Twins 2019 Position Analysis: Catcher

Garver is the question mark.  If he can handle the workload behind the plate and produce the offense he showed last year, he is the starting catcher.  

If the concussion issue comes back, he is a firstbaseman,  and do not know if he will hit well enough for that position.  

Astudillo, I would like to have with the club, but Castro will be here to start and  it is hard to see him being released unless he is horrible.  Maybe the Twins have a better idea what Astudillo is, because he seems to be a hit machine, and Twins could use that.  Still believe Twins will not fairly store Astudillo in Rochester until he is needed (either catcher issue or total Sano failure).  Would like to see him get the chance as I feel he can help this club.

Traveling, so not reading a lot about the Twins first weekend on the field.  Thought I saw that Rortvedt saw action on both Saturday and Sunday?  If he did, it's encouraging that the Twins would have him out there so soon in the spring.

To put things in a larger context, the catcher position is better than it was, and the future looks better still.

Nick,  That was a great write up on this position.  I think you nailed it to the t.

Hey Nick, what are your thoughts on David Banuelos? His Cedar Rapids numbers look a bit rough but that isn't everything. Where is he in your rankings?

The Twins leadership seem to be the only people in baseball who don't think Astudillo has earned a more serious look as a 1 or 2 catcher . . . with more than one national pundit suggesting he'd be a top 10 MLB catcher right now.   With all due respect to Castro, why is a no-brainer that he's the #1 guy?  Why on earth aren't they eager to get more MLB AB's for the Tortuga and see if he can maintain the torrid hitting?  

The Twins leadership seem to be the only people in baseball who don't think Astudillo has earned a more serious look as a 1 or 2 catcher . . . with more than one national pundit suggesting he'd be a top 10 MLB catcher right now.   With all due respect to Castro, why is a no-brainer that he's the #1 guy?  Why on earth aren't they eager to get more MLB AB's for the Tortuga and see if he can maintain the torrid hitting?  

To be fair, we're the only team that has actually given him major league at bats. Based on the Twins calling up Bobby Wilson last year and not Astudillo, I think there are some legitimate questions surrounding his defense at catcher.

My question from last year was how much did Castro stick around and help Wilson and Garver during his recovery period. Was he around the team helping on a daily basis or did he skip town? I remember I thought this was the ideal situation last May, Garver getting the majority playing time with Castro serving as a mentor. This is of course if Castro sat in on the daily pitching meetings to help orchestrate that days matchups.

 

I have never seen Castro as the catcher on a winning team, I did think he could help Garver to eventually become an above average receiver.

That’s the job of advance scouts, the analytics department and coaches.

I think our depth is actually pretty solid with Astudillo on board. Yes, we're going to be hurting if we lose two catchers for an extended period, but that's true for probably every franchise. Would it be nice if Rortvedt had already put some time in at AA and was a little closer? Absolutely, but that's just the way it goes.

Castro should give good defensive value and works with pitchers well. As long as his bat doesn't completely vanish, he's a good plate partner with Garver. Mitch hits very well for a catcher and his D is better than advertised. I'd be pretty happy with the two of them splitting time this year. Maybe splitting time keeps the injury risks down on both of them, Castro having any setbacks on the knee and Garver protecting his head.

I'm sure we'll see Astudillo a fair amount this year, although signing Marwin Gonzalez cuts that down a little. (He's not getting called up to fill in at 3rd if Sano falters in the same way) The goal on him should be to improve as a receiver and get enough ABs in MLB to see if he's a guy to keep around as the replacement to Castro. I'm not sure he's a starting quality catcher, but splitting time with another guy while possibly getting some time in the INF could be a good role for him going forward to help bridge towards Rortvedt or Jeffers.

Frankly, we're in much better shape at catcher today than we were.

In an article in the Strib recently Castro said one thing that helped him get through rehab was being in the room and feeling like he was contributing to the team.

Zack Granite DFA'd to make room for Gonzalez. He would have made a great pinch runner/defensive replacement in an era that didn't require 13 pitchers on the 25 man roster. Hope he finds a home!

