Pudge Deserves First Ballot

Rodriguez might be the best catcher ever (Century21 Riverpointe)

Nineteen former players are eligible to be inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame for the first time this year. While a couple should be slam-dunks based on their numbers alone (Manny Ramirez says hello), it's possible none of them will be elected, especially with holdovers Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Trevor Hoffman all coming off near-misses last year (each received at least 67 percent of the vote). As such, the BBWAA may continue clearing the backlog of deserving candidates rather than welcome anyone new this year, although it's possible one lucky newcomer will break through.

Ivan Rodriguez is easily the strongest addition to this year's ballot, and an inner-circle Hall of Famer by any measure. He won an MVP and a World Series, along with seven Silver Sluggers (six consecutively from 1994-1999) and 13 Gold Gloves -- the most ever by a pitch-caller. He leads the position in numerous statistics, including games caught, runs, hits, doubles, and weighted runs created.  Fourteen times he was an All-Star.

Rodriguez was the perfect catcher. He hit for power (311 career homers) and average (.296 lifetime). He had speed (127 steals). He was also, as you may have inferred from his Gold Glove total, the best defensive backstop the game has ever seen. Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs both have him ranked number one, and by a considerable margin. Although his bat declined in his later years, he remained a top-notch receiver until the very end, placing fifth among NL catchers in Total Zone Runs in his final season despite playing just 44 games. Even as a 39-year-old backup catcher who couldn't hit, he was still above replacement level.

Based on defense alone, Pudge is worthy of a place in Cooperstown, but it's his contributions with the stick that make him worthy of first-ballot induction. In addition to slashing .296/.334/.464 (104 wrC+) for his career, he also approached 3,000 hits and 600 doubles, settling at 2,844 and 572, respectively. He drove in and scored more than 1,300 runs. He was an offensive force in 1999 -- the year he edged Pedro Martinez for MVP honors -- and again the following year, when he had a 1.042 OPS before a fractured thumb ended his season in late July.

Put it all together, and Rodriguez has a legitimate case as the greatest catcher in baseball history. Jay Jaffe's JAWS metric, which combines career value with peak value, ranks him third behind Johnny Bench and Gary Carter. Pudge combined Bench's defense with the longevity and offense of the previous Pudge -- Carlton Fisk. He was remarkably durable and consistent for a catcher; according to FanGraphs, he was worth at least three wins every year from 1995 through 2005 (and worth 2.9 WAR in 2006, when he batted .300 for the final time and helped lead Detroit to a pennant).

And yet, despite all that, Rodriguez will likely be barred from the Hall this year due to rumors of steroid use during his career. He never tested positive, but Jose Canseco claimed Rodriguez juiced during their time together in Texas, and Canseco's been right about these things more often than not. Some may also see Rodriguez's slimmer physique and declining home run totals during the testing era as proof, but by that point he was in his early 30s and should have been declining naturally (his last season as an above average hitter came at 32). It is suspicious, however, that he was able to catch more games than anyone in history despite spending 13 seasons in the Texas heat. He seemed especially superhuman during the late '90s, when he was putting up monster offensive numbers while catching more than 140 games per year.

Based on what happened with similar cases (Bagwell and Mike Piazza), steroid suspicion will likely prevent Rodriguez from gaining entry on the first ballot. Now that Piazza's in, however, there's no legitimate reason for keeping Rodriguez out. He was a better defender and compiled superior counting stats, plus won an MVP and was a key leader on a World Series winner. The electorate has become more forgiving of PED-associated players in recent years, but my guess is that Rodriguez may fall just short of election this year. Hopefully they prove me wrong.

Expanding Cooperstown's Circle

Simmons really should be in the Hall of Fame (I70 Baseball)

Interesting piece over at the Hardball Times got me thinking about the Hall of Fame, which I usually don't do for a few more months (when the ballots come out). Anyways, I thought it was cool how balanced the Hall is in regards to the number of players represented at each position. John pointed out that two positions--catcher and third base--are significantly underrepresented in Cooperstown, however, with just 16 enshrined at each position compared to the 21-24 at every other position (excluding pitchers).

I guess that's not too surprising when you think about it. Backstops tend to have shorter careers and their counting numbers are suppressed due to the toll catching takes on their bodies. On top of that, they typically can't play full seasons due to the off-days catching demands. Plus, until recently, we didn't have a good way of measuring defense at the position beyond caught stealing rates and passed balls. Pitch framing data has completely changed the way we evaluate catchers, but for a long time all we had to go on was the eye test.

