Tony Sanchez (Pirates) may have been a surprise as the No. 4 overall choice in the draft last June, but his defense alone would have made him a legitimate first-round pick. His soft hands, strong arm and blocking skills make him the best defensive catcher in the minors.
Jim Callis, Baseball America (subscribers only)
about 2 years ago
Vlad
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Per another recent FanShot...
…(Link), we already knew that BA liked Sanchez’s defense, but “best defensive catcher in the minors” is one hell of an endorsement.
Agreed...
I’d like to know the executive who said that Sanchez is ready defensively for the majors right now and would be one of the top catch and throw guys. Again, another pretty heavy endorsement…unless of course it was Huntington or Coonelly.
BTW:
In the same link, when Callis is thinking out loud about the best power in the minors, Pedro is one of the guys on his short list.
(He eventually goes with Jesus Montero.)
If he's above average
as a catcher it will be something to behold since it’s been a while since we’ve have a combination of a good Defensive catcher and productive hitter as well.
Might you consider Ryan Doumit as both? Idk if he could stay healthy you’d get a better sense of it.
who would be the last great catcher the bucs have had in a while?
Jason Kendall? He was excellent for a short window of time (mainly 1998-2000). Before that … Manny Sanguillen? That’s questionable. Without a doubt, the Pirates have not had many great catchers over the last half century. Even if Sanchez doesn’t turn out to be “great,” I’ll take top-tier defensive play with an above-average stick over a 5-plus year period.
I do have a soft spot for Ed Ott and Steve Nicosia, just based on childhood memories of 1979.
I think the last Pirates catcher...
…to be both a clearly above-average hitter AND a clearly above-average defender in the same season was probably Tony Pena.
True ...
… Pena was a nice backstop from 1982-1984. Defensively, he was likely the best of the three mentioned in this thread. Interestingly, the OPS+ numbers for all three (while with the Pirates) were:
Kendall: 108
Sanguillen: 105
Pena: 104
Kendall had the best single-season OPS+ with 136 in an abbreviated 1999 season.
Vlad
How about Mike LaValliere in ’87?
Humpty Dumpty sate on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
Threescore men and threescore more,
Cannot place Humpty dumpty as he was before.
If 120 men couldn't do it, then it couldn't be done.
I had kind of crossed him off mentally...
…because he was platooned for so long. I guess 120 games does qualify as full-time for a catcher, though.
I read a bunch of the pubs
on prospects this weekend and came across a lot of solid reports on Tony Sanchez.
Let’s hope for a big year from him so he can be in the Pittsburgh lineup sometime in ’11.
Humpty Dumpty sate on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
Threescore men and threescore more,
Cannot place Humpty dumpty as he was before.
If 120 men couldn't do it, then it couldn't be done.
How about
Slaughtvalliere, 1990-92? Slaught put up some righteous OPS+s (146!) in a platoon. Can’t speak to his defense, though.
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