Phillies Spring Training Position Preview: Catchers
The Starter: Cameron Rupp
Cameron Rupp was a nice surprise during the first half of the 2016 baseball season. As the Phillies began the season, the hope was that Rupp would be a sufficient enough bridge until one of Andrew Knapp or Jorge Alfaro progressed to be big-league ready. Rupp did the organization one better though.
During the first four months of the season, Rupp was playing at a level that far exceed the expectations of the Phils and fans. Heading into the All-Star break, the 28 year old was slashing .287/.329/.507, but when the break ended, Rupp’s season started to subtly decline.
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In the second half, Rupp put up a .211/.274/.378 line. The .184 point drop in his OPS obviously points to a decline in production. In addition, Rupp struck out in nearly 30% of his official at bats on the season. That number is way too high for a guy the Phillies are counting on to catch a bulk of their games in 2017. Defensively, he only threw out 27% (17/62) of base stealers, but only allowed 6 passed balls on the season.
However, a closer look at some other stats point to some areas of improvements. For example, Rupp nearly doubled his walk output.
Yes, it was a weak 9 walks in the first half to 15 walks in the second (24 total), but there is a glimmer of hope that he could build on the patience. Rupp showed the power potential that was seemingly his biggest strength when he launched 15 homers this season. The number ranked him ninth among catchers starting more than 100 games.
Rupp is an interesting case and will more than likely continue to be seen as the bridge for what is to come. He did a nice job handling a young pitching staff during his opportunities in 2016, and the Phils hope he will continue to provide that piece to the puzzle for at least part of 2017.