As for the hot corner, well, it's a tricky position. It's not as tough to play as second base or shortstop, but still considerably harder than first base. As such, the men who play it are generally better hitters than up-the-middle guys, but not as big and strong as corner outfielders and first basemen. A third baseman needs to be a good hitter and a good fielder, a pretty rare combination.

All this got me wondering, if we were to elect five more players at each spot to make at least 21 Hall of Famers at every position, who would/should go in? That is, who are the five most deserving players at each position who are eligible but have yet to be elected? I have ranked my choices in order from most deserving to least.

C

Mike Piazza

I feel very strongly that Piazza will be elected this year. It's his fourth time on the ballot, and after starting out at 57.8% he's risen to 62.2% and 69.9%. If he makes a similar jump this year--let's split the different and say six percent--he'll have just enough support to clear the 75% threshold. With his former team making the World Series this year, I think he'll get the requisite boost.

Honestly, though, it's a bit ridiculous that Piazza hasn't been elected already. I mean, he was the greatest hitting catcher of all-time. His numbers are outstanding for any position, but for a catcher they're off the charts. Sure, he played in the best era for offense since the Great Depression, but he also spent his entire career in brutal pitcher's parks. That's why, if you neutralize his numbers, they barely change, dipping ever so slightly from .308/.377/.545 to .304/.371/.537. The time has come to give Piazza--the fifth-best catcher by JAWs and sixth-best per fWAR--his due.

Ted Simmons

For the life of me, I still can't figure out why Simmons hasn't made the Hall of Fame, much less how he lasted just one year on the ballot. By JAWS and FanGraphs, he's one of the 10 best catchers ever. Only Ivan Rodriguez amassed more hits and doubles among backstops, and only Yogi Berra knocked in more runs. And Simmons wasn't just a compiler, either; from 1971-1980 he averaged .301/.367/.466 (131 OPS+) with 17 home runs and 90 RBI per season. The only reason I can think of for why he's been so criminally underrated are that he starred on terrible Cardinals teams in the 1970s, which also coincided with a golden age for catchers. People just forgot about him.

Bill Freehan

Throughout his 15-year career, Freehan was the pre-eminent catcher in the American League, if not all of baseball. He made 10 straight All-Star trips from 1964-1973, then added an 11th in 1975. He won five consecutive Gold Gloves to close out the '60s, earning a third-place MVP finish in 1967 and placing runner-up to teammate Denny McLain the following year. Freehan was everything you could want out of a catcher; durable, good defender, hit for power, and had a good batting eye. Had he not declined so rapidly after turning 30 he'd probably be in the Hall of Fame today.

Lance Parrish

Along with Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker, Parrish is one of the forgotten stars from the great Detroit teams of the 1980s. He was well decorated during his playing days, making eight All-Star teams and winning three straight Gold Gloves. The six-time Silver Slugger recipient had phenomenal pop for a backstop, exceeding 20 homers in a season seven times and belting 19 two other times. He finished his career with 324 round-trippers in all--tied with Gary Carter for fifth all-time among catchers. He also knocked in over 1,000 runs, something 11 catchers have ever done. His numbers might look even better had he never suffered the sore back that cut short his 1986 season--which was shaping up to be one of his best--and hindered him for the rest of his career.

Thurman Munson

It seems pretty clear to me that Munson was on the Hall of Fame track before his life was tragically cut short in a plane crash. He'd been the American League's top catcher during the 1970s, making seven All-Star teams and winning three Gold Gloves along with two World Series rings. Had he not taken to the skies that fateful day, he likely would have finished his career with more than 2,000 hits (probably closer to 2,500, actually) and close to 60 bWAR. Unfortunately, we will never know.

Honorable Mentions: Gene Tenace, Elston Howard, Javy Lopez, Darrell Porter

Allen fell one vote shy of election in his most recent turn on the ballot (CSN Philly)

3B (I'm excluding Edgar Martinez because most people view him as a DH)

Dick Allen

I've argued Allen's case too many times in this space to do so again, but basically it boils down to this; if he hadn't been such a jerk, I think he would have been inducted a long time ago. He was the Manny Ramirez or Albert Belle of the 1960s and '70s--unlikable, bad defense, sour attitude and a terrible teammate, but man, he was one hell of a hitter.

Graig Nettles

One of the best defensive third basemen of all-time, Nettles deserved to win more than two Gold Gloves. Alas, he spent the first half of his career in the shadow of Brooks Robinson, and the second half of it in Buddy Bell's. He was a much better hitter than both of them, though, slugging 390 home runs. He can also claim to be the best position player of the 1970s who never played for the Reds, ranking third in fWAR for the decade behind only Johnny Bench and Joe Morgan.

