GCL Astros - The Catchers

Three catchers got more than 50 ABs for the GCL Astros in 2009. Let's take a gander at them, shall we?

Ernesto Genoves
How did he get here?: Signed to a minor league contract, December 2007
Stats: 5'11", 203 lbs, Bats: Right; Throws: Right
Age as of April 1, 2010: 19

Season line: 31 games, 117 PAs. 25x107 - .234/.291/.355 - 9XBH-13RBI. 23K:5BB

Splits:
vs. LHP (38ABs): .263/.300/.368, 8K:2BB, 4XBH-6RBI
vs. RHP (69ABs): .217/.286/.348, 15K:3BB, 5XBH-7RBI

Home (45ABs): .200/.245/.333, 9K:2BB, 4XBH-8RBI
Away (62ABs): .258/.324/.371, 14K:3BB, 5XBH-5RBI

Runners on (49ABs): .306/.352/.510, 11K:2BB, 6XBH-13RBI
w/RISP (28ABs): .357/.387/.536, 7K:1BB, 3XBH-10RBI

June (12ABs): .250/.250/.250, 3K:0BB, 0XBH-2RBI
July (54ABs): .296/.371/.463, 6K:4BB, 6XBH-8RBI
August (41ABs): .146/.186/.244, 14K:1BB, 3XBH-3RBI

K/PA rate: 21%
XBH/H rate: 42.1%
K:BB ratio: 2.45

Genoves had a 24% throw-out rate this season, and allowed 16 passed balls in 31 games, and he had six errors for a .973 fielding percentage in 2009, converting to catcher from first base midway through 2008 in the Venezuelan Summer League.

Genoves was lights out in July, but must have used up his mojo, because he tanked it in August. It's important to keep in mind with all players at this level that we're dealing with small sample sizes and young players. So take it for what it's worth.

Jose Vargas
How did he get here?: Undrafted free agent, April 2008
Stats: 6'1", 200 lbs, Bats: Right; Throws: Right
Age as of April 1, 2010: 18

Season line: 25 games, 80 PAs. 16x69 - .232/.325/.362 - 5XBH-14RBI. 22K:7BB

Splits:
vs. LHP (17ABs): .176/.286/.235, 6K:3BB, 1XBH-5RBI
vs. RHP (52ABs): .250/.339/.404, 16K:4BB, 4XBH-9RBI

Home (35ABs): .229/.333/.371, 11K:5BB, 3XBH-8RBI
Away (34ABs): .235/.316/.353, 11K:2BB, 2XBH-6RBI

Runners on (35ABs): .229/.333/.400, 7K:4BB, 2XBH-14RBI
w/RISP (24ABs): .208/.310/.458, 6K:3BB, 2XBH-14RBI

June (6ABs): .333/.500/.500, 1K:2BB, 1XBH-1RBI
July (27ABs): .185/.233/.222, 9K:1BB, 1XBH-2RBI
August (36ABs): .250/.357/.444, 12K:4BB, 3XBH-11RBI

K/PA rate: 27.5%
XBH/H rate: 31.3%
K:BB ratio: 3.14

Vargas caught 5 of 24 baserunners stealing (26%), but had three errors and allowed seven passed balls in 77 chances behind the plate.

He saw a steady improvement from July to August, and his K:BB ratio was better in August, as well. Vargas spent 2008 in the Dominican Summer League, posting similar numbers to 2009, though his slugging went up slightly (.278 to .362). And his OPS improved from .615 to .687 from 08 to 09.

Wilder Parra
How did he get here?: Undrafted free agent (January 2008)
Stats: 6'0", 175 lbs, Bats: Right; Throws: Right
Age as of April 1, 2010: 19

Season line: 21 games, 58 PAs. 10x55 - .182/.224/.255 - 4XBH-7RBI. 15K:2BB

Splits:
vs. LHP (16ABs): .125/.176/.188, 5K:0BB, 1XBH-1RBI
vs. RHP (39ABs): .244/.244/.282, 10K:2BB, 3XBH-6RBI

Home (24ABs): .250/.250/.375, 8K:0BB, 3XBH-5RBI
Away (31ABs): .129/.206/.161, 7K:2BB, 1XBH-2RBI

Runners on (28ABs): .250/.250/.321, 6K:0BB, 2XBH-7RBI
w/RISP (20ABs): .250/.250/.350, 4K:0BB, 2XBH-7RBI

June (4ABs): .250/.250/.250, 3K:0BB, 0XBH-0RBI
July (33ABs): .242/.286/.333, 9K:2BB, 3XBH-6RBI
August (18ABs): .056/.105/.111, 3K:0BB, 1XBH-1RBI

K/PA rate: 25.8%
XBH/H rate: 40%
K:BB ratio: 7.50

Parra made five errors in 132 chances, with eight passed balls in 21 games for the GCL Astros. He caught four games in Lexington for a week in Lexington in August.

This is Parra's second year in the organization, having spent 2008 in the Venezuelan Summer League and posting a line of .234/.267/.306 with 27K:4BB. So he still hasn't learned to be selective at the plate, but this year was his first year in the States, so we'll cut him some slack. Add to that, you can't really tell too much about a player in 21 games in the Gulf Coast League. He did throw out 10 of 32 baserunners in 2008, but that dropped to 5 of 26 in 2009.