7/23/2063
Here is a link to last year’s catcher prospect ranking. Earlier in the season we briefly called up
Pepe Rodríguez to be our backup BBA catcher and at 25 years old and multiple appearances in the show I’ve chosen to leave him off this list. Also appearing on last year’s list,
Brody Stapleton, was sold to Charlotte for $750K over the offseason out of fear he’d be lost in the rule 5 draft. With Rodriguez plus the depth found below we avoided taking a catcher at all in the 2063 amateur draft, which ended up working out especially well after considering our acquisition of
Masakado Matsunaga.
#1
Carlos Hinojosa (C+) | Age: 22 | AA
| OVR/POT | CON | BABIP | AVK | GAP | POW | EYE |
|---|
| 45/45 | 6/6 | 6/6 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/6 | 6/6 |
This tall catcher from last year’s draft is slashing .280/.363/.497 in AA and nearly fully developed. Hinojosa could use a bump to cement himself as starting BBA material, but for now he’s still years away from needing to be added to the secondary roster so he’ll hone his craft and try to spike a dev lab program.
#2
Chiang-hui Cui (C) | Age: 21 | SA
| OVR/POT | CON | BABIP | AVK | GAP | POW | EYE |
|---|
| 25/45 | 4/6 | 4/5 | 4/7 | 3/4 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
The former IFA Cui has developed a point in a few offensive categories without losing any potential as he adjusts to his first taste of Short A. His season-to-date .178/.276/.299 batting line demonstrates there is still a long road ahead. Working in his favor is his defensive excellence, where he saw a bump from 8 to 9 catcher blocking.
#3
Ramón Blanchard (D) | Age: 24 | AA
| OVR/POT | CON | BABIP | AVK | GAP | POW | EYE |
|---|
| 40/40 | 5/5 | 5/6 | 5/5 | 4/4 | 6/6 | 4/4 |
Blanchard lumped slightly and appears plateaued as a good offensive catcher in AA. He’s raised his OPS from .874 in 2062 to .918 in 2063 but playing time is limited by being on the same roster as Hinojosa who unfortunately is also deserving of a promotion to AAA. Blanchard doesn’t have as solid of defensive skills to fall back on.
#4
Russell Pinkerton (D) | Age: 21 | A
| OVR/POT | CON | BABIP | AVK | GAP | POW | EYE |
|---|
| 25/40 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 5/5 | 4/4 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
Pinkerton primarily debuts on this list because of attrition but to be fair to Russell the 2059 seventh round pick is hitting .299/.368/.464 in his first year of full season ball. Pinkerton has mediocre offensive tools but he’s a good receiver behind the plate.
#5
José Elizondo (D) | Age: 20 | SA
| OVR/POT | CON | BABIP | AVK | GAP | POW | EYE |
|---|
| 35/45 | 4/5 | 4/6 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 6/6 | 4/4 |
Elizondo was a minor league free agent signing after he was released by Hawaii in 2062. After finding consistent playing time at Rookie ball in their system, Elizondo struggled to find the field last year. Without an influx of draft picks, there’s playing time to be found at catcher in the lower levels of the Bears system and he’s batting .237/.299/.412 in SA. From the scouting report you can see that offensive tools aren’t why this guy draws a “D” grade—he can thank his poor defensive skills for that.