Ken Boyer

Boyer was basically Ron Santo before Ron Santo. Had he gotten an earlier start (military service delayed his career) or not completely fallen apart in his mid-30s (and thus remained an integral part of the 1967-'68 Cardinals squads), we'd probably hold him in higher regard. As it were he had nine wonderful seasons, but for most people that's not enough.

Buddy Bell

Bell was a ridiculously good defender, possibly the best at the hot corner not named Brooks Robinson. He was no slouch with the stick, either, accruing over 2,500 hits, 200 homers, and a 109 OPS+ for his career. He also had a better peak than most people realize, averaging just under six bWAR per season from 1978-1984. Bell wasn't a good baserunner and didn't have great power, finishing his career with a .127 ISO and more unsuccessful stolen base attempts than successful ones, but still cleared 60 career WAR for both B-R and FG.

Darrell Evans

Evans was the rare three-true outcomes type of third-sacker, blasting 414 home runs and logging a .361 OBP in spite of his .248 batting average. In that sense Evans was ahead of his time, for he surely would have been better appreciated today than he was during the '70s and '80s, when people griped about his low batting average. He actually didn't strike out that much--1,410 times in 21 seasons, which works out to be 67 per season. Nowadays guys strike out twice as often and hit half as many homers, so go figure.

Flex: Joe Torre

Torre's already in the Hall of Fame as a manager, but you could certainly make the case he deserved to go in as a player long ago. He had a sneaky good peak where he was one of the best players in baseball during the 1960s and early '70s. As with several others on this list, longevity was an issue, but he doesn't get anywhere close to the credit his playing record deserves.

Honorable Mentions: Sal Bando, Ron Cey, Stan Hack, Bob Elliott, Robin Ventura

Swihart Swats First Career HR

Swihart's solo shot was a titanic blast onto Lansdowne Street (Fox Sports)

One of the few Red Sox highlights from Boston's ugly 8-4 loss to the Twins yesterday was that Blake Swihart launched the first of what will hopefully be many home runs for the rookie catcher..

With two outs and nobody on, Swihart snapped a 22-game and 75 at-bat homerless streak to begin his career in the bottom of the third. Facing Twins starter Tommy Milone for the second time that day, Swihart laid off two close pitches to put himself up 2-0 in the count. The lefty's third pitch was a mistake, right over the heart of the plate, and Swihart crushed it. His first career blast was a moonshot, clearing the Monster seats and landing 406 feet from home plate. It was a no-doubter, an absolute bomb.

Unfortunately the bases were empty when he left the yard, so it only counted as one. Swihart's blast put the Sox up 3-0, but Boston was unable to hold the lead and ultimately dropped the series finale to Minnesota. It also made him the youngest Sox catcher to go deep since Rich Gedman, a two-time All-Star with Boston, belted his first dinger at the age of 21 during the strike-shortened 1981 season.

The long ball continued a recent resurgence at the plate for Swihart, who has now hit safely in eight of his last nine games. His batting line is still a lowly .218/.247/.295 on the season, but that marks a huge improvement over where it stood just a few weeks ago. The 23 year-old is barely a month into his major league career, after all, and in a perfect world would still be getting additional seasoning down in Pawtucket. But with Christian Vazquez out for the season and Ryan Hanigan sidelined until at least the All-Star Break, Swihart's been thrust into a starting role much sooner than expected. He's learning on the job and experiencing natural growing pains that come with that, which might be more magnified because catchers usually take longer to develop than other position players.

For all of Swihart's struggles at the dish, he's still a better hitter than Boston's other backstop, Sandy Leon. Leon is batting a mere .170 with two RBI on the season and has yet to notch an extra base hit in 57 plate appearances. If Swihart's overmatched, Leon's totally helpless, and it's not like Hanigan was Mike Piazza, either. Catcher has been an offensive black hole for the Sox all season, so it would certainly be nice if Swihart started hitting.

Then again, it would be really nice if every other Red Sock not named Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts started hitting too.

Top Catchers For 2015

Buster Posey is one of the best players in the game today (ESPN)

Reviewing Devin Mesoraco's new contract extension got me thinking about where he ranks among today's catchers. To determine this list I relied heavily on data from the three previous seasons, giving more weight to 2013 and 2014, of course.

Note: I am excluding Evan Gattis, who joins a crowded catcher situation in Houston and will probably see more time at DH, first base, and in the outfield.

