The Blake Swihart Thread

[mvp 78]

Many of us have been rooting for this kid since day one. Many of us! None have been pulling for him more than the Spudman. Let's hope for the best for this young athlete.

 

Yeah, Blake’s mom must have been a real looker.

[oldtimer]

I'm all for SWI catching Johnson tomorrow. Why not, Cora? Makes no sense having a player who's hot offensively and more than capable of catching to not be playing. Let's see what Cora does. We tend not to agree.

 

Since the AS break Swihart .368 , Leon .083. Pretty clear choice here. Rest Leon and help him restore himself and play the hot hitter.

[Kimmi]

I'm all for SWI catching Johnson tomorrow. Why not, Cora? Makes no sense having a player who's hot offensively and more than capable of catching to not be playing. Let's see what Cora does. We tend not to agree.

 

I think Cora likes to match Johnson up with Swihart.

 

Extremely small sample (only 14.2 innings), but Johnson has an ERA of .061 with Swihart. His ERAs with Leon and Vazquez, respectively, are 2.16 and 5.65.

 

If I'm not mistaken, there might be some familiarity there from the minor leagues.

[OH FOY]

Sure is. I think Johnson best season in the Minors, Swihart was his catcher. Pretty sure 2014. 10-2 1.75 era. For Portland. Actually next year too as both got promoted to Pawtucket. Swihart got promoted to Boston half a season though. Did real good too. Edited August 2, 2018 by OH FOY!

[a700hitter]

The thing about Swihart that put the biggest smile on my face recently was him throwing out a base stealer. You can talk about framing pitches and blocking balls etc., but you can’t have the opposition playing running bases against your catcher.

[mvp 78]

The thing about Swihart that put the biggest smile on my face recently was him throwing out a base stealer. You can talk about framing pitches and blocking balls etc., but you can’t have the opposition playing running bases against your catcher.

 

I mean... he's thrown out base stealers before. This isn't some new skill he just learned. He had a caught stealing % of .281 in 2015 which is basically league average. Blake's defensive issues in the past were usually passed balls. So far, he has 0 in 60 innings. He averaged 1 PB every 43 innings in 2015.

[OH FOY]

Biggest smile on my face was the play in the Hole Sunday, where he backhanded the play, and almost threw the runner out. Major League SS's have a tough time on this play. No Catcher in the Majors makes that play.

[mvp 78]

I bet Swihart has a better arm than Xander.

[Spudboy]

The thing about Swihart that put the biggest smile on my face recently was him throwing out a base stealer. You can talk about framing pitches and blocking balls etc., but you can’t have the opposition playing running bases against your catcher.

 

That runner got a great jump. He was gone before Kelly threw the ball.

 

It was a very good throw and a nice pic and swipe by Kinsler.

 

I love s*** like that.

 

"Run on us and we will f*** up your s***".

[mvp 78]

To me, it's still too early to definitively make a stance on how Swihart fits in, but the returns have been ok. I don't expect him to have a 1.000+ OPS going forward. If he can hit better than average and be an average defender, he may be more valuable than Vazquez. At the end of the day, I don't think that there's anything that makes any of the 3 current Catchers stand out. Vazquez was supposed to be a superior defender, but I don't think he's any better than Leon. Leon is just a solid backup who can hit a little and defend a little. Swihart definitely has the highest upside, but is still a big unknown.

 

https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/boston-red-sox-team-stats?season=2018&category=FIELDING+II&group=1&sort=8&time=0&pos=0&qual=0&splitType=0

[OH FOY]

Remember this oldie but goodie before injury.

[mvp 78]

Remember this oldie but goodie before injury.

 

Making use of that short porch.

[Jasonbay44]

To me, it's still too early to definitively make a stance on how Swihart fits in, but the returns have been ok. I don't expect him to have a 1.000+ OPS going forward. If he can hit better than average and be an average defender, he may be more valuable than Vazquez. At the end of the day, I don't think that there's anything that makes any of the 3 current Catchers stand out. Vazquez was supposed to be a superior defender, but I don't think he's any better than Leon. Leon is just a solid backup who can hit a little and defend a little. Swihart definitely has the highest upside, but is still a big unknown.

 

https://www.foxsports.com/mlb/boston-red-sox-team-stats?season=2018&category=FIELDING+II&group=1&sort=8&time=0&pos=0&qual=0&splitType=0

I've never really been a big Vazquez fan. I think he's the most expendable. I think his defense is overrated and he's probably worst base runner of the three. I think we'd be fine with Swihart/Leon combo.

[mvp 78]

I've never really been a big Vazquez fan. I think he's the most expendable. I think his defense is overrated and he's probably worst base runner of the three. I think we'd be fine with Swihart/Leon combo.

 

Too bad they extended Vaz for 3 more years.

