As spring training approaches, Marlins plan to go with familiar faces at catcher
With MLB spring training scheduled to begin on Feb. 17, it’s time to start evaluating who the Miami Marlins will have in camp. In the first of a five-part series, we break down the Marlins’ catchers.
Heading into the offseason, it looked as if the Marlins would potentially be on the market for a catcher.
But general manager Kim Ng last month said the Marlins were “fairly set” at that position.
With just more than a week until pitchers and catchers report to the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex in Jupiter, expect to see a lot of familiar faces.
The starter
Right now, the starting catcher spot is Jorge Alfaro’s to lose. He has been the Marlins’ primary starter behind the plate since they acquired him from the Philadelphia Phillies as part of the J.T. Realmuto trade.
They know his potential with the bat. His 90.5 mph average exit velocity during the past two seasons leads all Marlins players with at least 200 balls put into play and is fifth among all catchers in that time frame (behind only Gary Sanchez, Mitch Garver, Travis d’Arnaud and Yasmani Grandal). He also has 21 home runs and 73 RBI over 161 games with Miami.
But his strikeout rate is still far too high — 33.1 percent in 2019, 36 percent in 2020 — and his defense still needs improvement. This will be his year to prove if he can be the Marlins’ guy.
The backup
Chad Wallach has proven to be serviceable in limited roles. The Marlins trusted his defense and ability to call a game late in the season and ultimately started him in four of their five playoff games.
Wallach, 29, is a career .209 hitter in 148 at-bats with 14 RBI, three home runs and 12 runs scored.
Someone to watch
While the Marlins say they are confident with Alfaro and Wallach, they also are bringing veteran Sandy Leon to camp on a minor-league deal.
The 30-year-old has played in 417 career big-league games, including 351 starts behind the plate, through nine big-league seasons. He’s a switch-hitter with a career .216 batting average with 27 home runs, 52 doubles, 127 RBI and 133 runs scored. Leon started his career with the Washington Nationals but received the bulk of his MLB playing time during his five years with the Boston primarily with the Boston Red Sox from 2015 to 2019.
His best season as a big-leaguer came in 2016, when he hit .310 with 17 doubles, seven home runs, 35 RBI and 36 runs scored through 78 games.
His strength is in his defense and framing. Per Statcast, Leon, had a 49.8 percent called strike rate on the edges of the strike zone in 2020. That ranked 22nd out of 62 qualified catchers. Wallach ranked 52nd (45.8%). Alfaro was last (41.3%).
Leon also ranked 18th among 64 qualified catchers in this category in 2019 (51.6%) and 12th among 60 qualified catchers in 2018 (51.2%).
The top prospect
Will Banfield, the 69th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, remains the Marlins’ highest-ranked catcher prospect. He’s the 30th-ranked prospect in the organization by MLB Pipeline, which notes that he “looks like a future Gold Glover” but “will have to make some offensive improvements to become an everyday player in the big leagues.”
Banfield has a career .209 batting average with 12 home runs, 73 RBI and 56 runs scored over 140 minor-league games. He has yet to play above Class A.
“He has a quick bat and some strength, producing impressive exit velocities when he barrels the ball,” MLB Pipeline wrote in its scouting report, “but that happens too infrequently because his approach is too aggressive and his right-handed stroke gets too long.”
Others at camp
Brian Navarreto and Nick Forte as of Monday are the only other catchers announced as members of the Marlins’ big-league camp.
Navarreto played in two games for the Marlins during the shortened 2020 season, going 2 for 5 at the plate.
Fortes has not played above Class A Advanced.
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 2:30 PM.
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