1. Buster Posey
There's no question that Posey's the top catcher in the game today. Offensively, he is without peer at the position,  having batted .311/.381/.497 (147 wRC+) since the start of the 2012 season, and he's a quality defender as well. The 2012 NL MVP and batting champion also adds extra value by handling first base about 30 times a year, thus keeping his bat in the lineup almost everyday. He's putting together a Joe Mauer-ish run here and is already a three-time World Series champion at 28, putting him on the Cooperstown track for now.

2. Jonathan Lucroy
Lucroy's quietly evolved into the best-hitting catcher not named Posey, batting .297/.359/.472 (128 wRC+) with 43 home runs and 95 doubles over the past three years. The Brewers backstop is also durable, having caught 125 games or more in three of the past four seasons. More importantly, he's one of the best pitch-framers in the business. Put it all together, and you have someone just a tick below Posey who might very well win the MVP if he's able to turn a significant portion of last year's 53 doubles into homers.

3. Yadier Molina
A longtime defensive stalwart with seven straight Gold Gloves to prove it, Molina has recently developed into one of the game's best offensive catchers as well.  The youngest Molina brother batted .313/.361/.481 (132 wRC+) from 2011-2013, leading all backstops in fWAR during this time. The lifelong Cardinal was on his way to another good season before a thumb injury cost him seven weeks in July and August, then negatively impacted his swing by limiting him to just .269/.309/.317 with no home runs after returning. Molina's getting up there in years--he'll turn 33 this July--and has logged nearly 11,000 innings behind the plate, but he's showed no signs of slowing down and will be considered an elite catcher until he proves otherwise.

4. Russell Martin
Sure, he's about to turn 32 and has a ton of miles on him, but he also just had the best offensive season of his career and is moving to the launching pad in Toronto. Defensively, the former Gold Glover is one of the game's best, and he's never had a bad year offensively due to his strong on-base skills (.354 career OBP) and decent power (six seasons with double-digit home runs). I'm not a fan of the recent contract he got from the Blue Jays, but I also happen to think he'll be pretty good for at least another year or two.

5. Salvador Perez
Coming off back-to-back Gold Gloves and All-Star nods, Salvy, who turns 25 this spring, is poised to be one of the AL's best catchers for the rest of the decade. The American League's answer to Molina isn't a polished batter, but he's a proven .300 hitter and his home run totals have improved every year he's been in the league. Hardly ever walks because he hacks at everything, which is okay so long as he bats over .300, as he did from 2011-2013 but won't be if he hits .260 again like he did last year. There's still some upside here (could hit .300 with 20 bombs), but if he doesn't become more patient then I don't see him reaching his full potential as a hitter.

Gomes supplanted Carlos Santana as Cleveland's everyday catcher (ESPN)

6. Yan Gomes
The 2014 AL Silver Slugger recipient is coming off strong back-to-back seasons that saw him hit a combined .284/.325/.476 (125 wRC+) with 8.2 fWAR between 2013 and 2014. He's shown tremendous power for a backstop, slugging 21 home runs and 25 doubles last year in his first full season, and is a good bet to replicate those numbers in his age-27 season. My only concern is that he's struck out more than four and a half times for every walk (cue Will Middlebrooks flashbacks), but it's possible he improves his plate discipline with more experience.

7. Matt Wieters
Wieters was off to a hot start last year before undergoing Tommy John surgery, making him an enticing rebound candidate for 2015. Wieters never developed into the superstar many thought he would become, but he's turned out to be plenty valuable as a good defensive catcher with 20 home run power. The Orioles are counting on their switch-hitting backstop to return strong this year at age 29, and I wouldn't bet against it.

8. Devin Mesoraco
Tough to rank Mesoraco given his relative lack of experience, but if he can prove last year was legit he'll shoot into the top-five easily. For now he's comfortably in the top-10, albeit towards the lower end. I think he's probably more of a .250-20-70 guy than the .273-25-80 guy he was last year, but that's still pretty darned good. 2015 is also going to be his age-27 season, and you know what that means...

9. Wilin Rosario
Rosario has flown under the radar thanks to his presence on some terrible Rockies teams, but when healthy he's one of the best-hitting catchers out there. Injuries hampered his production last year, but in the two seasons before that he crushed 49 home runs and posted an .820 OPS (107 OPS+). Like the rest of his teammates (looking at you, Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki), he needs to avoid the Disabled List, but I see the soon-to-be 26 year-old getting back to his mashing ways in 2015. It doesn't hurt that he plays half his games in Coors Field, either.

