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Post by thelavarnwayguy on May 10, 2013 18:53:44 GMT -5
Swihart is quietly impressing. Hope it continues.
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Post by Matt Huegel on May 11, 2013 17:27:23 GMT -5
This kid is interesting in that he seems to be extremely small, especially for a catcher. But this impression is just from seeing him on MLB during a spring training game. From all accounts he is a good athlete and has head on straight. Just what is his height and build. It certainly is not what is posted. I am not saying that he is not a prospect if he is in fact very small. Yogi was very much on the short side. Just curious. Thanks in advance. He's really not that small in person, height-wise at least. He's listed at 6-foot-1 and he's probably about that. The question is more in his lower half and overall build, as he's not the thickest/sturdiest (like Vazquez for example, who is shorter and stockier), but we'll have to see how he continues to fill out. I wouldn't say he's overly thin though, just he has more the build of say a third baseman right now than a catcher.
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Post by thelavarnwayguy on May 11, 2013 18:44:18 GMT -5
I hear the comments about the lower half but is it just that most catchers are built like that because it helps, or is it because most catchers are not conventional baseball athletes. I think more of the former. I'm sure he wouldn't be able to block the plate like a larger catcher but quickness is probably an underappreciated asset at catcher.
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Post by thelavarnwayguy on May 11, 2013 18:46:27 GMT -5
I flat out love the idea of having a great "Athlete" as a catcher. A better bat with more defensive ability potentially long term. A catcher who can get a few infield hits is not a bad thing. One with quicker pop times...etc. I can't believe it took this long for baseball to move in that direction.
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Post by ray88h66 on May 11, 2013 18:54:30 GMT -5
I flat out love the idea of having a great "Athlete" as a catcher. A better bat with more defensive ability potentially long term. A catcher who can get a few infield hits is not a bad thing. One with quicker pop times...etc. I can't believe it took this long for baseball to move in that direction. I do to. And thin guys can do just fine at catcher. Jason Kendall is just one that comes to mind. 6 foot 180lbs.
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Post by sammo420 on May 11, 2013 21:09:43 GMT -5
I flat out love the idea of having a great "Athlete" as a catcher. A better bat with more defensive ability potentially long term. A catcher who can get a few infield hits is not a bad thing. One with quicker pop times...etc. I can't believe it took this long for baseball to move in that direction. I do to. And thin guys can do just fine at catcher. Jason Kendall is just one that comes to mind. 6 foot 180lbs. I'd also argue it could be easier on his knees. I do full ATG squats where I go all the way down to the ground and in doing as much research as I could before starting them the only evidence of stretching of the knee ligaments was in people with very big developed calves and hamstrings.
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Post by thelavarnwayguy on May 16, 2013 3:47:24 GMT -5
It wouldn't surprise me at all if Swihart becomes even better defensively than he is as a hitter. He is a heck of an athlete. He is getting there defensively by all accounts and probably continues to improve in that department. If that ends up being the case he need only hit .250 with a little pop to be a mlb starter at catcher.
And there is a good chance he will be so much more than that. He is part of an outstanding talent pool on the Redsox farm. A pool of talent that is likely to succeed.
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jimoh
Veteran
Posts: 3,962
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Post by jimoh on May 16, 2013 6:34:56 GMT -5
Last night in Zebulon NC I saw Swihart make a throw to 2b on a sb attempt that hit the infielder's glove at ground level and was waiting, waiting a while, for the runner's foot to slide into it.
He also got a key hit on a 3-2 pitch by lining a ball over shortstop while hitting LH.
He does look unimposing physically, though.
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Post by Guidas on May 16, 2013 7:52:49 GMT -5
It wouldn't surprise me at all if Swihart becomes even better defensively than he is as a hitter. He is a heck of an athlete. He is getting there defensively by all accounts and probably continues to improve in that department. If that ends up being the case he need only hit .250 with a little pop to be a mlb starter at catcher. And there is a good chance he will be so much more than that. He is part of an outstanding talent pool on the Redsox farm. A pool of talent that is likely to succeed. You just basically described Dan Butler.
