National League Prospects & Suspects

Catcher week will go to a full seven days since this column ran a little long, with the rest of the National Leaguers tomorrow along with (hopefully) some reader comments about their teams' catching situation. For now, please enjoy the National League's minor league free agents and upper level catching prospects as you munch on turkey leftovers.

National League East

Atlanta Braves
Minor league free agents:
Charlie Greene, 30, B:R, T:R. His eighth straight year playing for at least two teams, Charlie has never hit more than 8 home runs in a season. Despite playing at least AA ball since 1994, he's never hit above .244 at any higher level. Greene appears to help out teams who need Crash Davis without the power, but he lacks the skills to help your fantasy team.
Jeff Horn, 29, B:R, T:R. Horn has even less power than Greene but has a solid batting eye, having walked over 12% of the time in his career; he's also never been under 9% for the past seven seasons. Horn's been the Braves' upper level organization catcher for the past three years, so I'd expect him to return to either Richmond or Greenville, depending on their other signings.

Prospects:
Dax Norris, 28, B:R, T:R. Dax should finally receive minor league free agency next season, and I'd suspect he's quite pleased about that. Until this year at Richmond, he spent the last three seasons stuck in Greenville. Evidently he adjusted to AA pitching since he hit over 40 extra-base hits each of the last two years, along with acceptable BB:K ratios of 68% and 69%. His strike zone judgement dropped in half this year, but he maintained much of his power upon his promotion hitting 25 2B in AAA. If he can improve his OBP to his AA levels, I'd expect the Braves to add him to the 40-man roster and consider him strongly as a backup catcher. He has some talent but remains at least a year away.

Florida Marlins
Minor league free agents:
B.J. Waszgis, 29, B:R, T:R. B.J. just signed to help out with St. Louis' minor league catching, beating the holiday minor league free agent shoppers by a couple of days. Playing in the PCL has allowed him to show decent power, as his 41 extra-base hits this season were four more than his A-ball career high. Unfortunately, he's been unable to maintain decent plate discipline, and while he walks at acceptable level, catchers with decent power who also strike out too much don't often receive many major league chances. B.J. could help you out if you need a couple cheap home runs in a backup role, but don't look for him to receive enough playing time to make his acquisition worthwhile.
Dusty Wathan, 27, B:R, T:R. Son of former Kansas City manager John Wathan and brother of Mariners' shortstop Derek, Dusty has a better future in coaching than as a catcher. Dusty has neither sufficient power nor plate discipline to compete at the major league level. I expect him to get a brief look in a September or two, and then begin work in player development for an organization that values legacies.

Prospects:
Ramon Castro will be discussed when I get to the rest of the National League catchers. The acting Marlins' General Manager has said that if Charles Johnson exercises his escape clause, now less likely that the team is reportedly being sold, Castro will be the starting catcher. If not, they'll look to trade him to someone who needs a catcher as he's proven himself at AAA. Castro passed through waivers in April when 29 other major league teams forgot that good starting catchers are hard to find.

Montreal Expos
Minor league free agents:
Jimmy Gonzalez, 28, B:R, T:R. No plate discipline and little power make Jimmy a poor candidate for a minor league roster spot, never mind your fantasy roster.
Angel Martinez, 28, B:L, T:R. Known to the rest of us as Sandy, Angel tore his right elbow's MCL on opening day. While he doesn't really have the skills to help your team, I expect Martinez to be back in the majors next season as someone's third catcher. He showed a little power at AAA Calgary last season, but even Bob Buhl would show good power in Calgary's park.

Prospects:
Scott Sandusky, 25, B:R, T:R. The Expos are promoting Scott very quickly considering he didn't hit more than 11 extra-base hits or walked more than three times for every strikeout on a single team until this season. Sandusky showed more power and plate discipline this season at AA Harrisburg than his career would have suggested, but he's still a few seasons away from helping in the majors.

