Arguably the best defensive catcher in the league (with two consecutive Gold Glove Awards to show for it), Matt Wieters has established himself as one of the best all-around catchers in baseball. He knows how to call an excellent game from behind the plate and he’ll keep even the fastest base runner on his toes. But while Wieters has become known for his defensive prowess, his offensive numbers have been average.
Before I get into all the details, let me make one thing clear. I do not think Wieters is a bad hitter, nor do I feel as though he should not be a staple in Buck’s fierce lineup. I will admit, however, that I’m becoming a bit impatient.
Coming out of the minors, Wieters was the highest ranked prospect in baseball. He was thrown into the big leagues during a time when Joe Mauer set the standard for catchers. Wieters made his debut on May 29, 2009, right in the midst of Mauer’s MVP season. Not only was Wieters supposed to fill the shoes (well, cleats) of the Twins backstop as the AL’s best… he was supposed to be even better.
Dubbed “Mauer with Power,” Wieters had (and still has) rather high expectations, even for somebody with his skill set. To this point, he’s only lived up to his defensive hype. Wieters has two Gold Gloves to Mauer’s three, and it wouldn’t surprise anybody if he won a few more.
Mauer, a career .323 hitter in his tenth season, has 100 career home runs. Wieters has 73 homers in about half that time, but is a lifetime .258 hitter. His season high in home runs came last season, when he nailed 23 long flies.
While that’s nothing to sneeze at, he’s capable of more than that. 30 HR and 100 RBI are within the realm of possibility, especially hitting in this lineup. At the rate at which he’s going this season, however, he would need to go on a Chris Davis-esque tear in order to even come close to that.
Wieters has represented the Orioles at the All Star Game for each of the past two seasons and is currently in a position to do so again this season (Wieters is currently in second place amongst catchers, behind only, you guessed it, Joe Mauer).
Does he deserve it?
Absolutely.
Is there room for improvement?
Without a doubt.
He’s still young and there is plenty of time for him to break out. I just wish it would happen sooner than later.
For now, I’m content with Manny Machado and “Crush” Davis stealing the show.
2 Responses
I’d definitely like to see him hit more as well and think he can improve. But even if he doesn’t become Mauer with power, he is still a great all-around catcher and one of the most valuable players on the team. What he does behind the plate and his leadership can’t be underestimated. And he’s a good enough hitter with some power who produces some runs and gets some big hits. With the lineup the O’s have he doesn’t need to be anything else. It would be a bonus, but overall he’s one of the anchors of a contending team.
If he puts up Jorge Posada type numbers that would be more than sufficient. Posada had a good reputation as a hitter but only averaged 24 hrs in his career and his highs were 28 and 30 and lifetime BA of 273 and always had a decent OBP. Defensively he was better than he got credit for, was ok at throwing out runners in his prime but terrible at the end of his career and could always call a good game. Wieters is already leaps and bounds ahead of Posada defensively. Mauer is an anomaly. The real comparision should be Varitek and Posada. Defensively he’s already proven better than Posada, and he’s already arguably better offensively and perhaps defensively than Varitek was.