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Post by fenwaythehardway on May 16, 2013 14:58:01 GMT -5
Dan Butler can't even crack the mendoza line in AAA ball and he's 26 years old.
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Post by vermontsox1 on Jun 26, 2013 10:20:16 GMT -5
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Post by larrycook on Jun 29, 2013 7:56:52 GMT -5
This kid is one of the hidden gems of the Red Sox minor leaguers. He guns down 40% of base runners, he appears to handle a pitching staff well and he can hit a little. Tremendous attitude and work effort.
I do think the Sox need to be patient with him however. Kind of a base to base approach because he does need extra time to fill out and learn the nuances of the position. His footwork from last year to this year has gotten a lot better.
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Jun 29, 2013 12:17:15 GMT -5
I'm quote from a gameday thread, but I figure it belongs here: I think it needs to be pointed out that Blake Swihart has a higher OPS than Gary Sanchez at the same level and close to the same age (Blake is 8 months older)Eight months is actually significant in that context, though. Compare Sanchez now to where Swihart was eight months ago-- Sanchez is way ahead of him. It's not an exact comparison of course, but the point is that a LOT can happen in eight months when you're talking about a ~20 year old player. I won't attempt to make a comparison between the two because I honestly don't know enough about Sanchez, but the age difference actually does matter. That said, I do love me some Swihart. I'm a big fan of players who have a broad set of skills and/or no glaring weaknesses. What's Swihart's biggest weakness as a player? Scouts like the hitting ability and the statistical production is there, the power potential isn't huge but there's enough that he should get the bat knocked out of his hands as he moves up, he's got defensive ceiling of catcher and notably won't have to move directly to first if he doesn't stick there. I guess you could say he's not as good hitting righty, but it's not glaring and the lefty swing is more important anyway. And while he might be a little on the older side for an elite prospect, I like the fact that you can see a lot of progression out of him. Last year he was in low-A and hitting adequately. Now he's up a level and hitting pretty damn well, with better K/BB numbers. I'd be much more worried about his age if he wasn't making fairly rapid progress. It's just hard to find a lot of red flags on the guy and I love that.
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steveofbradenton
Veteran
Watching Spring Training, the FCL, and the Florida State League
Posts: 1,823
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Post by steveofbradenton on Jun 29, 2013 13:15:32 GMT -5
I'm quote from a gameday thread, but I figure it belongs here: I think it needs to be pointed out that Blake Swihart has a higher OPS than Gary Sanchez at the same level and close to the same age (Blake is 8 months older)Eight months is actually significant in that context, though. Compare Sanchez now to where Swihart was eight months ago-- Sanchez is way ahead of him. It's not an exact comparison of course, but the point is that a LOT can happen in eight months when you're talking about a ~20 year old player. I won't attempt to make a comparison between the two because I honestly don't know enough about Sanchez, but the age difference actually does matter. That said, I do love me some Swihart. I'm a big fan of players who have a broad set of skills and/or no glaring weaknesses. What's Swihart's biggest weakness as a player? Scouts like the hitting ability and the statistical production is there, the power potential isn't huge but there's enough that he should get the bat knocked out of his hands as he moves up, he's got defensive ceiling of catcher and notably won't have to move directly to first if he doesn't stick there. I guess you could say he's not as good hitting righty, but it's not glaring and the lefty swing is more important anyway. And while he might be a little on the older side for an elite prospect, I like the fact that you can see a lot of progression out of him. Last year he was in low-A and hitting adequately. Now he's up a level and hitting pretty damn well, with better K/BB numbers. I'd be much more worried about his age if he wasn't making fairly rapid progress. It's just hard to find a lot of red flags on the guy and I love that. His righty and lefty splits look identical at this point....other than the power. I find that very positive.
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Post by ray88h66 on Jun 29, 2013 14:43:39 GMT -5
This kid is one of the hidden gems of the Red Sox minor leaguers. He guns down 40% of base runners, he appears to handle a pitching staff well and he can hit a little. Tremendous attitude and work effort. I do think the Sox need to be patient with him however. Kind of a base to base approach because he does need extra time to fill out and learn the nuances of the position. His footwork from last year to this year has gotten a lot better.