New York Mets
Minor league free agents:
Mike Figga, 30, B:R, T:R. Mike was the last position player on an Opening Day roster to bat at the start of the 1999 season. The Yankees let him hit twice for before Baltimore picked him up on waivers. He's never displayed any command of the strike zone and his power has dwindled rapidly since 59 extra-base hits at Columbus in 1998. His major problem might be that he's played for 4 different teams in both the last two seasons, so he's probably too tired from moving to think about driving the ball. Figga could be a solid September call-up for for a team that needs to give its catchers a break, but only if someone leaves him in AAA to start for the year and lets him settle down. He probably won't do much for a roto team.
Ramon Granado, ??, ???, ???. Baseball America lists this guy as a Met free agent, but doesn't have any stats for Granado. He is also not listed in the BA Super Register in the last three years. A Ramon Granados played for Universad in the Dominican Summer League, but 92 at-bats and no career records aren't enough to determine anything. Please e-mail me if you know whom BA is discussing here, since I'm going to assume this was an indecipherable typo on their part unless someone knows better.
Alan Probst, 30, B:R, T:R. His only season with either demonstrable power or plate discipline was 1998. Even a couple dozen extra-base hits for AA Knoxville that year doesn't obscure the fact that he can't help a team's offense.
Sammy Rodriguez, 25, B:R, T:R. No power or plate discipline. Looks like Steve Phillips was collecting something last winter besides middle relief.

Prospects:
Jason Phillips will be discussed with the remaining NL catchers.

Philadelphia Phillies
Minor league free agents:
Darren Bush, 27, B:L, T:R. He's shown some plate discipline in A-ball but probably doesn't have enough time to make it to the majors given the development years he needs. Bush played in the Frontier League for three years, and while he appears qualified to play in Independent Leagues, I doubt any MLB team will try to nurture a potential 30-year-old backup catcher when dozens of them are available every winter.
Creighton Gubanich, 29, B:R, T:R. Gubanich developed serious power over the last few years and could probably start for a couple teams right now if they could tolerate his strikeouts. Creighton is the type of guy who should be a backup every year, but didn't quite hit enough in his 47 ML at-bats to convince anyone to keep him rostered.
Jeff Reed, 38, B:L, T:R. Released at the end of spring training by Houston, Reed hung around with Philly's AAA team this year. He helped your team as Colorado's backup, but won't do much for you again. He might play another year or two, but Jeff appears closer to retirement and minor league coaching than regaining a couple bucks of roto value.

Prospects:
Jeremy Salazar, 25, B:R, T:R. Salazar was jumped from the Florida State League to AAA this year and wasn't completely overmatched, eking out an OPS slightly over .600. He's displayed some power without much plate discipline, and really needs a year starting at AA or higher before we know if he has any potential or remains an organization player.
Andy Dominique, 25, B:R, T:R. Sometimes known as Bubba, Dominique's power slipped while repeating AA. His strike zone judgement remained decent, so I'd suspect he shortened his swing to adhere to the Philadelphia philosophy of "Screw power, make contact at any cost." Hopefully this philosophy will depart with the fired gravedigger, hitting coach Richie Hebner. Dominique has some potential but the Phillies need to promote him before deciding on his upside.

National League Central

Chicago Cubs
Minor league free agents:
Pee Wee Lopez, 24, B:R, T:R. Lopez has little power and only average plate discipline, so I doubt you'll see him in the majors in the near future.

Prospects:
Mike Mahoney, 28, B:R, T:R. Mike owns a little power without much command of the strike zone. You'll see him around AAA for the next few years, but he can't really help your team. The Cubs already have re-signed him to a minor league contract for 2002.
Jeff Goldbach, 21, B:R, T:R. Goldbach's career resembles Alka-Seltzer right now: PopPop in 1998 and '99, FizzFizz in 2000 and '01. Instead of letting Goldbach repeat A+ Daytona and get comfortable with that level of pitching, the Cubs advanced him again with disastrous results. After failing at AA, he returned to A+ and hit even worse there. Ryan Jorgensen took Goldbach's Arizona Fall League spot this year, and Yoon-Min Kweon probably has also passed him as a Cub "catcher of the future". Unless Goldbach can regain his hitting stroke at the AA level soon, he won't be able to regain the promise of two years ago as one of the top catching prospects in baseball. He was left off the 40-man roster this year, but I can't imagine anyone taking him in the Rule V draft.
Mike Amrheim, 26, B:R, T:R. He's shown some hitting ability at lower levels, but didn't sustain his 2000 numbers this season. Both his power and plate discipline dropped off, and he split time between C and 1B. I don't envision a brighter future for him than as a AAAA guy and potential 3rd catcher

