Blue Jays: Looking at the catching ranks throughout the system

Danny Jansen may be establishing himself as the catcher of the future in Toronto, but there is a lot of talent behind the plate in the Blue Jays’ system.

Now that the Blue Jays have fully committed to the philosophy of “out with the past and in with the future”, fans can get excited what the future holds.

I first became truly excited and started following Blue Jays prospects in 2011 when a trio of pitchers were coming through the organization together.  These three were drafted the same season and progressed together, but I’ll save those details for a later time.

The fact is, I started getting excited about what those prospects could be.  Rebuilds are only successful when you draft or trade for youth, then develop and see the fruition of those players.  High hopes are just that, they are hopes.  In the past, the Blue Jays have had high hopes with the likes of J.P. Arencibia, Travis d’Arnaud and even of A.J. Jimenez at one point.  Once and a while you develop a catcher and you find them to be a superstar at a different position, ie. Carlos Delgado.

If you are a Blue Jays fan there is no way you don’t know of Danny Jansen, the now and future backstop of Toronto.  The Jays drafted him, developed him, found a weakness and fixed it.  But who else does Toronto have?  In this article, I’ll dive into the top 10 most important catchers currently in the organization.

3.       Alejandro Kirk – Dunedin Blue Jays – High A Ball

Another 2016 international free agent signing, Alejandro is a thick, hard-hitting catcher.  Some have said that Kirk may not stick at catcher, but I am one to think he may stay at the position.

Kirk started 17 games in Lansing this year where he did not allow a passed ball and threw out 33% of the runners.  Once he was promoted to Dunedin his caught stealing percentage went up to nearly 40%, however has added five passed balls, albeit in three times as many games.  His home run totals dropped from Rookie ball where he hit 10 last year in 244 at bats to just three in 283 at bats this year.  The impressive part of his batting is he has been able to keep a high batting average of .305 in the higher levels and he has exchanged home runs for doubles as he has seen a 150% increase.

4.       Riley Adams – New Hampshire Fisher Cats – AA

One of the more popular Blue Jays prospects, Riley Adams was selected in the third round of the 2017 MLB draft and signed at slot for $542,400.  Adams has caught 56 games behind the plate this year and has allowed just six passed balls, throwing out 29% of the runners (31% in AA).  Adams has been as steady as the come and looks to be at minimum a quality MLB back-up catcher.  A year ago, he likely would have been third or even second but the emergence of Moreno has dropped him down.

5.       Reese McGuire – Buffalo Bisons – AA

One of the better trades that Ross Atkins has done, McGuire was acquired with Harold Ramirez and Francisco Liriano (later traded for Teoscar Hernandez) for dwindling Drew Hutchison.  McGuire impressed with a September call-up last year hitting .290 with two home runs in 31 at bats for the Blue Jays.

In my opinion McGuire should stay with the Blue Jays right now and should be paired with Jansen for the next few years.  McGuire is well above what Luke Maile brings, but I’m not in the organization to have my opinion (yet).  McGuire has thrown out just 26% of the base runners this year, but has not been tested all that much, which could because of his arm strength.  He is also striking out just 15.6% of his at bats (Maile is 24.1% this season and 27% for his career) so McGuire can move runners along.  Bring him up now, which will help with the MLB club, his future as well as freeing up spots for the young catchers climbing the ranks.

6.       Hagen Danner – Lansing Lugnuts – A Ball

The 2017 second round pick signed for well above slot with the Blue Jays and came out of the gates flat on his face.

Danner batting just .160 and his strikeout to walk rate was 7:1, while throwing out just 21% of the runners.  He showed that was just a small 34 game sample, as in 2018 in Rookie Ball he batted .279 and his strikeout to walk rate dropped to 1.5:1.

There were lots of expectations coming into 2019 when he started the season with Lansing.  His catching has improved a bit, but he is now splitting time between behind the plate and first base.  Danner has added some power as he has his 12 home runs this year which triples his combined stats from the two years previous, but his average has dropped to a .179.  My expectation is that he will move to first to try and work more on his bat.

7.       Ryan Sloniger – Bluefield – Rookie

One of my favorite prospects so far, and I’m not sure how you cannot love what he brings after 20 games in the Blue Jays organization.  Sloniger was taken in the 38th round in this past draft and signed a very low signing bonus, but got to work right away.

Of the 20 games he has started 14 of them at catcher and has thrown out just one of 15 base runners.  But, and that is a big but, his hitting has been outstanding, which leads me to believe the 5’11” catcher may end up seeing middle infield time, likely at second base.  Sloniger is batting .337 between Vancouver and Bluefield with five homeruns.

8.       Philip Clarke – Vancouver – Low A

Taken in the same draft as Sloniger the two are now teammates playing together in Vancovuer.  Clarke will likely see more of the time behind the plate and his bat has been just as good as Sloniger.  Clarke is batting .306 in 12 games with four extra base hits and his walk to strikeout rate through those games is 1:1.  It will be interesting to see how these two progress together, both are left handed bats, both stand 5’11” and just shy of 200 lbs, both styles are pretty similar.  Let the best man win.

9.       Ryan Gold – Lansing Lugnuts – A Ball

It was now four drafts ago that the Blue Jays signed Ryan Gold out of Carolina Forest High School.  As the seasons go on, Gold is seeing less and less time behind the plate.

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In 71 games played this year, he has caught just 30 of them.  His bat seems to play quite well and he is seeing a bit more time at DH and 1B so not sure how much longer we can keep him on the radar as a catcher.  Gold is currently batting .250 with 26 extra base hits in 71 games.

10.   Christopher Bec – Dunedin Blue Jays – High A

The 2018 fifth round pick, Christopher Bec is in the midst of his second season with the Blue Jays.  Bec has struggled a bit throwing out base runners at just 16% and doesn’t hit for much power as he has just eight extra base hits in 118 at bats.  He doesn’t strike out very much as he has just 28 strikeouts this season.  He has been stuck behind Alejandro Kirk this season for playing time.  Bec may run into trouble with some higher end prospects all climbing at the same time.

As we’ve already mentioned, chances are the Blue Jays should have the top of their catching depth chart taken care of with Danny Jansen looking like an established starter. Thankfully there is quite a bit of talent throughout the catching ranks though, so the Jays should be well covered for quite some time, and/or could have some valuable trade chips down the road.