I am not sure what more I can say, or needs to be said, that I haven't said consistently and constantly for four years, since I first saw him as a 19-year-old in Greenvllle. I appreciate this forum a ton, and too much to get invested in my own opinion, but: the guy is on the 40-man. And he's there for a reason: because the Sox know that had they not protected him he would have been poached in the Rule 5, and they wouldn't have gotten him back. And that's merely a bureaucratic way of saying that, defensively, he could be on someone's big-league roster right now. (The bat is a work in progress, but, as I've said repeatedly, I think it will be there. And bear in mind that it is one reason why catchers are late-developers, as anyone watching Salty can tell you.)
Way, way too much is going on in minor-league ballgames to assess a catcher's skills and potential by so-called -- so-called in part because you have no idea who is scoring the game -- wild pitches or passed balls or bad throws or stolen bases. A lot of that stuff has nothing at all to do with the catcher: zero. I will tell you that as a seam-headed observer, as a player, and as a coach who works with pro ballplayers. An example: have any of you ever caught a big-league velocity fastball? Let me tell you, until you have, you have no idea. If you set inside, and your pitcher cranks one at 95 that moves on planes but misses by a foot or more -- which of course is common in the minors -- you are going to be chasing it to the backstop. Period. I don't care how good you are. And let's not even talk breaking balls. Rich Hill threw to him -- a big leaguer with command, not a minor leaguer learning control -- and Rich Hill couldn't stop raving about him. What does that tell you?
It's no offense to anyone, and not meant to be, and the last thing I want to sound like is a know-it-all jerk. But if we are going to evaluate, let's try to do it with a little more understanding of what we're seeing. And perhaps it would be wiser in us to give a little more credit to what the Red Sox organization is seeing. They signed AJP for one year. Ross is up after this year. What does that tell you?
EDIT: Thanks, Montana. Had I seen yours before I spleened out I probably would have just held my tongue, since I think I just embarrassed myself. But having posted it, I'll live with it and take my lumps. I appreciate you, brother.