Cincinnati Reds
Minor league free agents:
Samuel Abreu, 22, B:R, T:R. I think this is the correct guy, but if it is, his proper name is Cesar Abreu. He played for the Reds' Dominican Summer League team, but showed neither power nor plate discipline. He's young and could improve, but he's not succeeding at the lowest rung of the minors, leaving little hope for advancement.
Guillermo Garcia, 29, B:R, T:R. Showed serious power in AAA the last few years in decent pitchers' parks, but still spent most of this year in the independent Atlantic League. Garcia has enough pop to help some team that needs an offense-minded backup, but isn't worth your buck unless you know he'll receive at least 100 at-bats or so.
Jerrey Thurston, 29, B:R, T:R. Hit below the Mendoza line this year for three different teams at AA and under. He has no power, no plate discipline, and no future in the majors.
Vic Valencia, 24, B:R, T:R. If he makes the majors, he should be known as La Petite Orange." His stats look nothing like Rusty's, but he's shown solid power at AA Norwich in the past with an acceptable walk rate. Unfortunately, teams are going to zero in on his very unfriendly strikeout rate, and won't promote him to the bigs unless they need a Three True Outcomes' player; his TTO rate stayed at 36% this year, but he was close to 50% in 1999. Keep an eye on him, as his hitting may develop with a few more years' experience; Valencia's one of the minor league guys that you should hope your team signs.

Prospects:
Corky Miller will be reviewed with the rest of the NL, and Dane Sardinha's only at A+.

Houston Astros
Minor league free agents:
Frank Charles, 32, B:R, T:R. Charles has some doubles' power but lacks HR and plate discipline. He went 4 for 7 in a brief cup-of-coffee last season, and will need luck to return to the majors. Strictly a AAA player except as an injury replacement.

Prospects:
Raul Chavez, 27, B:R, T:R. Chavez didn't play in the majors this year, but the Astros still kept him on their 40-man roster; I assume he'll be outrighted if Eusebio re-signs. He had a decent season with AAA New Orleans as their starting catcher, hitting .302 with .361 OBP and .450 SLG. While he has enough power to help as backup, Chavez's plate discipline will hurt a team; if someone gives him a chance for his peak years now, he could help a little. Don't bother picking him up unless he's in Coors, Enron, or Arlington.
The Astros' catching haul had rivaled the Bluejays until Garett Gentry was named the PTBNL in the Astacio deal. John Buck remains as perhaps the best catching prospect in the minors, and you'll want to grab him before he enters hitters' paradise AA Round Rock next season; he'll replace Ausmus by mid-2003 unless he hits the AA wall.
Carlos Maldonado, 22, B:R, T:R. Acquired from the Mariners for IF Carlos Hernandez, Maldonado can play a little. The Astros, never a club to promote offensive prospects quickly, left him at AA another year and reduced his playing time. A dumb move, as he didn't improve anything this year except his batting average. With Buck all but guaranteed the AA starting job in 2002, they may have screwed up Maldonado for good. I tend to think that he needs a new organization, but their best bet is probably to promote him to AAA and see if he can handle it. A potential interesting Rule V pickup if some team decides they can afford a third catcher on their roster all year. He's young enough to improve significantly, and I hope he gets to start for some team's AA club.
Chris Tremie, 32, B:R, T:R. Chris re-signed for 2002 with the Astros after spending this year in AA. He's never displayed much power or plate discipline, so I doubt he'll make the majors again as anything other than an injury fill-in.

