The industry whiffs a lot on kids because they are kids. Full stop.
The Beane story is funny. In Moneyball you see the emphasis on stats and the eschewing of high school kids because performance was harder to measure. But the weird result of going in on that thinking is that Oakland (and Toronto under Ricciardi)'s system started to sag because there were no stars. And so Oakland is back going to high schools and looking at kids with superior tools and whatnot. After all if a franchise has a high percentage hit rate for its prospects, but those prospects are Deven Merrero and Dan Butler, that is still a 60ish win team.
Before he got hurt, Napoli was an excellent catcher. Adequate defensively and the stick was as good as it always was, only at a premium defensive position. He moved off the catching position because of a degenerative hip condition no one knew about at the time, not because he didn't have good catching skills.
I wish he'd been healthy enough to do part time catching duties, if only because that would have increased his value, but that's clearly never going to happen again, and since we're so sick with great catching prospects that we can't even give our low tier guys a decent look (like Lavarnway and Butler) it's not a great need. Very satisfied with Napoli's performance as our starting 1B, just like everyone else. We got like 80% of my hopeful scenario with the guy, very pleased about that.
Last edited by Dojji; 02-10-2015 at 02:01 PM.
If history tells us anything, the path to redeption for any bad baseball team is marked with a deep rotation of durable starters, a world class defense in both infield and outfield, a lineup that can generate runs in more than one way, a bullpen that won't steal defeat from the jaws of victory, and a top end catcher to hold the whole package together. These are the conditions by which victory is achieved, anything that does not accomplish these objectives is a waste of resources.
That's a bold faced lie Dojji. He was so bad as a catcher that Mike Scoscia was starting the no offense Jeff Mathis over him in Anaheim. Napoli was a butcher behind the dish
Baseball reference defensive metrics have him at exactly a run per year below average defensively. Basically Napoli was an average defensive catcher with more than enough bat to make it work.
Scoscia used Mathis as the catcher so he could get an excellent glove behind the dish instead of an average one, and DH Napoli to keep his bat in the lineup. Since he didn't have a better DH at the time it was a viable strategey, and one the Rangers used extensively as well. If we get our wish with both Vazquez and Swihart it's a strategy I could see the team using frequently after Papi retires
If history tells us anything, the path to redeption for any bad baseball team is marked with a deep rotation of durable starters, a world class defense in both infield and outfield, a lineup that can generate runs in more than one way, a bullpen that won't steal defeat from the jaws of victory, and a top end catcher to hold the whole package together. These are the conditions by which victory is achieved, anything that does not accomplish these objectives is a waste of resources.
I wouldn't say that Napoli was an average defensive catcher. He was below average in blocking pitches, below average in throwing out runners, below average in DRS, and below average in pitch framing runs.
I remember thinking that he was going to hurt us defensively at 1B because he was not a strong defensive catcher. I am presently surprised with how good his 1B defense has been.
He was barely below average at any of those things, and was well capable of an above average year at any one of them.
He was an offensive catcher and had a good enough glove to be an offensive catcher. What stopped him was his hip condition, not his poor defensive play.
If history tells us anything, the path to redeption for any bad baseball team is marked with a deep rotation of durable starters, a world class defense in both infield and outfield, a lineup that can generate runs in more than one way, a bullpen that won't steal defeat from the jaws of victory, and a top end catcher to hold the whole package together. These are the conditions by which victory is achieved, anything that does not accomplish these objectives is a waste of resources.
IU never understood why Scioscia was stubborn about keeping Mathis behind the plate and panning Napoli's defense. He was no Johnny Bench but he was a much better defensive catcher than Mathis was as a hitter, and I think it might have cost the Angels a pennant or two for all the time Mike was benched by the manager.
Scioscia is an ex-catcher who probably was personally offended at the idea of playing a somewhere between "horrendous" and "barely adequate" catcher to keep his bat in the lineup. If you view catcher as a defensive position, that is how you are wired. He is the sort of guy who would have made a similar call with Mike Piazza probably. His affection for Mathis was short sighted as he was not an acceptable offensive player, even with the rock bottom replacement threshhold for catchers.
Napoli's hip condition was caught with the Sox' medicals on him - that's why it took so long for the deal to settle, remember? Now, Ron Washington was willing to live with him behind the plate in the World Series to keep his bat in the lineup, and since Napoli would have won the World Series MVP if it wasn't for the miracle in Game 6, that makes sense. BTW: I do share that opinion that a bat can be worth it - it was why Lavarnway as a catcher was exciting. Alas, his hit tool did not justify the poor glove, and when he tried to catch, the hitting suffered.
So in other words he's the sort of guy who would be perfectly happy with Vazquez behind the plate and not so much worried about Swihart until Swihart forces the team to find a place to put him.
Oh and for the record, since we are talking about prospects, I haven't given up on Garin Cecchini just yet. The power implosion he suffered last year is troubling because it's exactly what happened to onetime stud prospect Lars Anderson, among an uncounted horde of others, but he's still young enough that it's too early to throw in the towel on Cecchini. The offseason moves by the organization to overload the team with third basemen from free agency suggests that he's got a long steep road to climb though.
Last edited by Dojji; 02-13-2015 at 02:48 PM.
If history tells us anything, the path to redeption for any bad baseball team is marked with a deep rotation of durable starters, a world class defense in both infield and outfield, a lineup that can generate runs in more than one way, a bullpen that won't steal defeat from the jaws of victory, and a top end catcher to hold the whole package together. These are the conditions by which victory is achieved, anything that does not accomplish these objectives is a waste of resources.
Cecchini went up from AA and saw his K rate rise and his walk rate get cut in half. He's a corner IFer without any power to speak of who was tearing up the lower levels due to solid plate discipline and a reasonable hit skill. His sudden loss of contact skills and sudden drop in walks is a big concern, especially since he's almost 24. He's not a child anymore. I think he's gonna end up a tweener. His prospect status got tied to a rock and dropped in the ocean.
On to Scoscia. Swihart is considered to be an average to above average catcher on the defensive end. If Napoli was an average to above average catcher defensively, they would have had him starting regularly. Catcher is one of the most important defensive positions in baseball. If the guy behind the dish blows ass defensively, it's going to get noticed. Especially by a former big league catcher
Hal sucks
Scioscia actively cost his teams wins with that decision btw, since there were potted plants who offered more offensive promise than Mathis.
Swihart tracks to be - not an adequate defender - but a good to very good defender who might be athletically overqualified to catch. That is a different kettle of fish. I like both guys btw, but if you have two quality young starting catchers, hoarding them is not the best way to make your team better.
Book on Cecchini is not written yet, but the move to AAA definitely slowed his momentum. If he is the best 3B prospect in the org, it's because he is close to the bigs. He can probably be a solid 3B for somebody, but he has very much moved (if he was not there already) into the "trade currency" bucket.