10. Brian McCann
As McCann enters his age-31 season, the Yankees have to be concerned about his recent slippage. He's batted below .260 in each of the past three seasons, hitting a combined .238/.305/.419 and becoming  liability on offense. McCann's still a good defensive catcher, however, and his power has held steady with 20 or more home runs in all three of those seasons, so he still has plenty of value. He's just not the perennial All-Star/Silver Slugger candidate he was with the Braves.

Honorable Mention: Miguel Montero, Carlos Ruiz, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Wilson Ramos, Derek Norris

Mesoraco Move Makes Sense

Mesoraco was an All-Star and an elite hitter in 2014 (Fantasy Baseball Dugout)

The Cincinnati Reds haven't done much to applaud this offseason, mainly because they haven't done much at all. Cincy made an outstanding move yesterday, however, locking up catcher Devin Mesoraco with a four-year, $28 million extension that will cover his three arbitration seasons and first year of free agency.

Given that teams are paying roughly $6 million for a win on the open market these days and accounting for inflation, Mesoraco will only need to be worth about one win above replacement per year over the life of the contract to earn his keep. Seeing as how he was worth around 4.5 WAR last year alone, he should have no problem accruing a similar value over the next four years combined (which, by the way, also happen to cover the prime ages of 27-30).

Unless, of course, Mesoraco turns out to be a massive fluke, but I don't think he is (neither does ESPN's David Schoenfield). One might question last year's 25 home runs and .893 OPS (149 OPS+) in light of his 16 home runs and .641 OPS (74 OPS+) from 2011-2013, but I wouldn't. I see Mesoraco's breakout as a product of age (he was 26 last year) and increased experience (he had just 589 major league plate appearances before last year). Catchers also tend to bloom later than other position players, not that there's anything out of the ordinary about a 26 year-old putting it all together.

As for the how/why behind Mesoraco's breakthrough, Jeff Sullivan over at FanGraphs provides a detailed explanation. From what I can see, the Reds' receiver enjoyed a huge boost in BABiP, which at .309 is only 10 points higher than the league average but represents a mammoth improvement over his career average. That was strange to see, considering that a) his line drive rate remained about the same as 2013, b) he hit more fly balls than ground balls last year, and c) he's slow as molasses. Perhaps last year was mere regression to the mean after three straight years of horrendous luck on batted balls, but a .309 BABiP just doesn't jibe with Mesoraco's 2014 hit distribution. Accordingly, I'd project him to be a .250 hitter going forward rather than the .273 batter he was last year.

And what about the power? Mesoraco can hit .250 all he wants if he keeps hammering 25 balls out of the yard every year, something only Brian McCann and Wilin Rosario have proven to be capable of doing among the current crop of backstops. Given the large increases in his strikeout and fly ball rate, Mesoraco appears to have sold out for the long ball by lengthening his swing, which certainly worked for him last year (and should continue to in Great American Ball Park). That said, in 2014 his fly balls left the yard about twice as often as they had in the past and more frequently than the league average, which leads me to believe he's due for a bit of regression in this area. Not much, but enough to cap him at roughly 20 big flies rather than 25 or 30.

I guess this is all a long-winded way of saying that I think Mesoraco's true talent level is probably closer to what he did during the second half last year. He was a monster in the first half, doing his best Mike Piazza impression by batting .320/.387/.667 through June 24th. After that, natural regression combined with pitcher adjustments limited him to .244/.342/.449 the rest of the way. Those are still terrific numbers for a catcher in today's offense-challenged times, and I'll readily admit that Mesoraco could make his own adjustments this year. It's just highly unlikely he'll be as good as he was last year, if only because he was so exceptionally good last year.

Then again, he doesn't have to be. If he's only 75-80 percent of the player he was last year, he's still an awesome hitter. And if last year does turn out to be a fluke, and he's only a so-so hitter from this point onward, then he'll still comfortably exceed one WAR per year so long as he's healthy. The Reds aren't banking on four more All-Star seasons from Mesoraco; they're merely paying him to be an everyday catcher. If his bat turns out to be legit, then he'll wind up being an incredible bargain, but he'll still be one even if it doesn't.

Posey's Push for MVP

Posey's big second half should earn him some serious MVP consideration (FP911)

With the National League MVP race wide open, Buster Posey has forced his way into the discussion with his recent hot streak.

The 2012 MVP has been on fire since the day before the All-Star break with an extraordinary .363/.406/.621 batting line, 11 home runs and 37 RBI in that time. He's now up to .310/.361/.494-20-79 on the season, outstanding numbers for a catcher playing half his games in one of baseball's most pitching-friendly venues. One of the Senior Circuit's best hitters on a league and park adjust basis, Posey ranks third in offensive bWAR, fifth in adjusted OPS+ and eighth in adjusted batting runs.

