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June 29, 2006

Future Shock

Position Breakdown: Catchers

by Kevin Goldstein

In yesterday's Under The Knife column, Will Carroll mentioned how he was one of the few who actually owe their very career to Peter Gammons. It's a short list, but I'm also on the roster. It's a long and entertaining story that I won't get into right now, but without him, I don't think I'd be working in baseball for a living. Get Well Soon Gammo, indeed.

If there's one thing I've learned on this beat, it's that everybody loves rankings. I love them too, and I don't want to wait until the end of the season to start breaking them out. Every Thursday, I'll be ranking the top prospects by position. Today we begin with catchers.

Catchers are one of the most valuable commodities in baseball, and certainly the rarest. Compiling a top 10 list in all of the minor leagues requires a whole lot of faith and projection, as I can't come up with ten that I could guarantee as major league first-level starters. Only the top two have star potential, and a weak 2006 draft class doesn't help much. That doesn't mean I didn't try.

1. Jeff Clement, Mariners
Age: 22.9 Hitting: .262/.351/.440 in 21 G (15 Double-A, 9 Triple-A) Arm: 3-for-13 runners caught (23%)

If anything, Clement ranks No. 1 by default, as he hasn't had the opportunity to disappoint, so the potential still remains. He was doing pretty well for San Antonio in the Texas League before undergoing some minor knee surgery that cost him about six weeks. I've gone over his inexplicable assignment to Triple-A Tacoma before, but there he is. Clement is the only catcher in the minor leagues with 30+ home run potential, and the progress he made defensively last year at Southern California has scouts believing he can stay at catcher. He won't become a defensive whiz, but he'll stay there--and with that bat, just being serviceable behind the plate should make him an elite backstop.