Ryan Hanigan: repairing and remodeling the catching situation

[The Gray Eagle]

He might look like a plumber, but Benbow in the Glob says Hanigan is a stablizing force.
"Since returning to the lineup last week, Hanigan has hit .333 (5 for 15) with three RBIs and five walks, giving the Sox a much-needed spark.
“First of all, he’s put up quality at-bats every time he’s walked to the plate,” said manager John Farrell. “Long at-bats, we’ve been able to put some guys in motion with him because of his bat control. A guy that rarely swings and misses. Some key RBIs in that mix. And for the games in which he’s been behind the plate, I think he’s led our guys through and implemented a very solid game plan.”
 
Brimac says he's solidified the catching corps.
"Ryan Hanigan could do nothing more than watch from the dugout for two months as the Red Sox tumbled into the cellar of the American League East. Boston was over .500 when a pitch deflected off New York’s Mark Teixeira and then hit Hanigan on his right hand, fracturing a finger so badly he required surgery. When Hanigan returned after a stint on the 60-day disabled list, a stint delayed an extra day by a canceled flight connection out of Philadelphia, the Red Sox were eight games under .500."
 
Tony Lee says Hanigan is really important for Pocello.
"In four starts pitching to Hanigan, Porcello owns a 3.60 ERA. The battery had not been together since Porcello allowed a run in seven dominant innings against a high-powered Toronto team on April 29, days before Hanigan broke a finger."
 
Hard to believe that he's only started 22 games all season long. Hopefully he stays healthy the rest of the way.
He has the highest OBP on the team at .388. Signed for next year too at $3.7 million, with a team option for 2017.
 
Nice remodeling job in the catching (and Porcello) by Hanigan. 
 

 

[brs3]

The Red Sox are 15-9 with Hanigan behind the plate. That's pretty awesome.

 

[Rasputin]

You know what's weird about this?
 
It makes me even higher on Christian Vazquez.
 
It also makes me want to try to keep three catchers this year and that would require some serious shenanigans like Swihart playing first.
 
It also makes me want to try to keep a different three catchers next year which is kind of ridiculous.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

You know what's weird about this?
 
It makes me even higher on Christian Vazquez.
 
It also makes me want to try to keep three catchers this year and that would require some serious shenanigans like Swihart playing first.
 
It also makes me want to try to keep a different three catchers next year which is kind of ridiculous.

If we are willing to move Swihart out from behind the plate wouldn't there be potentially better value for him on the trade market? His greatest value is as a catcher which makes him so desirable is his potential to hit 750-800 OPS......it isn't super hard to find a 1B to hit 750-800.

 

[Rasputin]

If we are willing to move Swihart out from behind the plate wouldn't there be potentially better value for him on the trade market? His greatest value is as a catcher which makes him so desirable is his potential to hit 750-800 OPS......it isn't super hard to find a 1B to hit 750-800.

 
I think having the extra roster flexibility and the insurance against having to go with drek in the case of an injury to Vazquez are worth more than the difference between Swihart and whatever we'd be getting for him. That obviously depends on the details of the trade, but I'm a big fan of flexiblity and I hate the thought that an injury to the wrong guy can completely derail a season.

 

[TomRicardo]

You know what's weird about this?
 
It makes me even higher on Christian Vazquez.
 
It also makes me want to try to keep three catchers this year and that would require some serious shenanigans like Swihart playing first.
 
It also makes me want to try to keep a different three catchers next year which is kind of ridiculous.

 
Vasquez is going to need to start next season in AAA.  You can't just put him back in MLB after missing a year.  I would go Swihart / Hanigan splitting time for the rest of this and to start next year.  Swihart was really starting to hit and look better before he got injured.

 

[foulkehampshire]

You know what's weird about this?
 
It makes me even higher on Christian Vazquez.
 
It also makes me want to try to keep three catchers this year and that would require some serious shenanigans like Swihart playing first.
 
It also makes me want to try to keep a different three catchers next year which is kind of ridiculous.

 
Swihart is one of the best 2 way catchers to come out of the minors in over a decade. You don't give up on that just because you have a couple good defensive catchers. Realistically its his position to lose. Ideally he should be getting another season in AAA anyways.

 

[gryoung]

I'm with Foulkehampshire. Swihart is a 2- way catching prospect with high ceilings both offensively and defensively. He's the future #1, maybe sooner than later.

Vazquez is a sound defensive catcher with limited offense. He's also coming off major surgery and his return to pre-injury form is not guaranteed.

Hanigan is a good #2 guy who is playing pretty well at the moment.

Leon is Vasquez with less offense.

In my view Swihart is the guy going into 2016.

 

[Hee Sox Choi]

I heard yous guys needs a computers for dem stats?

 

[PrometheusWakefield]

Lets explore Baseball Prospectus' list of the top defensive catchers thus season. 
 
Top on the list - Yasmani Grandal, at +10.4 runs saved above average. And look, what do you know, he plays for a intensely SABR focused team and has a pitching staff that includes a number of players having breakout campaigns, including Brett Anderson (3.12 ERA) and the immortal Mike Bolsinger with a 3.08 ERA and 2.78 FIP. Why can't we get guys like Mike Bolsinger, is a sentence I bet you didn't expect to ask at any point in your life. The Dodgers have 5 relief pitchers with 20+ IP and an FIP under 3 and the only one you've ever heard of is Kenley Jansen.
 
Second - Jason Castro, at +9.1 runs saved above average, also for an intensely SABR franchise. Man, that Dallas Keuchel has really come out of nowhere these past two years, hasn't he? Meanwhile their #3 and #4 prospects in the system are now one borderline ace in McCullers and a pretty impressive start for Vincent Velasquez. 
 
Third is Posey, who has been helping San Francisco churn out strong seasons from middling talent for years. Fourth is Miguel Montero, another SABR team, at +7.8, and there you've got Arrieta, Hammel, Hendricks all having career years. Fifth is Cervelli, and holy shit is that AJ Burnett with a 1.99 ERA? along with great years from Cole and Liriano. 
 
Obviously this isn't meant to be a statistically representative sample, and there could be complex causation going on. But the most intelligent organizations in baseball are loading up on elite defensive talent at the catcher position and also they are getting way more out of their pitching staffs than we are and I'm guessing there's a connection between these two things.
 
Blake Swihart is #62, at -0.7. Unfortunately for my ability to create a really tight argument here Hanigan is actually below Swihart thus far at -1.1 and Leon is even below that at -1.7, although Hanigan and Leon have been elite in previous years. 
 
All of which is to say, I think we are in a process of reassessing the value of catcher defense relative to catcher offense, and it's happening to the advantage of catchers who are clearly elite defensively (like, ahem, Christian Vazquez) and to the disadvantage of catchers who are realistically never going to be better than average defenders (Swihart, whose scouting report for catcher defense is 45/50+).
 
BTW, you know who is last in the league in catcher defense? Carlos Ruiz. And Philly doesn't have any replacement on the horizon.