It seems that of all the things a catcher is asked to do, framing is the one thing that would be the easiest
to improve on.
As I understand it, thatâs true. A while back when framing first got quantified (Mike Fast being a leader there) the nerd teams went out of their way to acquire great framers. After a couple years it seemed like there wasnât as much of a premium on them and that teams were instead focusing on improving the framing skills of catchers who were stronger in other areasâit seems like itâs pretty teachable.
This was a shorter article, so I am sharing the whole thing. Hope you all enjoy.
Astros: Good News on Whitley
The Astros were in quite a conundrum with regard to Forrest Whitley and got good news.
The Good
- Whitley at one time was THE highest rated pitching prospect in all of MLB in 2019.
- When he pitches he still seems to have nasty stuff
- It is hard to believe someone with so much potential, canât succeed
- Whitley is still only 26
The Bad
- Whitley has not had a good season since 2018 in AA
- In two partial seasons in AAA in 2022 and 2023 (63 IP), he has a 6.43 ERA and 5.73 FIP.
- Whitley doesnât even appear on MLB Pipelineâs top 30 prospect list for the Astros now.
- He might be a RP now and not a SP. this may not be an issue, but it is fair from the lofty expectations.
The Ugly
- Whitley had no options - until this week. This means he HAD to be on the active 26-man roster in 2024. Before this week the Astros were in a play him in the MLB or DFA and lose him situation
- Whitley has had multiple injuries/ issues:
- Whitley has spent MOST of the last three years on the injured list.
- In that time, Whitley has pitched 70 innings in three years.
This week Dana Brown gave Astros fans the good news that the Astros will get an additional option year with Whitley.
This means that the team is essentially where they were last year with Whitley. They CAN option him to AAA this year and give him one last chance to prove himself. Notice their plan is now to make him a relief pitcher.
Whisper voice- Whitley as a RP, MIGHT be a REALLY good pitcher. You can quote me on that - if it happens. Otherwise, forget that I was optimistic on Whitley again. AGAIN.
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I guess Iâm ready to invest another year of hope for Meyers; however, I donât see anybody with enough arm to give Tucker the occasional day off. Chas, I suppose, will do that when needed, but I had kind of hoped for an upgrade.
Agreed re Myers.
Looks like the expected Soto-to-Yankees deal is happening.
Stanton will hit 7th in that lineup. 7th.
Here are the specifics of both deals:
Yankees receive: OF Juan Soto, OF Trent Grisham
Padres receive: RHP Michael King, RHP Drew Thorpe, RHP Jhony Brito, RHP Randy VĂĄsquez, C Kyle Higashioka
Yankees get: OF Alex Verdugo
Red Sox get: RHP Richard Fitts, RHP Greg Weissert, RHP Nicholas Judice
For the 50 games he plays.
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I went to church with the Fitts family back in the mid 90âs to early 2000s. Good people. Richard should be in the Majors next year if things go as planned. In AA last year, he had 163Ks in 152 2/3 IP with just 43 BB. He averaged 5 2/3 IP per start. Could turn into an innings eater.
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Of course. Itâs not a âbuy the Yankeesâ note, rather a âsight to beholdâ note, when all are healthy.
I didnât know the Yankees were so plumb silly with right-handed pitching. Must be nice.
The Yankees also had 3 RHP taken in Rule 5
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And one more in the MiLB Rule 5. Thatâs obviously a lesser player, but itâs still eleven RHP good enough to be wanted by other teams, all gone inside 24 hours. I figure while the rest of the Bronx was popping champagne, their pitching coordinator was hitting the bottle for another reason.
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It would be hilarious if two or three years from now they wind up with a .500 record because every game is a 13-12 coin flip.
Projected OF for NYY:
LF Verdugo
CF Judge
RF Soto
Offensively pretty damn stout.
Defensively, look at how good they are at the plate.
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âMarla Hooch! What a hitter!â
HOOCH!
I think that should be that they had III RHP taken in Rule 5.
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