Miami Marlins Spring Training Preview: The Catchers

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ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 23: Jorge Alfaro #38 of the Philadelphia Phillies, now a backstop for the Miami Marlins, swings and knocks his helmet off while hitting against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park on September 23, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Stephen Nowland/Getty Images) /

In the leadup to the Miami Marlins Spring Training opener on Saturday, we’re breaking down the roster.

What will the Opening Day roster look like for the Miami Marlins? We know a few things, but we don’t know everything, and that’s why they play the games. On Monday, we broke down the starting rotation, on Tuesday the outfield, and yesterday the bullpen. Today we take a look deep inside the catcher corps. Tune in tomorrow for a dive into the infield.

What do we know for sure now that J.T. Realmuto has departed for the northern fields of Philadelphia? The one thing we can count on is that the new starter going in is Jorge Alfaro, part of the haul gained in the deal.

Miami Marlins Starting Catcher

Alfaro is just 25-years-old coming into the 2019 campaign, with just over a year of service time. Despite short looks in 2016 and 2017, the 2018 season was his official rookie year.

As quoted quite succinctly by John Butterworth at Fish Stripes,

Not only did Alfaro swing the most of any other catcher with a minimum of 300 plate appearances in 2018, but he also had the most swings and misses. Even worse, he swung the second-most frequently at pitches outside the zone, and missed a staggering 57.10% of those swings—the most among all catchers included in this analysis. Oh, and did I mention he struck out in 36.6% of his at-bats in 2018? Yikes.

At the plate, Alfaro has shown power but almost zero patience. 15 career homers in 508 plate appearances, and only 22 walks. He’s also struck out 179 times over his first 143 games. His slashline, at .270/.327/.422, results in a strongish .749 OPS, and an OPS+ of 99. So, he’s well above replacement level when it’s all said and done, but a near dead-average major league hitter.

Defensively, Alfaro has caught 136 games, and fielded at .989 in 1143 1/3 innings of work. He’s thrown out 26-of-98 baserunners trying to steal, or 27 percent, and passed 14 balls in his career. Work to do, sure, but this is our starter moving forward, and he’s still just 25.

Alfaro is locked in, but that leaves six more backstops in camp competing for one roster spot. Who has the inside track?

Bryan Holaday

Bryan Holaday seems to have the inside track on the primary backup roster spot due to his 2018 track record. Last season, he hit only .205/.261/.258 as the number two catcher, giving Realmuto a break approximately once per week, but that’s not the whole story.

Defensively, Holaday, now 31, led the National League by throwing out 45 percent of baserunners trying to steal, 17 times in 38 tries. He caught 357 1/3 innings without an error, and handled all of those pitches with only one passed ball. This sort of defensive excellence should be rewarded with a roster position. The Miami Marlins signed Holaday with the intention of getting a solid backup catcher, and in 2018, that’s just what they got. He can do the same in 2019.

Chad Wallach

Chad Wallach was the Miami Marlins third catcher last season, and didn’t get significant playing time until September. Now 28, Wallach went eight-for-45 at the plate for the Miami Marlins last season, with one home run and five RBI. Disconcertingly, he struck out in nearly 50 percent of his plate appearances, 23 times in 52.

I wrote back in October:

Wallach is a solid backup catcher, mainly for his unquestionably sound defensive prowess. In addition to his rifle of a right arm, he’s also blessed with quick feet, is great pitch framer, an excellent pitch caller, and knows how to position himself when there’s a play at the plate.

Wallach threw out three-of-seven trying to steal, in keeping with the trend of Marlins catching defensive prowess from top-to-bottom. He finished with one error in 121 2/3 innings, like Holaday allowing only one passed ball.

The state of Marlins catching leaves four more on the outside trying to get in.

Sharif Othman

Sharif Othman turns 30 just prior to 2019 Opening Day, and has played in the Miami Marlins system for seven of the past eight seasons (he played in the New York Yankees system in 2017).

Only last season did Othman graduate to the triple-A level, with the New Orleans Baby Cakes in the Pacific Coast League where he went five-for-27. He carries a career .202/.265/.302 slashline, and has thrown out 24.6 percent of runners trying to steal overall.

B.J. Lopez

B.J. Lopez is a seven-year professional baseball veteran. After working in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization for the first six of those years, he caught on with the Miami Marlins in 2018.

Lopez played in 24 games for the short-season-A Greensboro Grasshoppers in the South Atlantic League and in 36 contests at high-A with the Jupiter Hammerheads in the Florida State League. Overall, he hit .185/.269/.206 between the two levels, while throwing out nearly half (34-of-71) trying to steal on him.

Rodrigo Vigil

Rodrigo Vigil is entering his 10th season in the Miami Marlins system. Last season, he spent the year with the double-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, in the Southern League, and slashed .245/.289/.343 with five homers and 22 RBI. This is significant only because he collected a grand total of three in his previous eight seasons of ball, over 1256 plate appearances.

Defensively, Vigil has gunned down 39.6 percent of runners trying to steal over his career. It’s not an aberration with numbers padded at lower levels either. Last season with the Shrimp he took out 37.9 percent.

Santiago Chavez

Santiago Chavez has been a minor league farmhand for the Oakland Athletics system for the last seven seasons. The Miami Marlins signed him to a minor league deal on November 5th.

Chavez has a career .198/.249/.251 slashline, but in keeping with the trend of great defensive catchers in the system, has cut down 46.4 percent of runners trying to steal through his career.

Verdict

After Alfaro, competition remains stiff for the backup spot. Excepting Alfaro and Othman, the other five catchers are at better than 37 percent at nailing runners, a key component of success as a major league backstop. However, only Vigil projects to a batting average approaching .250.

Thanks for reading. Check back tomorrow for a look inside the Miami Marlins infield.

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