[moonslav59]

Too bad they extended Vaz for 3 more years.

 

It was a great extension. At worst, he could be dealt without paying a cent of his contract. This would also put us back under the max penalty line.

[mvp 78]

It was a great extension. At worst, he could be dealt without paying a cent of his contract. This would also put us back under the max penalty line.

 

They extended him and he proceeded to have his shittiest season of his MLB career. Bad extension. I don't think he's a guy that would have cost a lot on the open market. Him and Leon seem like season to season guys. Easily replaceable.

[moonslav59]

They extended him and he proceeded to have his shittiest season of his MLB career. Bad extension. I don't think he's a guy that would have cost a lot on the open market. Him and Leon seem like season to season guys. Easily replaceable.

 

IMO, many teams would take Vaz right now at that contract.

 

And, if you go by most recent sample sizes, like you are with Swihart, then Vaz should be worth $10M a year x 5 for hitting .860 in his last 60 PAs.

[mvp 78]

IMO, many teams would take Vaz right now at that contract.

 

And, if you go by most recent sample sizes, like you are with Swihart, then Vaz should be worth $10M a year x 5 for hitting .860 in his last 60 PAs.

 

I don't put a lot of stock in recent small samples, but Vaz's entire 2018 is concerning. He's been kinda bad. If you can't admit that, I don't know what to say.

[Kimmi]

I've never really been a big Vazquez fan. I think he's the most expendable. I think his defense is overrated and he's probably worst base runner of the three. I think we'd be fine with Swihart/Leon combo.

 

Vazquez won me over with his defense when he was first called up in 2014. I have been a huge fan since. He has had a rather disappointing season defensively, but I don't think his defense is overrated. Time will tell whether he can pick things back up defensively.

 

That said, I am also a Leon fan (just of fan of defensive catchers, in general), and he has clearly surpassed Vaz for this season.

[Kimmi]

Too bad they extended Vaz for 3 more years.

 

I disagree. I really liked the signing when it happened, and I still like it now, despite the way things have turned this year.

[Kimmi]

They extended him and he proceeded to have his shittiest season of his MLB career. Bad extension. I don't think he's a guy that would have cost a lot on the open market. Him and Leon seem like season to season guys. Easily replaceable.

 

Vaz was extended for an AAV of roughly $4.5 mil per year for a relatively short period of 3 years. The length of contract alone, IMO, makes it a good extension, not to mention the AAV and his age. Vaz was worth $12.7 mil last year. Using the argument that he is having a bad season this year is hindsight.

[mvp 78]

I disagree. I really liked the signing when it happened, and I still like it now, despite the way things have turned this year.

 

If he can't play defense the way he did last year, he's useless. I just don't understand what is going on with him.

[Hitch]

Yeah it looked a very good contract when the deal was made last year.

[Spudboy]

Vaz was extended for an AAV of roughly $4.5 mil per year for a relatively short period of 3 years. The length of contract alone, IMO, makes it a good extension, not to mention the AAV and his age. Vaz was worth $12.7 mil last year. Using the argument that he is having a bad season this year is hindsight.

 

How as Vaz "worth" $12.7 mil. last year?

[jacksonianmarch]

It’s fangraphs worth and I don’t buy it. It’s effectively equating one WAR to a dollar figure based on free agency. Defense first catchers with no offensive contributions get league minimum deals. Vaz contributed offensively last year. No team takes on a long term commitment if he can’t hit

[Kimmi]

How as Vaz "worth" $12.7 mil. last year?

 

It's how Fangraphs values the worth of each win.

 

It doesn't mean that any team is likely to shell out that kind of money for Vaz in free agency, but he did bring that much worth to the team.

[Kimmi]

It’s fangraphs worth and I don’t buy it. It’s effectively equating one WAR to a dollar figure based on free agency. Defense first catchers with no offensive contributions get league minimum deals. Vaz contributed offensively last year. No team takes on a long term commitment if he can’t hit

 

I think Fangraphs values defense more than most fans do, and that is reflected in their WAR values.

 

That said, catcher defense is difficult to measure.

[Bellhorn04]

It’s fangraphs worth and I don’t buy it. It’s effectively equating one WAR to a dollar figure based on free agency. Defense first catchers with no offensive contributions get league minimum deals.

 

Wieters got 2 years/$21 million after a year in which he had a .711 OPS, though.

[mvp 78]

It's how Fangraphs values the worth of each win.

 

It doesn't mean that any team is likely to shell out that kind of money for Vaz in free agency, but he did bring that much worth to the team.

 

No, if the market doesn’t provide 12M to Vaz, he’s not worth it.

[mvp 78]

Wieters got 2 years/$21 million after a year in which he had a .711 OPS, though.

 

Does Vaz have Weiters’ upside?