Swihart To Undergo Ankle Surgery

[Slasher9]

No way hes our everyday catcher next year, and maybe ever...i seriously think he recovers, goes back to AAA and works on his D behind the dish because its terrible. Then I think he may be in a trade. They have to build his value back up as a catcher first though. I would bet that we have Leon and Vaz next year as pur catchers.

 

this is how i see it playing out as well.

[southpaw777]

Unless there is an injury or a trade, i would doubt that the Sox put Swihart behind the plate again.

 

I dont think they will either in Boston, but to get any value out of him he needs to work on his catching skills...he absolutely needs work. He only became a ft catcher AFTER the Sox drafted him so its no surprise, to me anyway, that his D is lacking.

Bottom line. Theres no OF position open and his D as a MLB catcher is a liability right now. I believe he can be at least a decent backstop with a good stick. That still has value. Just needs to reps, and he can do that in Pawtucket.

[Spudboy]

He has more value to another team than to the Sox. The Sox already have 2 far better young options at C.

 

 

Swihart has a hit tool that neither of the other two will likely ever have and he has speed ( or did have speed ). I would be reluctant to trade him away.

[mvp 78]

Swihart has a hit tool that neither of the other two will likely ever have and he has speed ( or did have speed ). I would be reluctant to trade him away.

 

He also has an absolutely horrible glove. He makes Saltalamachia look competent.

[Spudboy]

He also has an absolutely horrible glove. He makes Saltalamachia look competent.

 

I think you are exaggerating. No one seemed to complain last year.

[mvp 78]

I think you are exaggerating. No one seemed to complain last year.

 

They were a last place team last year. I don't think anyone expended much effort seeing that multiple games were left without gamethreads.

[oldtimer]

Swihart has a hit tool that neither of the other two will likely ever have and he has speed ( or did have speed ). I would be reluctant to trade him away.

 

Whether we use him as backup catcher or as a sub in the outfield, the kid can hit and he is a good athlete. Team speed is a big advantage. He adds one more along with the 3 currently outfielders and Beni plus Bogaerts, Pedey and possibly Moncada. This team becomes one of the most athletic teams in the majors.

[moonslav59]

Whether we use him as backup catcher or as a sub in the outfield, the kid can hit and he is a good athlete. Team speed is a big advantage. He adds one more along with the 3 currently outfielders and Beni plus Bogaerts, Pedey and possibly Moncada. This team becomes one of the most athletic teams in the majors.

 

Don't forget JBJ. He's a tremendous athlete. His baserunning often gets overlooked.

 

Here's how fangraphs ranks our best runners:

 

5th Betts

12th JBJ

13th Bogey

 

Pretty amazing. 30 teams, 150+ players, and we have 3 in the top 13.

[Kimmi]

I think you are exaggerating. No one seemed to complain last year.

 

Swihart's defense has always been questioned, especially in comparison to Vazquez', but there was no reason to complain last year. Swihart did a decent job considering he was thrown into action well before he was ready.

[Nick]

Don't forget JBJ. He's a tremendous athlete. His baserunning often gets overlooked.

 

Here's how fangraphs ranks our best runners:

 

5th Betts

12th JBJ

13th Bogey

 

Pretty amazing. 30 teams, 150+ players, and we have 3 in the top 13.

 

I don't believe Pedey belongs in this group, oldtimer...

[oldtimer]

Don't forget JBJ. He's a tremendous athlete. His baserunning often gets overlooked.

 

Here's how fangraphs ranks our best runners:

 

5th Betts

12th JBJ

13th Bogey

 

Pretty amazing. 30 teams, 150+ players, and we have 3 in the top 13.

 

Good catch. I meant to put him in. Lets hope his hitting keeps him viable for the team, his defense is superb.

[oldtimer]

I don't believe Pedey belongs in this group, oldtimer...

 

He has 7 stolen bases in 9 attempts this year which is a good success rate even though they aren't sending him as often as in the past.

[mvp 78]

DD: Swihart back to being a full time C in 2017. No more OF.

[a700hitter]

DD: Swihart back to being a full time C in 2017. No more OF.

I think he will be traded at some point.

[moonslav59]

I think he will be traded at some point.

 

Agreed, and I'm not sure his stock has fallen too much to warrant him needing to "prove his health" before trading him.

