Astros MiLB Position Review: Catcher
Now that the season is over we will review each position in the minor league system during the 2018 seaso. This week we will start with catcher position.
TOP PERFORMERS
Garrett Stubbs
Stubbs was drafted by the Astros in the 8th round of the 2015 draft. He has steadily moved through the system and had a solid season in 2018. In 84 games for the Grizzlies he hit .310 striking out just 53 times. He also caught 19 of 42 base stealers for a 45% caught stealing rate. Overall he had a 120 wRC+ with a solid 10.3 BB%. He will probably make his major league debut sometime next season.
2018 Stats: 84 G, .310 BA/.382 OBP/.455 SLG, 19 2B, 6 3B, 4 HR, 38 RBI, 6 SB, 35 BB/53 SO
Lorenzo Quintana
The Astros signed Quintana for $200,000 back in November 2017 out of Cuba. He was seen as a more offense-first backup, and he showed that at times in 2018. Overall he hit .254 with 19 2B, 11 HR in 70 games for 116 wRC+. Quintana got hot in July though hitting .333 with 8 HR and 20 RBI in 18 games. Its hard to profile him moving forward given his age, 29, but will probably see time at AAA in 2019.
2018 Stats: 70 G, .254 BA/.316 OBP/.484 SLG, 19 2B, 11 HR, 42 RBI, 15 BB/47 SO
Jamie Ritchie
Ritchie is a lesser known prospect in the Astros system who was drafted in the 13th round of 2014 draft. But Ritchie continues to perform well offensively. In 2018 he split time between AA and AAA and hit .293 with .390 OBP in 70 games. Overall he had a 121 wRC+ and 11.0 BB%. He threw out 32% of base stealers in 2018.
2018 Stats: 70 G, .293 BA/.390 OBP/.405 SLG, 16 2B, 3 HR, 31 RBI, 31 BB/57 SO
THE REST OF THE PACK
Jose Alvarez
Alvarez showed a lot of promise with the bat this year hitting .359 with .854 OPS in 44 games for the DSL Astros. He should make his stateside debut next year at 19 years old.
2017 Stats: 44 G, .359 BA/.434 OBP/.420 SLG, 8 2B, 15 RBI, 17 BB/27 SO
Nathan Perry
Perry is one of the higher ceiling prospects, 5th round pick in 2017. He made it to A- this season at just 18 years old, and while he showed some promise offensively, he finished with just a .198 BA, though he had a .377 OBP.
2017 Stats: 37 G, .198 BA/.377 OBP/.380 SLG, 5 2B, 5 HR, 18 RBI, 30 BB/29 SO
Chuckie Robinson
Robinson put together a great 2017 season hitting .274 with 33 2B and 15 HR. Unfortunately it didn’t translate to 2018 as he hit just .238 with 18 XBH in 75 games. He picked it up in the 2nd half hitting .317 with .887 OPS in 36 games.
2018 Stats: 75 G, .238 BA/.296 OBP/.365 SLG, 10 2B, 7 HR, 30 RBI, 21 BB/58 SO
2019 OUTLOOK/CONCLUSION
The Astros still lack an elite prospect at the catcher position, but they have a nice group of solid performers in Stubbs and Ritchie. Nathan Perry has a ton of upside but is still far away. We should see some of these guys on the MLB roster next year with the catcher position basically an unknown going into the 2019 season.
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**Photo Credit: Tammy Tucker**
