Lavarnway REAL close

[Dojji]

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=C&sid=t533&t=p_pbp&pid=543432

 

This kid is COOKING. I have no idea what his defense is like at catcher, but with the offensive chops he's demonstrating that's not a huge concern. We could be looking at the heir to Ortiz and this is still worth a glimpse.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Yeah the kid is raking. You look at his numbers, and you do a double take because you see his AA numbers, and they're solid, then you see his AAA numbers, and they're even better! I had to look twice to make sure I was looking at the right league.

[Station 13]

He has hit at every level.

[a700hitter]

He has hit at every level.

I heard that he was a terrible whiffle ball player.

[snydersminipretzels]

Heir to Ortiz? Seems like good trade bait for Reyes.

[jacksonianmarch]

28 ABs, he's a good hitter, but you don't start booking his spot in the 2012 lineup off 28 ABs

[Dojji]

Meh, he's a DH, Montero's a DH, they're both pretending to be catchers, I call same difference. At least Lavs actually has something attached to his right shoulder. I believe it's commonly referred to as an "arm."

 

Sorry, what dod you say?

[jacksonianmarch]

You're an idiot. Montero's issue isnt arm strength, his issue is his blocking ability. But Montero is more of a catcher than Lavarnway

[Dojji]

That's funny, Lavarnway's issue is also blocking ability, but he can at least throw the ball 120 feet accurately enough to catch AAA speedsters. Montero? Can't.

[jacksonianmarch]

Once again, you speak of something you do not know, which is not unusual. Montero's arm isnt a problem, remember that. Lavarnway has been scouted essentially as a guy who will not stick at catcher, ie worse than below average. Montero is considered to be a below average to at best average MLB catcher. Montero has the edge defensively, which cannot be said of many catching prospects. Hence why Lavarnway is a DH or 1B in the future.

[Dojji]

Montero is a DH of the future, don't kid yourself. His extreme ceiling is Mike Piazza. Defensively.

 

Not that Lavs is really a lot better, but seriously, Jacko. Montero's going to look a lot better when the Yankees decide to quit crowding him into a position he's not suited for.

[jacksonianmarch]

And once again, you know not what you are talking about. I will leave you in your little dream world. We know you are deluded about your own prospects, yet you know absolutely nothing about any other team's ones.

[SoxFanForsyth]

And once again' date=' you know not what you are talking about. I will leave you in your little dream world. We know you are deluded about your own prospects, yet you know absolutely nothing about any other team's ones.[/quote']

 

Lavarnway: 38% CS%

Montero: 17% CS%

 

I don't see how you have a leg to stand on here Jackso.

[Will617]

Montero's issue isn't arm strength, it's his throwing mechanics apparently. I'm not sure either is good enough at catcher right now to make a comparison matter, but I do think that Lavarnaway has improved faster than Montero has, and that his defensive ceiling has been underestimated since he sort of came out of nowhere. Personally, I think that Lavarnaway can stick over the long-term with mentoring from Varitek/work, but he's definitely not ready to catch right now, and with Ortiz raking there's really no reason to bring him up.

Of course, I'm probably biased about Lavarnaway's future ceiling, but I do think that he'll be an average to slightly-below-average catcher in the future.

[a700hitter]

Montero is an over hyped DH and jacko wants to perpetuate the myth created by the Yankee FO so they can hopefully use him as a trading chip to get them a real player/pitcher. Screw you Jacko! The word is out on the mythical Montero. He's a DH. That's it. All the GM's should know that by now. If any of them trade for him, check that GM's bank acct, because he'll be taking a Yankee bribe.

[Station 13]

Lavarnway went deep again.

 

Dan_Hoard Dan Hoard

Ryan Lavarnway vs. LHP since joining #PawSox: 7-for-8 with a 2B and 3 HR #southpawsbeware

 

I heard he is able to play the corner OF.

[Dojji]

Corner OF huh? That's tempting. We put up with Manny in LF after all.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Someone needs to tell Lavarnway that AAA is supposed to be difficult.

 

26 games and 100 AB after his promotion to Pawtucket, here's his line.

 

.343/.414/.646/1.061, 7 HR, 22 RBI, 16 Runs.

 

Overall this season (through 55 games at Portland, 26 at Pawtucket, totaling 81 games)

 

.303/.377/.554/.931, 21 HR, 60 RBI, 14 Doubles, 51 Runs. That's a HALF of a season!!

 

Is this kid going to be a complete monster??

[Palodios]

Lavarnway over 81 games-- .303/.377/.554/.931, 21 HR, 60 RBI, 14 Doubles, 51 Runs.

 

J. Montero over 70 games-- .289/.346/.418/.763 7 HR, 33 RBI, 12 Doubles, 27 Runs

 

 

Can you imagine if Lavarnway could ever develop league average defense at catcher?

[SoxFanForsyth]

Lavarnway over 81 games-- .303/.377/.554/.931, 21 HR, 60 RBI, 14 Doubles, 51 Runs.

 

J. Montero over 70 games-- .289/.346/.418/.763 7 HR, 33 RBI, 12 Doubles, 27 Runs

 

 

Can you imagine if Lavarnway could ever develop league average defense at catcher?

 

I have heard his defense is getting better. With a bat like that, you may want to save the knees and throw him in the OF, though. I'm fine with keeping him at catcher, but if Salty continues to play well like he has been (.850 OPS since 4/30), would he become a trade chip for a big name RF or SS, or even a SP?

 

Speaking of SP, I heard the Sox are kicking the tires on Garza. Dear Lord, please no. I would rather watch DiceK nibble than Garza spit.