Furthermore, Posey's hot play has helped his Giants keep pace with the Dodgers all summer long. As of this morning San Francisco sat just two games out of first in the NL West. With 20 games remaining on their schedule, the Giants still have plenty of time to pass the Dodgers and steal the division title out from under them. And considering how well San Francisco's played lately, winning 15 of their last 22, it's not hard to imagine them finishing with a fury and blowing by LA during the season's final days.

If that happens and Posey continues to rake, he's going to have a very interesting MVP case. Not only does he lead the team in most key offensive categories (home runs, RBI, all three slash stats), but on most days he also mans the most important non-pitching position on the demand (only Jonathan Lucroy and Miguel Montero have caught more games among NL receivers). It's no wonder, then, that Baseball-Reference rates him as the team's most valuable player by WAR.

So Posey may not have the flashy slugging numbers of a Mike Trout or Giancarlo Stanton, he definitely belongs in the MVP conversation.

Mesoraco's Monster Breakout

Though inconsistent, Mesoraco has enjoyed a tremendous season (RantSports)

The Reds were swept in Baltimore yesterday, falling to the Orioles 9-7 to wrap up an ugly road trip where Cincinnati lost all but one of its six games. It's been an ugly summer for the Reds, who were very much in contention through the All-Star Break but have sputtered since, losing 30 of 45 in the second half as injuries to Joey Votto, Mat Latos and Homer Bailey took their toll.

One positive takeaway from this season, however, is that Cincinnati appears to have developed an All-Star caliber catcher. 26 year-old Devin Mesoraco's been a revelation behind the plate, emerging as one of the game's most dangerous offensive catchers in his fourth big league season. In the wake of yesterday's 4-for-4 performance, he's now batting an eye-popping .286/.365/.542 (153 OPS+) on the year with 21 home runs--most among everyday catchers. His 69 RBI rank third behind Buster Posey and Miguel Montero, both of whom have significant advantages in playing time. In the National League only Giancarlo Stanton has a superior AB/HR ratio. If the Reds weren't so helpless out of the race, he'd make a pretty good MVP candidate.

It's not unusual to see catchers break out later than position players at other positions, but Mesoraco's transformation has been truly stunning. He was a nothing before this year, a career .225 hitter with 16 home runs and -0.5 bWAR to his name. Now he's one of the best hitters in baseball. Out of all this year's biggest breakthroughs (Charlie Blackmon, Corey Dickerson, Josh Harrison, Brock Holt), none of shined brighter than Mesoraco.

The only issue with Mesoraco (besides subpar baserunning, but good luck finding a catcher who runs well) is his incredible streakiness. All year long, it seems, has been alternating hot and cold streaks for the Reds' backstop, who began the year on fire. He was hitting .500/.541/.870 through May 18th, only to post a .521 OPS with 23 strikeouts over his next 21 games. That was followed by a torrid three-week stretch ending on the Fourth of July where he blasted six home runs and OPS'ed 1.287. He leveled off through the rest of July, then hit the skids in August, batting a measly .228/.340/.354 with just two home runs.

September should bring better results for Mesoraco, and by the looks of things yesterdat, it already has.

Sox Sign Pierzynski

Pierzynski figures to be a good value for Boston (CSNNE)

The Red Sox have their catcher for their 2014 title defense, and it is not Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who reportedly landed a three year deal worth $21 million with the Miami Marlins (someone clearly values dollars more than winning). Boston's backstop will be A.J. Pierzynski, who agreed to a one-year, $8.25 million contract with the reigning World Series champions.

Outside of Saltalamacchia, Pierzynski was probably the best catcher still on the market before today (with Brian McCann, Carlos Ruiz, and Jose Molina already taken). Though he turns 37 at the end of the month, he's coming off a solid season with the Rangers in which he batted .272/.297/.425 with 17 home runs and 70 RBI. He also caught 119 games in the Texas heat, proving he still has the stamina to be an everyday backstop.

Both FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference agree he was worth 1.6 WAR in 2013. That's a substantial step down from Salty, who was worth upwards of three wins last year. But for the money, all Pierzynski has to do is provide a little more than one win, which shouldn't be too difficult as long as he stays healthy (a pretty safe bet given that he's played at least 114 games 13 years running) and hits better than Jason Varitek did in the latter stage of his career. Steamer projects him for 2.1 fWAR in 2014, which seems overly optimistic to me given that he's been worth more than two wins just once (in his fluke 2012) in the previous ten years.