 

Too many MLB teams are dying for just the promise of a decent catcher.

[harmony]

Agreed, and I'm not sure his stock has fallen too much to warrant him needing to "prove his health" before trading him.

 

Too many MLB teams are dying for just the promise of a decent catcher.

Blake Swihart has a career wRC+ of 92 in 103 games despite a career BABIP of .357:

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=13176&position=C

 

One system projects Swihart with a wRC+ of 86.

 

That might be an acceptable number for a defensive whiz of a catcher but otherwise the red flags may scare off potential suitors.

[moonslav59]

Blake Swihart has a career wRC+ of 92 in 103 games despite a career BABIP of .357:

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=13176&position=C

 

One system projects Swihart with a wRC+ of 86.

 

That might be an acceptable number for a defensive whiz of a catcher but otherwise the red flags may scare off potential suitors.

 

Believe what you wish my friend, but Swihart has a lot of trade value, even before proving he's healthy.

 

The guy was a top 20 prospect in 3 major ranking services before 2015.

 

He's got 383 PAs scattered over two seasons. I don't think GMs put a lot of stock in that sample size over what their scouts think and what they feel his ceiling is.

 

By the way, this year there were 18 teams with a team catcher wRC+ of 92 or less.

 

This year, 14 teams had a team catcher wRC+ of below 86.

 

There's a great need for catchers in MLB today.

 

The Guardians had a catcher wRC+ of 46. Six other teams were below 70.

 

All it takes is one GM, whod oesn't have the budget for Ramos or Weiters, seeing his catcher position as his highest need area.

 

 

[SoxHop]

Heck. Swihart may be our best bet in the next few years. I'm not sure if you can trade him.

 

Leon had an amazing story this year.......... but we all knew it wouldn't last.

 

Vazquez........... I'm not sure he can actually hit.

 

Out of the three, Swihart maybe the one I would go with, especially after a year of seasoning.

 

I hate to say it, but what looked like something that could be a positive a year ago, the catcher position kind of looks like a negative now.

[harmony]

Believe what you wish my friend, but Swihart has a lot of trade value, even before proving he's healthy.

 

The guy was a top 20 prospect in 3 major ranking services before 2015.

 

He's got 383 PAs scattered over two seasons. I don't think GMs put a lot of stock in that sample size over what their scouts think and what they feel his ceiling is.

 

By the way, this year there were 18 teams with a team catcher wRC+ of 92 or less.

 

This year, 14 teams had a team catcher wRC+ of below 86.

 

There's a great need for catchers in MLB today.

 

The Guardians had a catcher wRC+ of 46. Six other teams were below 70.

 

All it takes is one GM, whod oesn't have the budget for Ramos or Weiters, seeing his catcher position as his highest need area.

Steamer's early wRC+ projections have Blake Swihart at 86, Devin Mesoraco at 86, Mike Zunino at 91 and Travis d'Arnaud at 100 after the catchers peaked at No. 17, No. 16, No. 17 and No. 17, respectively, in Baseball America's Top 100 prospect rankings through the years. Setting aside any questions above defensive abilities, compare the minor league slash line for each catcher.

 

Swihart may evolve into an All Star catcher ... or not.

[moonslav59]

Steamer's early wRC+ projections have Blake Swihart at 86, Devin Mesoraco at 86, Mike Zunino at 91 and Travis d'Arnaud at 100 after the catchers peaked at No. 17, No. 16, No. 17 and No. 17, respectively, in Baseball America's Top 100 prospect rankings through the years. Setting aside any questions above defensive abilities, compare the minor league slash line for each catcher.

 

Swihart may evolve into an All Star catcher ... or not.

 

Oh, Swi's far from a sure bet allstar catcher. My point is about how poor the catcher position has become in MLB.

 

Several teams had god-awful numbers with their catchers last year, and no young catchers looking better than Swihart. Some have nobody young & close to his potential.

 

It's those teams that will likely overpay for Swihart (or Leon/Vaz).

 

BTW, did you notice Steamer had Swihart with 6 PAs for 2017?

Edited November 8, 2016 by moonslav59

[Bellhorn04]

DD: Swihart back to being a full time C in 2017. No more OF.

 

Thank you DD.

[Eddy Ballgame]

Thank you DD.