That’s not a role for any team other than maybe during the playoffs (or September) when you need fewer pitchers. The Twins carried Jarvis Brown in 1991. But they also carried just 9 pitchers.

I often wonder who the next pitcher might have been if TK had gone with 10. Allan Anderson had fallen off the map. Tom Edens?

The Twins leadership seem to be the only people in baseball who don't think Astudillo has earned a more serious look as a 1 or 2 catcher . . . with more than one national pundit suggesting he'd be a top 10 MLB catcher right now.   With all due respect to Castro, why is a no-brainer that he's the #1 guy?  Why on earth aren't they eager to get more MLB AB's for the Tortuga and see if he can maintain the torrid hitting?  

Unfortunately there are 8 million reason why....

Castro seems OK now, for whatever that is worth.

Well, the Twins will try and get their money's worth out of Castro. But someone else will catch two out of five games...maybe. The big maybe is...do you send Garver to Rochester to catch more often than not with the arms of the future. And can you trust another body (Astudillo) to do the job when called upon to catch in the majors.

I am curious to see where Navaretto ends up. And if the Twins push Jeffers and Rortvedt. Especially Jeffers. I doubt that either of the two youngsters will show up before 2021 in any major capacity, so the Twins still need a catching combo for 2020 and could probably stick with Garver and Astudillo.  

Curious that they did explore other opportunities, which would've meant Castro as an expensive backup and Garver in the minors for sure, as the market for Castro is not huge right now.

Although I did say Garver could start at AAA, I'm not sure WHY I would think that. Except that he could catch 3-4-5 starters who will be part of the Twins rotation the end of this season and all of next season?

Funny how we tout Garver on his way up as a hitting catcher.  Then out of no where comes La Tortuga (which is feminine by the way for anyone who took Spanish in high school).  Sorry, but I'd give La Tortuga the starting job.  He hits, and if a guy like Machado is a +10 wins guy in your lineup, I'd laugh at the +wins from Castro or Garver.  So why not give Astudillo the job?

Money.

Castro is not a solution to the Twins dodgy catching situation--he cannot hit with any regularity.   In critical situations with runners in scoring position he is virtually an automatic out, usually by strike out.  The Twins have got to do better than Castro to be a serious contender in the division, much less the post season.

Lots of question marks at this position; wondering if Castro can bounce back and be productive after his injury, and if Garver has no lingering side effects from his concussion and can contribute with more than bat. I love having Astudillo as insurance, not only behind the plate but at other positions too. But my worry is that after the Gonzalez signing as a "super utility" player, Astudillo won't be seen as "essential" by the brass and will be sent to AAA to start the season. Just for team morale and fan excitement, I'd like Astudillo to be on the club from opening day till the very end.

That photo looks like Nicholas Cage to me.

Castro is a lame duck catcher. The sooner that Garver is considered the starter, and Castro the back-up and mentor, the better in my opinion. The passed balls and catcher created wild pitches that was a part of Castro's game even when healthy did not go unnoticed by me. Perhaps it escapes the advanced stats. But I saw them, and remember them. Now, Garver did not impress with a quick brain at times, but at least he is going to be here (probably) the next few years. And I don't really want an OK bat at catcher (and Castro was horrible even before his injury last year). I want a hitting catcher. And a fielding catcher. The sooner the balls and strikes are called by a non subjective method the better. Pitch framing, the art of cheating the reality of the actual location of the pitch, is a bogus skill caused by the inability of baseball to use the best tools available to make the calls more correct. Throwing the guy out at second, less passed balls, and turning wild pitches into blocks instead of creating wild pitches are the fielding skills I like.

 

It will be interesting to see what the arch of Astudillo is this year.

In Castro's full season with the Twins, he had 5 passed balls and wildpitches during his catching time. In comparison JT Realmuto had 8 PB and 34 WP last year in similar # of games, Posey in his last complete season 1 PB and 32 WP, Yadier Molina last year 4 PB and 39 WP. Where do you see Castro out of line with the other top catchers?