On the other hand, that prediction doesn't seem all that unreasonable considering that Pierzynski's been a steady ballplayer who's avoided the peaks and valleys that tend to emerge over the course of a long career. He's been remarkably consistent, especially for a catcher (who seem more prone to suffering serious injury as well as drastic fluctuations in production) He's always been an asset for whomever employs him, and I have little doubt he will continue to produce solid results for the Sox next year.

 My one concern (besides his age) is that he became very trigger-happy at the plate last year, swinging at nearly half of the pitches outside the strike zone and working only nine unintentional walks. That may suggest that his bat speed has slowed and he's compensating, as most aging hitters do, by starting his swing earlier. If that's indeed the case, then he's likely headed for more regression. Hopefully the Red Sox help him adopt a more patient, disciplined plate approach.

Lastly, I like this move for Boston because it's cheap and addresses their need at catcher. It leaves plenty of room in Ben Cherington's budget to re-sign Mike Napoli, if he so chooses, or go after other free agents like Corey Hart and Carlos Beltran. Financial flexibility allowed Cherington to do great things last winter, and I'm intrigued to see what moves he'll make in the aftermath of winning the World Series. All he has to do is make some minor tweaks here and there, but having adequate funds will make them infinitely easier.

Signing Pierzynski was just the first of several moves that need to be made. But if it's a sign of things to come, then I approve of Cherington's strategy.

Weird Year for Catchers

2012 has been a weird year for catchers.  What I mean by that is several established backstops have been nothing short of terrible, while relative no names have come out of nowhere and ranked among the best hitters at the position. A few big name backstops such as Yadier Molina, Buster Posey, Carlos Santana, and Matt Wieters have met or exceeded expectations, but for the most part it seems that everybody else has deviated wildly from their career norms.  Let's look at the overachievers, underachievers and the guys in between.

Pleasant surprises

J.P. Arencibia (.250/.285/.483)
More of the same from Arencibia; plenty of pop and strikeouts, with walks few and far between (sounds like Mark Trumbo).  But among AL catchers, only Wieters has more homers and A.J. Pierzynski is the only one with more runs batted in.  After an ice cold April Arencibia has caught fire in May along with Jose Bautista, bashing six of his seven home runs and posting a gaudy 1.083 OPS.  Enjoy it while it lasts, because it's only a matter of time before he endures another extended dry spell.

A.J. Ellis (.333/.460/.510)
He has a higher batting average than Andre Ethier and a better OBP than Matt Kemp.  Up until this year the 31 year-old was a backup catcher with about half a season of MLB experience under his belt, so he's making the most of the increased playing time.  His superb on base skills are nothing new, but you always have to be skeptical when a player dramatically improves in his early thirties.  Read: he'll fall back to Earth eventually.

Jonathan Lucroy (.330/.381/.496)
With most of Milwaukee's position players not named Ryan Braun or Corey Hart struggling, Lucroy's hot streak has been a pleasant surprise.  He's cut down on his strikeouts and despite not homering in May, he's batting a robust .377/.406/.525 for the month with hits in all but two games.  Now I can see why Matthew Berry likes him so much.

A.J. Pierzynski (.301/.338/.485)
He's hit .300 five times already in his career, so the nice batting average isn't a shocker.  But after averaging just nine home runs, 52 RBI, and a .397 SLG. over his past two seasons, it looked like his power was diminishing with age.  Now the 35 year-old is leading all AL backstops in ribbies.  Go figure.  For what it's worth, his career highs in the power categories are 18 big flies, 77 RBI and a .464 slugging, all of which are in range.

Carlos Ruiz (.358/.407/.600)
With Ryan Howard and Chase Utley on the shelf and Jimmy Rollins scuffling, Ruiz has picked up the slack for the fallen stars and then some.  He's leading all catchers in just about every category except for home runs, OBP steals and is on pace to smash his previous career highs.  Ruiz has always been overshadowed by his more talented teammates even though he's the only catcher in either league to receive MVP consideration in each of the past two seasons.  With fourteen hits in his past nine games, he's shown no signs of slowing down, but obviously he's not going to keep hitting like Mike Piazza for the rest of the year. 

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (.283/.308/.566)
Was mediocre at best in his Boston debut, but looks much more comfortable this year and has been on fire since the end of April.  At age 27, is he finally developing into the player many projected him to be?  His game calling skills are still questionable, but one thing's for sure; he's hitting a heck of a lot better than Jason Varitek would be if he decided to hang on for another year.  Catchers tend to develop at a slower pace than other position players, but this is going to be Salty's long-anticipated breakout campaign.