Milwaukee Brewers
Minor league free agents:
Robinson Cancel, 25, B:R, T:R. Cancel split this season between AAA and AA. After showing both power and strike zone judgement at AA El Paso in '98, Cancel's stock fell once he moved to a less hitter-friendly environment. He has enough time to mature into a decent backup, but as you can see from these articles, athletic right-handed catchers with a little power are readily available.
Jesse Levis, 33, B:L, T:R. Astounding plate discipline, he's never struck out more than he's walked in any season. Levis was Milwaukee's backup in 1996 and '97, and could easily return to that role with most teams in baseball. If he could drive the ball, he'd definitely be starting in the majors, but managers don't often value catchers with passable defense and good walk rates. If he makes a team, he definitely won't hurt you, but I'd be surprised if he receives more than another 200 career at-bats or so in the majors.

Prospects:
Lance Burkhart, 26, B:R, T:R. Possessing significant power and occasionally good plate discipline, Burkhart needs a full year at AA to see if can hit upper level pitching consistently. If he does well, Burkhart might replace Henry Blanco in 2003. I'd grab him in the Rule V draft and see if he hits enough to justify keeping him around, but most major league clubs won't take a chance on a 5'9" catcher. They don't realize that a $25,000 investment to see if a catcher can reach his 20+ HR potential makes a lot more sense than signing a backup who won't hit a quarter that many dingers to a guaranteed $800K contract.
Brian Moon, 23, B:S, T:R. Switch-hitting catchers are always nice and Moon walked almost as many times as he struck out last year. Unfortunately, he only hit .183, and that fell to .157 this year while his BB:K fell to 20:50. If Moon can't learn to hit the pitches that he knows are strikes, he'll never succeed above A-ball. Check back in two or three years to see if he has.

Pittsburgh Pirates
Minor league free agents:
Yamid Haad, 23, B:R, T:R. He's never shown much offensive talent above A-ball until he hit .257 at AAA this year. Considering how deep the Pirates are at catcher, I doubt Haad will return to Pittsburgh. Yamid is still young enough where he has time to gain some power with maturity and potentially start down the line. He needs to sign with a team that has a AA club in the Southern League and a good hitting coach to maximize his immediate potential.

Prospects:
Reed Secrist, 31, B:L, T:R. Secrist played at least 19 games at C, 1B, 3B, and OF this season. He's basically a left-handed AAA utility guy who should have made the Pirates' 1997 team after hitting .307 with 47 extra-base hits at AAA Calgary in 1996 after he was jumped a level. Instead, the Pirates left him at AAA, and then let him escape by selling him to Japan in the middle of the season. Reed has been knocking around the upper minors for the last few years and suddenly found his stroke this season, hitting .305 with a .963 OPS. I'm not sure what Nashville has in the water, but it appears that Secrist found his power stroke again. There's not a team in baseball that couldn't use a left-handed bat off the bench who can play at least four positions including catcher. If he can hit decently in spring training somewhere, Secrist might not hurt you for $1, but his upside is fairly limited as his plate discipline is only average at best.
Lee Evans, 23, B:S, T:R. Evans has good potential as a utility guy, as he also played C, 1B, 3B, and OF this year. He didn't hit nearly as well as Secrist, and also struck out in over a quarter of his 428 at-bats, but 40 extra-base hits and 12 steals from your part-time catcher will interest many teams. With five catchers already on the 40-man roster, Evans is another guy who could help some team as the 25th man. Improving his plate discipline the key to future major league success.
J.R. House, 21, B:R, T:R. Considered by many to be the premiere catching prospect in the minors, House struggled in his first AA exposure. His extra-base power was only acceptable, and his strike zone judgement remains poor. All signs point to disaster this year, as the Pirates need to promote House to AAA to keep him away from West Virginia football, and he really needs to return to AA, excelling there before advancing again. I expect to hear The Commodores played over the sound system when he makes the majors; as a catcher, he requires the nickname of "Brick".

