Phillies: 5 catcher options if J.T. Realmuto leaves

Let the Kids Play

This might be the least favorable option for the Phillies, but it would be the most cost-effective.

Instead of unloading their entire farm system to acquire another catcher now could be the time to, at the very least, test the young catchers in the farm system.

MLB Pipeline has three catchers in the Phillies top-30 prospect list while Baseball America (subscription required) has five. The biggest problem is, only one of those players is close to being major league ready.

That one guy would be Deivy Grullon, who appeared in four games last season and hit just 1-9 with two strikeouts. Granted, that’s a very small sample for a guy playing his first handful of major league games.

In Lehigh Valley last season Grullon hit .283 with 24 doubles and 21 home runs. As Larry Bowa says, those minor league doubles turn into home runs, so the power potential for Grullon is there.

Unfortunately, Grullon isn’t even considered the Phillies top catching prospect and most of those guys are very far away in the minors. Both of the aforementioned publications have Rafael Marchan in their top-seven prospects in the organization for his skills behind the plate.

MLB Pipeline says Marchan’s defensive abilities are big league ready, but he hasn’t played higher than Advanced-A and he’s never hit a home run since joining the minor leagues as a 17-year-old.

Rodolfo Duran has played at the same level as Marchan but has more power, hitting 18 home runs in Single-A Lakewod back in 2018.

Baseball America also ranks Logan O’Hoppe (a teenager in Low-A Williamsport), Abrahan Gutierrez (a 20-year-old in Single-A Lakewood), and Andrick Nava (an 18-year-old who played rookie ball last year) in the Phillies system, but they are all clearly very far away from being in the big leagues.

That would leave Grullon as your opening day catcher in 2021, which would not excite a lot of Phillies fans.