In the middle--These guys aren't playing as well as they could be, but at least they've been productive:

Brian McCann (.260/.336/.433)
All three triple slash stats are well below his career rates, but with six home runs and 24 RBI he's supplying his typically strong power numbers from the heart of Atlanta's order.  He also has more walks than strikeouts at the moment, something he's never been able to maintain over the course of a full season.

Miguel Montero (.260/.358/.351)
The power dropoff is concerning (just two home runs after smashing 18 a year ago), but he's walking more than ever before and has knocked in a team best 21 runs.  The Diamondbacks lineup has been crippled by Chris Young's injury and Justin Upton's slow start, so Montero's timely hitting is especially valuable.  The home runs will start to come during the hot Arizona summer.

Mike Napoli (.244/.333/.457)
An obvious regression candidate following his insane .320/.414/.631 performance last year (fueled by a monster second half), his numbers have returned to their 2006-'10 levels for now.  He's still hitting for plenty of power, though, and should approach the 30 home runs he cranked out last year if he stays healthy.  His stats should only improve throughout the summer once he can start taking advantage of the Arlington heat.

Disappointments

Alex Avila (/218/.298/.382)
Avila's breakout last season helped him make the All-Star team, win a Silver Slugger and finish twelfth in the MVP race ahead of more established stars such as CC Sabathia, Josh Hamilton, and Mark Teixeira, and effectively turning Victor Martinez into a full-time DH.  This year he's regressed to his 2010 levels (so has Jhnonny Peralta), when he batted .228/.316/.340 in 104 games.  With V-Mart out for the season his playing time is secure, and I think he'll eventually find the middle ground.

John Buck (.186/.307/.351)
Aside from his pit stop in Toronto two years ago, when he slugged 20 home runs and made the All-Star team, Buck has always been supbar with the bat because of his low OBP figures and high strikeout totals.  But he's never been this bad.  Just put him on the long list of struggling Miami Marlins with Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez, Gaby Sanchez, Logan Morrison, Josh Johnson and Heath Bell.  He's walking more, but he'll be hard-pressed to post decent power numbers in Miami's new ballpark

Nick Hundley (.170/.234/.277)
Was one of the few bright spots for a punchless Padres lineup last year when the then 27 year-old broke out by batting .288/.347/.477, good for a 132 OPS+ in half a season's worth of games.  San Diego still can't buy a run, only now Hundley isn't hitting, either.  Not to be confused with teammate Chase Headley, one of the few Padres who can hit.

Russell Martin (.170/.320/.320)
Martin was solid in his Yankees debut last year, when he replaced Jorge Posada as the everyday catcher, made the All-Star team and enjoyed his best season since 2008.  Typically a strong starter who fades during the summer, Martin has been uncharacteristically abysmal in the early going.  Lucky for him, Jesus Montero is over 3,000 miles away in Seattle, so he doesn't have to worry about losing playing time.  With Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano off to slow starts, too, Martin hasn't had to take too much heat from the press.

Joe Mauer (.275/.383/.380)
Mauer's numbers look eerily similar to the .287/.360/.368 line he put up last year while battling bilateral leg weakness.  He has just one home run so far and has already bounced into a major league leading nine double plays.  Mauer Power's been a shell of his former self since signing that eight year, $184 million contract extension he before last season, a deal that only looks worse with each passing day.  I thought he'd bounce back this year, but it just hasn't happened.  His track record is too excellent to ignore, though, so I wouldn't be surprised if he turns it around soon.

Miguel Olivo (.210/.229/.346)
From 2006 through 2011 he averaged 17 home runs, 57 RBI and a .433 slugging percentage, pretty decent power figures for a catcher.  With just three homers and seven RBI he's not hitting this year, and newcomer Jesus Montero (whose OPS is nearly 600 points higher when he catches instead of DH'es), eleven years his junior, is cutting into his playing time. 

Geovany Soto (.161/.250/.301)
Many were hoping that the 2008 NL Rookie of the Year would continue his every-other-year trend with a strong 2012 following a down 2011, but instead he's gotten even worse.  The only positive sign is that he's cut way down on his strikeouts, but it looks like Soto and the Cubbies are headed for another disappointing season in the Windy City. 

Kurt Suzuki (.224/.258/.288)
After averaging 14 home runs per season over the past three years, Suzuki has yet to go yard in 2012.  He may be suffering from the Russell Martin effect that follows overuse, since he played in 148 games in 2008, followed by 147 in '09.  His numbers have fallen off steeply ever since, and it's possible that he's already worn down at the age of 28.  Then again the A's don't hit, so he fits right in.

Also worthy of consideration; Jose Molina, Rod Barajas, Chris Ianetta