St. Louis Cardinals
Minor league free agents:
Mike Stefanski, 31, B:R, T:R. He could see few major league at-bats at some point, but he lacks the skills to contribute in any significant way. Stefanski didn't carry over his A-ball hitting success to AA in 1994, and hasn't advanced past a decent AAA player to a full-blown AAAA guy.

Prospects:
Kevin Lidle, 29, B:R, T:R. Cory Lidle's twin brother, Kevin played at AAA for both Anaheim and St. Louis this year. He doesn't have a major league skill set, but can contribute at the minor league level.

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks
Minor league free agents:
None.

Prospects:
Mike Rose, 24, B:S, T:R. I fully expect Rose to be the D'backs' backup catcher by the end of the 2002, closing the revolving door behind Damian Miller. He could even wind up starting for a year or two since switch-hitting catchers with good on-base skills and some power are quite rare. Rose struggled a little bit in his first exposure to AAA; he was probably depressed that the Snakes didn't promote him to begin the year after a very solid all-around performance last season. When he's promoted, pick him up for a buck, ignore the first few months of low BA, and smile when it starts rising along with some decent power numbers.
Brad Cresse, 22, B:R, T:R. The Diamondbacks' catcher of the future did extremely well in his first full season after only 173 AB below AA. He needs to control the strike zone better, but he still managed a .373 OPS and .483 SLG (although he was in a fantastic hitters' park). He needs another 200 AB at AA before a promotion like Rose needs them at AAA, but I'd expect Cresse to beat out Miller for the starting job no later than mid-July. Pick him up in deep minor leagues now; wait another year otherwise, since he'll struggle if he doesn't receive another 500 or more minor league AB.

Colorado Rockies
Minor league free agents:
Darron Cox, 33, B:R, T:R. He peaked a year ago in Colorado Springs, posting the best BA and plate discipline of his career. Unfortunately, he didn't even have 20 extra-base hits, and without decent power, his good OBP doesn't mean much. Montreal let him have 25 at-bats in 1999, and I'll be mildly surprised if he ever loses his rookie status.
Walk McKeel, 29, B:R, T:R. Not much more power than Cox, but he's consistently displayed good to excellent plate discipline. He also had serious problems in Colorado Springs this year, and while his power could rise a little in the next few years, I can't see any team giving him more than a couple more at-bats.
Willie Morales, 28, B:R, T:R. He never really played in bad hitting parks until last season, predictably lost the decent power he had. Plate discipline and average have both been problems, and like Colorado's other two minor league FA, Morales doesn't have much future above AAA.

Prospects:
Jason Dewey, 24, B:R, T:R. Dewey was the Rockies' best catching prospect for a few weeks between the Josh Bard for Jacob Cruz trade and the Pedro Astacio for Garett Gentry trade. He maintained some of his power at AA but his OBP continued to fall, leaving him at a combined .694 OPS. Jason dominated the low level minor leagues without ever showing command of the strike zone, and unless someone teaches him to lay off strikes, he may plateau at AAA.

Los Angeles Dodgers
Minor league free agents:
John Pachot, 26, B:R, T:R. Pachot only has a little power with his shoddy strike zone judgement. He's passed through four organizations already, so I doubt anyone will give him the time to develop his limited skills. Don't look for him to break camp with a team anytime soon.
Angel Pena, 26, B:R, T:R. Angel is probably the star of this year's minor league catcher free agents. He slugged .616 with a .370 OBP, good numbers even in AAA Las Vegas. Managers don't like him because he's 5'10" with a listed weight of 228. Despite this potential handicap, Pena has crushed the ball at the upper levels of the minors, and Paul LoDuca's year puts the Dodger job out of his reach for good. Whoever signs Pena will have a solid backup and possibly a solid starter. Cross your fingers that your team will look past his drawbacks, if they can see past Pena himself.
Mel Rosario, 28, B:S, T:R. Piled up 56 extra-base hits at AAA for three different organizations this year. Unfortunately, he can't really catch the ball (30 errors in 122 games at catcher, 4 in the outfield, and 2 at first base), and his OBP never cracked .300. He could probably start for an organization that doesn't care about OBP or strikeouts, but usually teams worry about at least one or the other. Grab Mel if you need a little cheap power and can take the average hit; he should receive another couple hundred major league at-bats over the next several years.

