2012 Overview: Needless to say, 2012 was not a great year for the organization at the catching position. However, it wasn't quite the failure many may assume it was.
Incumbent starter Geovany Soto was unable to continue his run of alternating hot and cold seasons, turning in a second straight clunker. Soto began the season with an horrific .127/.226/.236 April and was unable to produce the type of electric month that had made previous poor seasons more palatable. The dynamic backstop from 2007, 2008, and 2010 now seems a distant memory. With Soto approaching his final season of arbitration eligibility, Jed Hoyer wisely flipped the 29-year-old to Texas for reliever Jake Brigham, who was then sent back to the Rangers for starter Barret Loux after the season (more on him in a future post). The good Soto will be missed, especially by the former catcher in me who loved watching him in '08 and '10. However, that Soto seems unlikely to reappear.
Rookie Steve Clevenger admirably filled in as Soto's backup early in the season. However, when given extended time, Clevenger showed his complete offensive ineptitude, never producing a month with a wRC+ higher than 56 after May (that is, he was always at least 44 percent worse than an average player, a stunning level of failure). While he did produce strong offensive showings at Tennessee and Iowa in 2010 and 2011, those number we always driven by extremely high BABIPs. Power and speed are absent from his game. If he is going to have any type of a career, it will have to be as a defense-first backup who finds enough BABIP to get himself on base. That's highly unlikely and I'd be surprised to see Clevenger with the club in a couple of years.
While Clevenger brought very little to the table, Welington Castillo showed why Soto was legitimately expendable. Castillo produced his third consecutive strong season at Iowa while finally getting an extended look in Chicago. This year, he took advantage, positing a solid .265/.337/.418 line, good for a 101 wRC+, a strong number for a catcher. Although his strikeouts rate climbed to almost 27%, he maintained his ability to draw walks while showing the kind of pop in his bat that should make him a reliably everyday player. His high BABIP (.348) can afford some regression assuming his strikeout rate also drops a few percentage points. He also proved to be just slightly above average defensively, fitting with his reputation. Castillo did show an extreme platoon split, posting a .609 OPS versus right-handed pitching compared to a 1.199 versus lefties. While Castillo has shown a platoon split in the minors as well, his numbers were much closer: .861 versus lefties and .766 versus righties. He may need a left handed partner in the future; for now, he should be given the job to see whether or not that is the case. Expect Castillo to be an average or better defender who also produces average offense for the position, likely from the 7 or 8 spot in the lineup when the team is competitive again.
Blake Lalli, Anthony Recker, and Koyie Hill all made cameos in Chicago. None contributed and none will be with the team going forward.
The club did bring in former All Star Dioner Navarro this offseason to complement Castillo, but the pair seem to be a poor fit. Navarro has traditionally hit lefties at an only average rate while righties have left him befuddled. After a precipitous slide from 2009-2011, Navarro resurfaced as a competent bat for the Reds in 2012. If he plays well, his one year, $1.75M contract seems likely to be shopped in July.
A number of non-prospects got some playing time for the club's various affiliates in 2012. Juan Apodaca split the year between Tennessee and Iowa; while he draws a lot of walks, he has no power and thus needs a very strong batting average to contribute. That hasn't been present in his four-stop career. Brian Esposito lacked offensive competence at Iowa. Michael Brenly continued to receive at-bats despite a staggering inability to get on base and middling power. The lower levels are littered with offensively inept catchers.
The most disappointing development in the minors was the failure of 2010 third-round pick Micah Gibbs. While he was hardly expected to be an offensive spark plug, he floundered to a .200/.338/.297 line as a 24-year-old at Daytona (High-A). Thankfully, one player did hold his own with the bat at the lower levels: 2012 ninth-round selection Chadd Krist from Cal-Berkeley. Between Boise and Peoria, Krist put together a .274/.335/.433 line with 24 extra base hits in 234 plate appearances. It's far too soon to project Krist, but it is nice to see someone produce at the plate.
Incumbent starter Geovany Soto was unable to continue his run of alternating hot and cold seasons, turning in a second straight clunker. Soto began the season with an horrific .127/.226/.236 April and was unable to produce the type of electric month that had made previous poor seasons more palatable. The dynamic backstop from 2007, 2008, and 2010 now seems a distant memory. With Soto approaching his final season of arbitration eligibility, Jed Hoyer wisely flipped the 29-year-old to Texas for reliever Jake Brigham, who was then sent back to the Rangers for starter Barret Loux after the season (more on him in a future post). The good Soto will be missed, especially by the former catcher in me who loved watching him in '08 and '10. However, that Soto seems unlikely to reappear.
