Catcher defense... more important to some than others
Diesel Dave was a GM favorite during his first season in TWC. His second season... not so much. When it came time to discuss an extension. We told him to take his -.8 WAR and go to the nearest truck stop.
Now, we already have Andy Elmer in house. Say what you want about Elmer, his master pitch framing and ability to make pitcher work at the plate has a lot of value not seen in his triple slash line. We here in Twin Cities embrace quirky players and there aren't many quirkier than Andy Elmer. So, we are really looking for a compliment to him. Whether that be a lefty to his righty, a power to his patients, or an arm to his pitch framing. Somone to fill some sort of platoon to get the most out of the 2 neccessary roster spots devoted to catcher.
1. Kazuki Saito
Saito figures to be the favorite. Look up backup catcher in the dictionary and Saito is likely to be there. He has the superior pitch framing/abilty that we like and a better arm than Elmer to square off against speedster teams. While also a righty, he is a contact/singles hitter that can play against low stuff pitchers while Elmer starts VS low control pitchers.
2. Manuel Hernández
If you know one thing about this current TWC build, it's that we heavily rely on ps/pa as a way to tire starters quickly and get into teams bullpens early while exposing their long/middle relievers. While Elmer is great in that area, Hernandez is amazing. Only one BBA player with more than 14 career plate appearances (using the scope of all levels) has a higher ps/pa than Hernandez. And that player is teammate Felix Ramos.
His defense on the other hand is all time bad. Just 3 catcher ability/position rating. You could argue that i may as well just start Eduardo García at catcher if my goal is to get the best bats in the lineup.
So this one comes down to the tried and true, trusty backup VS the high risk defender who is a great fit as a complimentary offensive player.