I've read that in several reports on him. I'm a big fan, hope he keeps improving and stays at catcher.
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radiohix
Veteran
'At the end of the day, we bang. We bang. We're going to swing.' Alex Verdugo
Posts: 6,195
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Post by radiohix on Jun 29, 2013 15:03:47 GMT -5
Swihat age vs League: 2012: 20 vs 21.7 2013: 21 vs 22.8 BB rate: 2012: 6.9% 2103: 12.2% k rate: 2012: 18% 2013: 16.5% IsoP: 2012: .134 2013: .165 Improvement all across the board, this is very impressive to me.
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Jun 29, 2013 15:32:51 GMT -5
Swihat age vs League: 2012: 20 vs 21.7 2013: 21 vs 22.8 I really wish we had stats (maybe we do?) on the age of future major leaguers by league, possibly broken down by college/HS draftees. It's nice that Swihart is still somewhat young for his leagues, but these leagues contain any number of 25 year old org guys, so it's not really clear if he's ahead of the curve or not.
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Post by chavopepe2 on Jun 29, 2013 16:57:38 GMT -5
Not exactly what you're looking for, but I looked at the top 10 prospects in each of the three A+ leagues last year according to BA. Their ages at the beginning of the season were:
19: 7 20: 13 21: 5 22: 5
I was just scanning through and used May 1 as the cutoff. Considering Swihart would be the youngest possible 21 - and the fact that he is a catcher - I'd say he is age appropriate for a prospect in A+.
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Post by okin15 on Jul 1, 2013 10:49:44 GMT -5
Swihat age vs League: 2012: 20 vs 21.7 2013: 21 vs 22.8 I really wish we had stats (maybe we do?) on the age of future major leaguers by league, possibly broken down by college/HS draftees. It's nice that Swihart is still somewhat young for his leagues, but these leagues contain any number of 25 year old org guys, so it's not really clear if he's ahead of the curve or not. We have the patented age advancement scale: www.soxprospects.com/wiki.html
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Jul 1, 2013 14:04:02 GMT -5
I know, but...
What is that actually based on?
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Post by semperfisox on Jul 1, 2013 20:19:35 GMT -5
I was hoping we took this kid in the draft, still like him.
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Post by thelavarnwayguy on Aug 8, 2013 0:57:27 GMT -5
I'm not seeing it anywhere but I believe I read the other day that Swihart was selected as the top defensive catcher in his league this year. Considering how rough he was when drafted, when people were wondering if he would even stick defensively at catcher, that would seem to be a huge improvement. The kid is a tremendous athlete. It is easy to see just from watching him play for a few minutes. And the bat has been progressing nicely. He is potentially the next big mover to me.
Recently his bat has been trending upward also if I remember correctly.
EDIT: Hitting .410 over his last 10 games!
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Post by wskeleton76 on Aug 8, 2013 1:39:23 GMT -5
I'm not seeing it anywhere but I believe I read the other day that Swihart was selected as the top defensive catcher in his league this year. Considering how rough he was when drafted, when people were wondering if he would even stick defensively at catcher, that would seem to be a huge improvement. The kid is a tremendous athlete. It is easy to see just from watching him play for a few minutes. And the bat has been progressing nicely. He is potentially the next big mover to me. Recently his bat has been trending upward also if I remember correctly. EDIT: Hitting .410 over his last 10 games! BA selected him as the best defensive catcher in the Carolina league.
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Post by burythehammer on Aug 8, 2013 5:38:24 GMT -5
Lavarnway was voted best defensive catcher in the IL a year or two ago. He might be excellent but I wouldn't put much stock in that.
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Post by amfox1 on Aug 8, 2013 8:30:48 GMT -5
Dan Butler can't even crack the mendoza line in AAA ball and he's 26 years old. Funny to look back on SSS comments. Butler is now 283/380/513/893 in 257 AB+BB.
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