Phillies 2016 Grades: Catchers
The Philadelphia Phillies received solid production out of the catching position in the 2016 season, and there may be even greater talent coming soon.
Entering the 2016 MLB regular season, the catching position appeared to be one in which the Phillies were in a holding pattern at the big league level while the organization waited for a pair of top prospects to develop further.
The likely starter was going to be Cameron Rupp, with longtime veteran Carlos Ruiz serving as the backup until such time as he was traded away to some contender.
At that point, if not sooner, catching prospect Andrew Knapp would be promoted to the Phillies to begin his own big league career.
Knapp had been one of the 2015 Phillies organizational Paul Owens Award winners, the top hitting prospect in the club’s minor league system last season.
Also down in the minor leagues, one of the pieces obtained from Texas in last year’s big Cole Hamels trade was catcher Jorge Alfaro, who was seen by many as even more talented than Knapp, though further away developmentally.
Rupp wasn’t seen by most as much more than a backup catcher at the Major League level, hitting for just a .233/.301/.374 slash line across 299 plate appearances a year ago in his first significant, regular playing time.
However, Rupp had drilled nine home runs in that time, demonstrating that he could likely be counted on for 15-20 homers if given the position on a full-time basis for the entire season.
As could be expected, these last six months since the club was sorting it all out back at spring training in Clearwater have been a mixed bag where those catching expectations are concerned.
The most disappointing result at the catching position this year is easily the stalling out, at least for now, of Knapp at the AAA level.
After hitting for a combined .308/.385/.491 slash line with 13 homers, 84 RBI, and 77 runs scored at High-A Clearwater and AA Reading in 2015, Knapp fell off to .266/.330/.390 with eight homers, 46 RBI, and 55 runs scored with AAA Lehigh Valley this season. He never reached Philly.
Ruiz was finally dealt away at the end of August to the Los Angeles Dodgers. In return the Phillies received veteran catcher A.J. Ellis, along with minor leaguers Tommy Bergjans and Joey Curletta.
Ellis was a bit of a surprising addition to the deal, and both Dodgers fans and his teammates were disappointed to see him go to the Phillies. He provided a nice backup to Rupp over this past month.
So let’s give a grade to the four players who did see catching time this year with the Fightin’ Phils: Rupp, Ruiz, Ellis, and Alfaro.
CAMERON RUPP
Rupp took over the full-time catching duties with the Phillies this season, becoming the first regular at the position other than Ruiz since Mike Lieberthal‘s final season in 2006.
In 2016, Rupp has hit for a .252/.307/.453 slash line with 16 home runs and 52 RBI over 398 plate appearances in exactly 100 games played through this past weekend.
He has also worked very well with a staff that has seen 27 different pitchers toe the rubber at one point or another, including 10 different starting pitchers, seven of whom received at least 10 starts.
Defensively, Rupp is a tough competitor, as demonstrated by his highlight reel play back in May on a perfect strike from left fielder Tyler Goeddel, a play that still might be the best defensive play by the Phillies this season.
Toughness and leadership aside, however, Rupp grades out as mediocre defensively this season.
He is 11th in all of MLB in Fielding Percentage at the catching position, but has one of the worst stolen-base percentages in the game. His seven passed balls leaves him currently in a six-way tie for 12th in the game.
All in all, Rupp has provided about what the Phillies should have hoped offensively, while handling the everyday catching duties well.
It is also fairly obvious that in turning 28 years old this week, Rupp is fully developed. What you see is what you get.
Frankly, at least for me, he is what he is: a second-division regular, but a backup catcher for a contending team.
GRADE FOR 2016: C+
CARLOS RUIZ
The beloved “Chooch”, a fan favorite who was the Phillies starting catcher from 2007 through most of last season, was finally traded away as expected in late August.
Ruiz is almost assuredly headed for a place on the Phillies Wall of Fame one day for his overall body of work during the past decade, especially for his contributions to the 2008 World Series winners and the clubs that won five straight NL East crowns.
However, sentimentality aside, we are grading on his 2016 performance and production. The now 37-year old Ruiz saw 223 plate appearances over 47 games behind the plate this season before the trade.
Included among his offensive totals were a number of appearances as a pinch-hitter, as well as his serving as the DH during one Interleague contest.
Ruiz hit for a .255/.359/.339 slash line with three homers and 12 RBI this year. He did have a strong year defensively.
He is currently tied for 16th in the NL in runners caught stealing, even though he has significantly fewer innings played than many ahead of him in the rankings. The stolen base percentage against him is the best in the NL among all players with roughly 500 or more total defensive chances.
Ruiz is what he is now, which is a tremendously experienced, veteran catcher who still has value to a team such as the Dodgers, legitimately chasing a championship.
But his greatest value comes with the caveat that he perform as the backup catcher at this point in his career.
While most Phillies fans probably don’t like the thought of rooting for the Dodgers, I am fairly certain that those still paying attention in October will be rooting for LA, if only because of the presence of Chooch and Chase Utley on the Dodgers roster.
GRADE FOR 2016: C
A.J. ELLIS
Ellis arrived from the Los Angeles Dodgers in late August, and has played in 10 games with the Phillies since that time, receiving 31 plate appearances.
His slash line is a solid .286/.355/.500 during that limited exposure here in Philly, and he has also provided a home run and nine RBI offensively.
Ellis is a strong defensive catcher, the 35-year old is a perfect backup at this stage of his career. He fills that role well for the Phillies, and his surprising inclusion in the Ruiz deal basically meant that the Phils didn’t miss a beat at the position.
GRADE FOR 2016: B
JORGE ALFARO
Alfaro has surpassed Knapp as the top catching prospect in the Phillies system, and at this point is clearly the club’s catcher of the future.
Giving him a grade based solely on his work in Philly would result in an “Incomplete”, considering that he has just 17 plate appearances across a half-dozen September games, and has only appeared behind the plate four times. He has a pair of hits and a walk in those appearances.
However, he may have been the top Phillies position player prospect this season, at least as far as among those widely considered to have genuine big league impact potential.
Alfaro hit for a .285/.325/.458 slash line at AA Reading before his promotion, with 15 homers, 67 RBI, 68 runs scored, and 21 doubles. He skipped the AAA level altogether.
There is a very real chance that he returns to the minors at the start of the 2017 season, getting regular games behind the dish with AAA Lehigh Valley while Rupp continues catching here in Philly.
However, Alfaro already has a big league arm, has an advanced offensive game, and is going to take the starting position with the Phillies at some point. Now it’s just a question of when that happens.
Rupp has no margin for error, and Alfaro should be back up at some point next summer, at the latest.