Kelly Shoppach

[Zenny]

Kelly Shoppach

Born: March 29, 1980; Fort Worth, Texas
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 210
Bats: Right; Throws: Right
Acquired: Drafted in 2nd round, 2001 out of Baylor University

Shopp is an amazing defensive catcher and game-caller. Scouts are amazed by his skills behind the and especially by his strong arm and natural throwing ability. He's also a hard-worker and is constantly studying himself and opponents to improve his hitting and the pitching staff he has to handle.

On the offensive side, Shoppach walks a good deal and that should translate into a big-league OBP .100 points higher than his BA. He also has good power to all fields and should hit 20-25 homeruns at the big league level with a .450-.525 SLG% every year. He does have the tendency to strikeout, but it doesn't hamper his ability to make contact or drive the ball.

Estimated annual big league stats: .275/.400/.500/.900; 35 doubles, 25 homers, 85 RBI.

ETA: September call-up 2004, ready to start in 2005

Current stats at AAA Pawtucket: .242/.333/.419/.752; .38 (25/65) BB/K ratio; 9 2B, 8 HR, 33 RBI, 30 R.

Shopp had been awful up until mid-May, but his bat woke up and he began to take more pitches and adjust to the more advanced pitching. He has done several interviews where he stated that it is the first time in his career that he's actually had to make adjustments, but he is successfully doing so. He's hitting well over .300 in June and shows no signs of slowing down. His walk rate has tripled since the beginning of the season and he should finish somewhere near the estimated big-league stats above.

Shopp is the reason that Jason Varitek is expendible. He does everything Varitek does, will provide superior defense right from the get-go and has better long-term offensive upside. Not to mention the fact that he will cost 3% of what Varitek will make next season. It is time to make way for the future of this franchise and Kelly Shoppach should be a huge part of it.

[TheFens]

This is my addition, a picture:

[Zenny]

Thanks, I forgot about that part.

[Zenny]

Shopp went 1-4 with a R, 2B and 2 K's tonight.

Daily Season Line Update: .242/.332/.421/.753; .37 (25/67) BB/K; 10 2B, 8 HR, 33 RBI, 31 R.

[Zenny]

Royal Rooters' Interview with Shoppach:

RSN: Kelly, in a recent conversation with Baseball America’s Jim Callis, he told us he sees several similarities between Jason Varitek and yourself. Knowing that expectations for you are high, and that Tek’s contract is up after this season, do you feel a lot of pressure coming into 2004?

KS: I don’t look at it that way. Pressure is only what you make of it, and I just like to go out and play hard every day. The rest will take care of itself.

RSN: Kelly, what about your thoughts on Red Sox Nation?

KS: I grew up in Texas as a Rangers fan, but the game doesn’t mean as much down there. Texas is all about football -- New England is baseball.

RSN: What did you do this offseason?

KS: After the season ended I played in the Arizona Fall League. It was a great experience.

RSN: That would have put you in Arizona when the Sox were battling the Yankees in October. Where were you for game seven?

KS: I actually got home about midway through the game -- Pedro was still in. What I remember thinking at the end was that I couldn’t believe it -- I didn’t want to believe it. It was happening again.

RSN: Kelly, you’re going to get a chance to catch Frank Castillo in Pawtucket this summer. What can you learn from someone like him; a guy with 11 MLB seasons under his belt?

KS: A lot. You don’t spend as many years in the big leagues as he has without knowing how to pitch. I caught Frankie in spring training this past month, and it’s already been a great learning experience.

I'm very excited about his future in this franchise.

[dirtdogman5]

Quick question, where do you find their stats for their latest game?

[Zenny]

Originally posted by dirtdogman5@Jun 17 2004, 12:19 PM
Quick question, where do you find their stats for their latest game?

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform...oard.aspx?date=

After the game is done, they post the box score and a log of the game, out by out.

[Zenny]

Shoppach had a nice game for himself tonight; 2-3, 2B, HR, R, RBI.

Daily Season Line Update: .249/.339/.446/.785; .37 (25/67) BB/K ratio; 11 2B, 9 HR, 34 RBI, 32 R

I guarantee that his OPS will be just about or above .900 by the end of the season and he will be more than worthy of taking over next season's starting catching role.

[Zenny]

I'm going to be at Monday night's PawSox game and I will be intently watching Kelly Shoppach behind and at the plate. He's been on fire since mid-May, hopefully he'll be able to keep it up (very likely).

[Zenny]

Season line through Sunday: .245/.336/.450/.786; .37 (26/71) BB/K ratio; 11 2B, 10 HR, 36 RBI, 34 R

He's hitting a lot of homeruns, but he had three whiffs on Saturday night. No big deal.

[Zenny]

Well, I got to watch Shopp in person today. He wasn't all that great, but he was solid. He played flawless defense throughout the game, but he wasn't overly tested.

He closed the second inning with a swinging whiff. On strike two, he let go of the bat and it went flying into the crowd. It was pretty funny.

In the fourth, he walked.

He ended the fifth-inning with a fly-out to center-field.

In the seventh, he hit a hot shot to the shortstop's right. He did a good job just to get the ball knocked down, but he should've caught it. It turned into a weird double-play ball.

Every single time he was up there, he always seemed to work the count. Even when he gets out, it always seemed to be at least 6 pitches into the at-bat.

Season Line: .241/.335/.443/.778; .38 (27/72) BB/K; 11 2B, 10 HR, 36 RBI, 35 R

[Zenny]

Shoppach went 0-2 with a BB, HBP and K. He's finding ways to get on base, but he hasn't done so with the bat in the past two games. Season line: .239/.338/.439/.777; .38 (28/73) BB/K ratio; 11 2B, 10 HR, 36 RBI, 35 R

[Zenny]

Similar box score to last night: 0-2, 2 BB, K. He's getting on base a lot, but he's hitless in his last three games.

Season Line: .237/.340/.435/.775; .41 (30/74) BB/K ratio; 11 2B, 10 HR, 36 RBI, 35 R

[Zenny]

The OBP 100 points higher than the BA and the SLG% 200 points higher than the BA are very encouraging. That is usually a sign of a good all-around hitter, even when the average is struggling. He needs to get a little work in to cut down the K's and get that average up and things should be good for Shopp. That should come before the AAA All-Star Game in July. He's going to have a monster second-half, hopefully all of it with the Sox.

I hate to say it to all the 'Tek fans out there, but the more Shopp walks and the better defense he plays, the less and less likely that Varitek returns, especially given his contractual demands and how he hasn't backed it up with performance.

[Zenny]

Shopp got a well-deserved day of rest today. Jamie Brown responded by pitching an awful game with Andy Dominique doing the receiving. Brown had a sub-3.00 ERA prior to tonight's outing, with much of that due to Shoppach's ability to call games. Tonight, he gave up 7 runs in only 3 or 4 innings. This kid calls a good game, believe me.

Shopp needed the day off. He always seems to respond very well after getting a break or when given the opportunity to DH.