Prospects:
Dave Ross, 24, B:R, T:R. Ross had a solid AA year with a .372 OBP and .459 SLG. With at least a year or two in AAA, he could make a decent backup for the Dodgers. His strikeouts can get a bit excessive, but as long as he can keep the OBP high, LA should deal with all the LOB in the box score.

San Diego Padres
Minor league free agents:
Steve Soliz, 30, B:R, T:R. Baseball America has no record of Soliz playing baseball this year, and that doesn't surprise me as he's never had more than 256 AB in a season or 15 extra-base hits. He has solid plate discipline, but if you can't hit the strikes, it doesn't matter if you can wait for your pitch. If he's still playing professional baseball, don't expect him even to get a cup-of-coffee.

Prospects:
Brian Loyd, 27, B:R, T:R. Loyd returned to the Padres this season after never fulfilling the Bluejays' expectations when they acquired him in the Randy Myers deal in 1998. He's demonstrated very good plate discipline and some power, but showed very little this year on three different teams. Loyd needs to start hitting consistently at AA if he wants to be promoted in a two or three years.
Tim DeCinces, 27, B:R, T:R. DeCinces should have been promoted to AAA to start the year after walking in over 20% of his at-bats at AA Mobile last year. His .473 slugging was respectable, and I suspect the only reason he didn't start in AAA was the Padres' desire to have veterans ready in case either of the young major leaguers struggled. Tim apparently sulked through the year, hitting .206 while slugging .306, and needs to rebound strongly if he wants to advance. He has enough talent to contribute as a backup, but also lacks the defense expected of major league backstops, even those who can hit decently.
Wil Nieves, 23, B:R, T:R. Nieves' development could make Wiki Gonzalez expendable when Gonzalez hits free agency. Wil makes solid contact with doubles' power but his plate discipline has fallen most of the last few years. He needs to return to AA Mobile and learn pitch selectivity. Nieves has the skills and needs to put them together to advance in the system.

San Francisco Giants
Minor league free agents:
None.

Prospects:
Giuseppe Chiaramonte, 25, B:R, T:R. Giuseppe had 60 extra-base hits at AAA Fresno last season and probably should have started for the Giants this year. He neither walks enough nor has a throwing arm acceptable to most managers, and this probably has kept him back. Chiaramonte had a dreadful year in 2001, hitting just over .200 with only 10 extra-base hits. He needs to rebound strongly to regain his prospect status.
Josh Tyler, 27, B:R, T:R. After returning to the Giants as a minor league free agent, Tyler maintained his average and power while his walk rate dropped precipitously. He's showed some speed in the past, but is probably just organization filler unless he catches some scout's eye.
Ryan Luther, 24, B:R, T:R. Ryan spent most of the year at 2B with only 31 games at catcher while committing 24 errors at AA Shreveport. He's shown decent power at every level along with some speed, but his plate discipline continues to fall. Luther may plateau as a AAAA player unless he gains command of the strike zone. Check back next year to see if he was able to either improve on his AA success or maintain his numbers at AAA.

I generally prefer the NL class of minor league free agents since it includes potential gems like Angel Pena, but there are at least six to ten catchers here who can play in the majors. Until teams start to use this replaceable talent more regularly, they should be discussing expansion instead of contraction so that more of these major-league caliber players receive the opportunities that they deserve.

Today's Fantasy Rx: Who's the best catcher to own for the next five years? What would be the most cost-efficient catching situation for your team over the next few years? Please write in, and we'll discuss your opinions before moving across the diamond to shortstop on Monday.