Rookie Steve Clevenger admirably filled in as Soto's backup early in the season. However, when given extended time, Clevenger showed his complete offensive ineptitude, never producing a month with a wRC+ higher than 56 after May (that is, he was always at least 44 percent worse than an average player, a stunning level of failure). While he did produce strong offensive showings at Tennessee and Iowa in 2010 and 2011, those number we always driven by extremely high BABIPs. Power and speed are absent from his game. If he is going to have any type of a career, it will have to be as a defense-first backup who finds enough BABIP to get himself on base. That's highly unlikely and I'd be surprised to see Clevenger with the club in a couple of years.
While Clevenger brought very little to the table, Welington Castillo showed why Soto was legitimately expendable. Castillo produced his third consecutive strong season at Iowa while finally getting an extended look in Chicago. This year, he took advantage, positing a solid .265/.337/.418 line, good for a 101 wRC+, a strong number for a catcher. Although his strikeouts rate climbed to almost 27%, he maintained his ability to draw walks while showing the kind of pop in his bat that should make him a reliably everyday player. His high BABIP (.348) can afford some regression assuming his strikeout rate also drops a few percentage points. He also proved to be just slightly above average defensively, fitting with his reputation. Castillo did show an extreme platoon split, posting a .609 OPS versus right-handed pitching compared to a 1.199 versus lefties. While Castillo has shown a platoon split in the minors as well, his numbers were much closer: .861 versus lefties and .766 versus righties. He may need a left handed partner in the future; for now, he should be given the job to see whether or not that is the case. Expect Castillo to be an average or better defender who also produces average offense for the position, likely from the 7 or 8 spot in the lineup when the team is competitive again.
Blake Lalli, Anthony Recker, and Koyie Hill all made cameos in Chicago. None contributed and none will be with the team going forward.
The club did bring in former All Star Dioner Navarro this offseason to complement Castillo, but the pair seem to be a poor fit. Navarro has traditionally hit lefties at an only average rate while righties have left him befuddled. After a precipitous slide from 2009-2011, Navarro resurfaced as a competent bat for the Reds in 2012. If he plays well, his one year, $1.75M contract seems likely to be shopped in July.
A number of non-prospects got some playing time for the club's various affiliates in 2012. Juan Apodaca split the year between Tennessee and Iowa; while he draws a lot of walks, he has no power and thus needs a very strong batting average to contribute. That hasn't been present in his four-stop career. Brian Esposito lacked offensive competence at Iowa. Michael Brenly continued to receive at-bats despite a staggering inability to get on base and middling power. The lower levels are littered with offensively inept catchers.
The most disappointing development in the minors was the failure of 2010 third-round pick Micah Gibbs. While he was hardly expected to be an offensive spark plug, he floundered to a .200/.338/.297 line as a 24-year-old at Daytona (High-A). Thankfully, one player did hold his own with the bat at the lower levels: 2012 ninth-round selection Chadd Krist from Cal-Berkeley. Between Boise and Peoria, Krist put together a .274/.335/.433 line with 24 extra base hits in 234 plate appearances. It's far too soon to project Krist, but it is nice to see someone produce at the plate.
2013 and Beyond: Castillo and Navarro figure to get most of the time behind the plate for the team in 2013. While they are hardly the cream of the crop, a number of teams will employ less desirable options behind the dish. Castillo has what it takes to be an average MLB catcher and to do so in the very near future. As he turns 26 in April and is controllable through 2017, Cubs fans should hope to see a lot of him.
Cubs fans should also hope that Castillo succeeds because the cupboard is bare behind him. Gibbs's failure to develop means that the organization will almost certainly be looking to the outside for Castillo's backup in the future or for his starter if Welington cannot handle the job.
Overall Perception: This is quite possibly the worst position in the organization. Castillo is the only redeeming player in the entire system, although his proximity to an everyday major league job rescues the group from the abyss. Still, with seemingly just one MLB-caliber player in an entire organization who can hope to be an average player, it's a really ugly picture.
Cubs fans should also hope that Castillo succeeds because the cupboard is bare behind him. Gibbs's failure to develop means that the organization will almost certainly be looking to the outside for Castillo's backup in the future or for his starter if Welington cannot handle the job.
Overall Perception: This is quite possibly the worst position in the organization. Castillo is the only redeeming player in the entire system, although his proximity to an everyday major league job rescues the group from the abyss. Still, with seemingly just one MLB-caliber player in an entire organization who can hope to be an average player, it's a really ugly picture.
Final Rating: 0.5
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