Call me naive, or overly optimistic if you will, but I don't think the door is shut on Pinto. He has a strong arm, and despite questionable or inconsistent footwork, did a good job of throwing out runners in his milb career thus far. And there is little question that he posses a potentially quality bat overall, especially for the position. But even if he only develops in to an OK backup who brings a potent stick off the bench or at DH, that's not necessarily a bad ending. Plus, Suzuki's contract is not problematic to trade potential or even backup potential if Pinto makes a move.

I do think having a quality, veteran game caller backstop, for veteran and young pitchers alike, is not a bad thing.

I'm still in the Herrmann camp as a guy who could be a very useful player. I still point to his earlier success in the minors, and BA ranking him as a quality defensive player, before the Twins began to yo-yo him so much the past couple of seasons.

Remembering that the most important part of being a catcher is defense, game calling, receiving, and to some degree, on field leadership, I like Turner's potential. If he can be any sort of average hitter, can tap some of his power potential, he could be anything from a top backup to a really good starter+. Garver might have an even better bat, and according to reports from SD, not to mentioning just behind Turner in college rankings defensively, he might be an even better player and potential steal.

If Swim can play good defense, call a game and hit .290-.300, not sure I care if he has the power potential of Turner and Garver.

And I'm still holding out some hope that Koch could be a quality backstop.

From Pinto on down, there is nothing proven or guaranteed with any of these guys. But this is some of the best catching depth I can remember the Twins having since...since I suppose AJ and Mauer come to mind. Miller about the same time AJ took hold of the job. And that turned out quite well.

Garvers's main nemesis may be that he was drafted in the 9th round instead of the 3rd.  It is like the pundits (management) choosing the best college teams for the polls.  They won't let you past the competition because they already picked you better, even if perhaps you become better, which might have meant, you were better to begin with and the pickers just didn't see it.  His bat should take him past Turner.  You aren't a finalist for the Johnny Bench award if you don't have a fine glove and throw.  Turner is proof of that as well.

Thanks for the article on the young men that should become the next Twins' catchers after the transition years of Suzuki.  Pinto should be traded.

My guess is that Pinto will be the 2nd catcher to Suzuki for the next two years. He'll probably catch 60-70 games and spend some time DHing to keep that bat in the lineup. I could also potentially see him getting a few reps in the OF as well if needed to keep his bat in the lineup. I still think he's the catcher of the future, and I think his primary focus this year in Rochester is working on his defense.

I think the comparisons to LeCroy are unfair. LeCroy was very 1 dimensional. Pinto is a much better athlete.

I'm not sure about the concern of him working with our young pitchers... that's exactly what he's been doing this season. Meyer and May seem to be doing just fine in Rochester with Pinto behind the dish.

I think that's true, to a degree, in that it seems there's always a couple of low-minors backstops who people get excited about and then never really see develop in to legit big league catchers. I'm not sure it's so much that the Twins lose trust in them as it is that catching at the professional level is just tough damn work.

 

By the time they've survived 3-4 years of minor league catching, some of those bodies are already pretty beat up and that affects their hitting as well as their defense. It's really a war of attrition. (And also why I'm not at all concerned about the Twins appearing to have an abundance of catching prospects across the high-A, low-A and rookie levels.)

Excellent analysis about the war of attrition behind the plate.  It might be important to point out, Pinto's professional career is now in its 9th year, will he use up all of his 9 lives behind the plate before the Twins deem him "ready" to be the full-time guy? For every guy like AJ, Suzuki or McCann, who appear to be indestructible out there, how many guys wash out during their minor league years or are eventually forced from the position like Mauer, V-Mart, Donaldson, Napoli?  It seems like Pinto is right about 50-50 odds to be in the latter groups.

Now I have a couple of "What If?" questions for you and Tobi....

1a and 1b)  One year...and also again for the sake of argument, two years from now,,,to the day, who will be the Twins #1 and #2 catchers?

2a and 2b) Let's say that one year from now....and also again for the sake of argument, two years from now...to the day, let's say that Kurt Suzuki breaks a hamate bone and is out for the season, just after, and on the same day that Eric Fryer is traded to the Dodgers for Miguel Sulbaran's younger brother. Let's also assume that the Twins are 3.5 games out, behind the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers.  Who would/should be the Twins #1 and #2 catchers from among this group......Pinto, Hermann, Rohlfing, Koch, Knudson, Turner, Garver? 

I have to agree with Jokin here.

As a dreaded 3rd C option, Herrmann might also make the roster. Especially if the Twins rotation is strong enough to drop back to a 6 man bullpen. It's not that they need a 3rd catcher, but he could be a LH bat off the bench who could fill in here and there, with Pinto as a C and sometime DH.

If Turner's defense is as good as advertised, and he posses decent power, even hitting from .225-.250 could make him a valuable backup. If he can hit .250+ he could be the starter. Thus far, seems Garver may have the better bat however, and if his defense is even close, probably the better option as a future starter. But yes, they're both just too far away for now to be counted on.

Any opinion on Koch? I know he's down a bit this season offensively, but does anyone see him as a solid backup option?