 

Yup. it obviously makes the most sense to have him play everyday in Pawtucket. He missed a lot of time and he's still young enough to develop into a good MLB catcher.

[moonslav59]

Yup. it obviously makes the most sense to have him play everyday in Pawtucket. He missed a lot of time and he's still young enough to develop into a good MLB catcher.

 

..and it should build up his trade value, unless he looks awful on defense.

[Eddy Ballgame]

..and it should build up his trade value, unless he looks awful on defense.

 

Do you think that he should be some kind of "super sub" on the MLB roster because catching everyday in Pawtucket might hurt his trade value!?

 

My guess is that the player development people are more concerned about seeing what type of player he can be than they are with his current trade value. The kid needs to play everyday somewhere, and as I mentioned before, he will.

[harmony]

Oh, Swi's far from a sure bet allstar catcher. My point is about how poor the catcher position has become in MLB.

 

Several teams had god-awful numbers with their catchers last year, and no young catchers looking better than Swihart. Some have nobody young & close to his potential.

 

It's those teams that will likely overpay for Swihart (or Leon/Vaz).

 

BTW, did you notice Steamer had Swihart with 6 PAs for 2017?

Again, Blake Swihart may evolve into a top-tier catcher ... or not.

 

I would note that at the trade deadline 2017 Swihart will be the same age Jarrod Saltalamacchia was on July 31, 2010, when the Rangers traded the switch-hitting catcher to the Red Sox for Chris McGuiness, Roman Mendez, Michael Thomas and cash. Baseball America once ranked Saltalamacchia No. 18 on its Top 100 prospect list.

 

McGuiness and Thomas are apparently out of organized baseball while the 26-year-old Mendez had a decent 2016 season in the Pawtucket bullpen.

 

Swihart's performance the first four months of 2017 should determine whether he has more, less or about the same value as Saltalamacchia did in 2010.

[cp176]

I'm guessing that it says something about them not being completely blown away by the abilities of any of the guys that caught for us this year. Will Leon hit? Can Vazquez hit? Either one of them that good behind the plate that a lack of hitting does not factor in with respect to playing time? Once again, I think that DD has tough decisions to make. Trading Swihart before we truly know what we have in Leon or Vazquez might not be such a good idea. You never know - He just might wind up being our everyday catcher.(in time)

[moonslav59]

Do you think that he should be some kind of "super sub" on the MLB roster because catching everyday in Pawtucket might hurt his trade value!?

 

My guess is that the player development people are more concerned about seeing what type of player he can be than they are with his current trade value. The kid needs to play everyday somewhere, and as I mentioned before, he will.

 

I never said increasing his trade value was the number one priority here.

[moonslav59]

Again, Blake Swihart may evolve into a top-tier catcher ... or not.

 

I would note that at the trade deadline 2017 Swihart will be the same age Jarrod Saltalamacchia was on July 31, 2010, when the Rangers traded the switch-hitting catcher to the Red Sox for Chris McGuiness, Roman Mendez, Michael Thomas and cash. Baseball America once ranked Saltalamacchia No. 18 on its Top 100 prospect list.

 

McGuiness and Thomas are apparently out of organized baseball while the 26-year-old Mendez had a decent 2016 season in the Pawtucket bullpen.

 

Swihart's performance the first four months of 2017 should determine whether he has more, less or about the same value as Saltalamacchia did in 2010.

 

Really? You're going to use one example from history?

 

Come on man; you know Swi's value is higher than Salty's was back then.

[Spudboy]

While it does appear increasingly likely that Swhart gets traded, I still think that he is one of the three or four best young athletes on the team.

 

You can not teach his speed. And he has a real MLB bat now.

 

Too bad there seems to be no place for him on the 25 man roster.

[moonslav59]

I'm guessing that it says something about them not being completely blown away by the abilities of any of the guys that caught for us this year. Will Leon hit? Can Vazquez hit? Either one of them that good behind the plate that a lack of hitting does not factor in with respect to playing time? Once again, I think that DD has tough decisions to make. Trading Swihart before we truly know what we have in Leon or Vazquez might not be such a good idea. You never know - He just might wind up being our everyday catcher.(in time)

 

I think we'll wait, at least until the deadline, to deal away one of our catchers, but I do think the day is bound to come.