Pittsburgh Pirates Position-by-Position Look: Catchers
By Matt Shetler
It’s been a while since the Bucs had a quality backstop.
You have to go back more than a decade to Jason Kendall in his prime to find the last quality catcher to wear a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform.
The organization accomplished two things in the offseason.
First of all they improved behind the dish by signing Rod Barajas. Secondly, they improved as a unit by allowing Ryan Doumit to walk as a free agent.
Overall, the catcher position is an easy one to project for the Bucs, so let’s get right into it.
Starter: Barajas
Barajas is an upgrade, but by no means is he anything special.
One thing he will be able to do is handle the pitching staff, something he’s been good at his entire career.
Offensively, he’s hit 52 homers and driven in 165 runs the past three seasons. Those aren’t bad numbers considering the lack of punch at the position throughout the league.
Don’t expect a ton of that in Pittsburgh though.
PNC Park is the toughest National League stadium for right-handed hitter home runs, so Barajas won’t be going on any type of power binge anytime soon.
Being the everyday guy though should net him around the number of at bats he got in 2009 with Toronto (429) when he hit 19 homers and drove in 71 runs.
2012 Projections: Barajas won’t hit for average and will strike out a good bit (his strike out percentage jumped from 15 to 21 percent in 2011), but he has some pop and can drive in some runs while handling the pitching staff. .235 AVG, 18 HR, 64 RBI.
Backup: Michael McKenry
The Fort became popular after being acquired last summer, but although he got off to a decent start, he became much worse as the season progressed.
The troublesome part is that his defense regressed as well.
Offensively, McKenry performed at below replacement level and the Bucs simply can’t have a guy in the lineup almost every day who’s an automatic out nine out of 10 times.
An upgrade behind the plate was needed and credit the Bucs for quickly doing something about it.
Not playing everyday will be good for McKenry in the long run, as his flaws won’t be exposed as much.
2012 Projections: Expect McKenry to maybe catch two games a week and not to produce a whole lot. .222 AVG, 2 HR, 22 RBI
The Pressure’s On: Tony Sanchez
After being drafted with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2009 MLB Draft, Sanchez got off to a quick start in the Pirates organization and many felt he would be the full-time catcher by now.
That was a bit unrealistic, but the time is now for Sanchez to show that he’s on that path to Pittsburgh soon. He’s has setbacks with facial injuries in the past couple of seasons, but 2012 is big for him to produce both offensively and defensively.
Sanchez took a bit of a step back with his 2011 season in Double-A, where he didn’t perform at the plate or behind it as well as he had in 2010. but there’s still a lot to like about the Boston College product, especially if he can regain whatever worked for him in 2010.
He may never hit for power, but when he’s locked in, he has a good approach and should hit for average.
Normally he’s a solid defensive catcher, with a strong throwing arm, and is the type of guy who can lead a pitching staff.
His arrival in Pittsburgh may have been delayed, but he still has the chance to be the guy behind the dish at PNC Park in the future.
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