[Dojji]

His defense from what I hear is adequate and improving, but his technique is a bit awkward which casts some doubt on hiis defensive ceiling. A lot like guys like Piazza and Posada who kinda had to do things their own way.

 

It's certainly not like he doesn't have the tools. He has the arm certainly, and he's athletic for a catcher. I'd love to see him make good in Boston if it's in the cards, and if not we're going to have the DH spot open fairly soon so he can do the Mike Napoli thing if that's more his style.

 

If the best Lavarnway could do is be Mike Napoli, that would make me very very happy. Had a mancrush on Naps and his power for years now. He and Salty sharing catching duties would have been awesome.

[Dojji]

Lavarnway closing in on .400. What he is doing in Pawtucket is ridiculous.

 

At what point does he force his way onto the big league roster? It's clear that he isn't challenged where he is.

[BornToRun]

Lavarnway closing in on .400. What he is doing in Pawtucket is ridiculous.

 

At what point does he force his way onto the big league roster? It's clear that he isn't challenged where he is.

 

Where would we put him? Apparently he can play the outfield, should we breed him to be that righty bat off the bench we need?

[AtWork]

Lavarnway is way too slow to be an outfielder.

[Palodios]

The reason he is a catcher now is because he couldn't cut it as an outfielder in college. NWIH he moves out there now.

[Dojji]

The only reason to hold him down right now is office politics with Ortiz. Papi wouldn't want a righthanded DH type on the roster for pretty obvious reasons, especially in a year he's playing for a contract.

[Palodios]

Its kind of funny, that the most hazardous position of them all-- catcher-- is the one where both guys have stayed incredibly healthy.

[Dojji]

Some actual knowledge from Alex Speier via the Soxprospects forum.

 

But Sox manager Terry Francona said that, as impressive as Lavarnway’s offense has been, the opportunity for him to get regular work behind the plate in the minors is too significant for him to be squarely on his radar.

 

“I know he’s been raking,” said Francona. “[but] the catching part…, he’s gotten pushed already. Obviously offensively he’s doing great. [but] I probably don’t look as much when I figure a guy’s there to play as opposed to come help us.”

 

An injury could change that. According to team sources, Lavarnway’s offense is sufficiently advanced and his defense has shown enough improvement that the Sox would feel comfortable calling him up.

 

And team officials insist that Lavarnway’s defense has improved to the point where he can be a major league catcher, at least in some capacity — whether as a backup catcher/DH or, if he continues to advance, perhaps more than that.

 

Even so, Lavarnway has just 171 games behind the plate in his minor league career, as he’s typically split time between the catcher and DH positions. That is in part by design, since the Sox like to have their minor league catchers do drill work to improve mechanics and fundamentals on days when they are not starting behind the plate. That said, while Lavarnway has some solid indicators of improving defensive work (a 35 percent caught stealing rate, for instance, and just one error all year), he is still learning to call the game and to get a feel for what how to use a pitcher’s repertoire in a way that maximizes his comfort level.

 

That is in part simply a matter of repetition and game experience, something that Lavarnway is best suited to gain right now in Triple-A. Nonetheless, his offense will eventually clear a path for him to the majors — likely by September, if not sooner.

 

linky

 

Main point I took out of that is not to sweat the fact that he isn't catching every day because they're drilling him on his DH days. Looking around the system looks like they do that to everyone. If I had to guess I'd call it a way to develop more than one catching prospect at a given level.

 

Also that the team thinks his defense is improving and that what he needs is experience in the minors. Actually the defensive numbers I'm seeing from Lavarnway are downright good, what this tells me is that that's not the problem. It's the secondary skills and skillsets like pitch calling, handling the D, etc. The head stuff. The leadership stuff. The stuff Varitek didn't really master until about his third full year or so as a fulltime big league catcher. Gotta get him good habits there.

 

And what THAT tells me is that that Soxprospects.com jumped the gun projecting the guy as a DH, and that the franchise is, in fact, taking Lavarnway seriously as an actual catcher, and that the real problem isn't so much that his defense is bad, but that it's way behind his bat developmentally. That's a problem time can fix, even if it isn't pretty at first. Heck, people like to forget this, but it wasn't pretty at first for Tek either. Go look at his early passed ball numbers. Catchers need to grow into their roles.

[SCM33]

Some actual knowledge from Alex Speier via the Soxprospects forum.

 

 

 

linky

 

Main point I took out of that is not to sweat the fact that he isn't catching every day because they're drilling him on his DH days. Looking around the system looks like they do that to everyone. If I had to guess I'd call it a way to develop more than one catching prospect at a given level.

 

Also that the team thinks his defense is improving and that what he needs is experience in the minors. Actually the defensive numbers I'm seeing from Lavarnway are downright good, what this tells me is that that's not the problem. It's the secondary skills and skillsets like pitch calling, handling the D, etc. The head stuff. The leadership stuff. The stuff Varitek didn't really master until about his third full year or so as a fulltime big league catcher. Gotta get him good habits there.

 

And what THAT tells me is that that Soxprospects.com jumped the gun projecting the guy as a DH, and that the franchise is, in fact, taking Lavarnway seriously as an actual catcher, and that the real problem isn't so much that his defense is bad, but that it's way behind his bat developmentally. That's a problem time can fix, even if it isn't pretty at first. Heck, people like to forget this, but it wasn't pretty at first for Tek either. Go look at his early passed ball numbers. Catchers need to grow into their roles.

 

Remember when I said Salty is replaceable? I'll duck now :harhar:

[Dojji]

Salty and Lavs going forward could be quite a twosome splitting catcher and DH duties. Much as I'd rather not say it though I suspect that Lavs catches on, pardon the pun, with another franchise either at this deadline or next.