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2008 1. Ray Oyler, 1968: .135
2. Chris Bando, 1985: .139
3. Vic Harris, 1972: .140
4. Jose Oliva, 1995: .142
5. Jason LaRue, 2007: .148 A torrid September (he hit .227!) kept LaRue from ranking second on this list. You would think a team that has a 26-year-old catcher who started the year on fire would play him as much as possible over a 34-year-old backstop in the last year of his contract who is struggling to hit his wife's weight. You're obviously not Buddy Bell. Having returned to the weaker league by signing with the Cardinals, LaRue's a sure bet to get that average back over .170. 2007 The combination of a preseason knee injury and the incredible hot streak of David Ross reduced the five-year incumbent backstop to `what have you done for me lately` status. If he`s healthy and gets a larger share of playing time in Kansas City at John Buck`s expense, he might reward the Royals` decision to take on $2.5 million of what he`s owed for 2007, especially if he thrives in the first three or four months and Dayton Moore sensibly flips him at the deadline. 2006 LaRue has settled comfortably into a useful role, and even improved in 2005, posting modest career highs in BA, SLG, and OBP. Platooning with Javier Valentin helped, but LaRue`s increased walk rate was mostly negated by his big drop in getting on base by taking one (or several) for the team. LaRue`s power comes on mistake fastballs; his long swing and average bat speed make him vulnerable to breaking and off-speed stuff. Defensively, LaRue`s accurate arm remains his primary asset, gunning 33% of base bandits. 2005 Like a kid holding his nose while gulping down castor oil, you can try to look past the brutal 4:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and focus on the curative powers of LaRue's 41 extra-base hits. His .337 OBP, modest as it is, is also a career high, and his third straight year of improvement as a regular. LaRue's defense is another matter: Known for his ability to gun down would-be basestealers—he punched out an astounding 61% in 2001, 45% in 2002, winning Michael Wolverton's Golden Gun award for catchers both seasons—he's tossed out a more pedestrian 27% and 30% the last two seasons. Add it all up, and you get a player who's like anyone else—not nearly as good as his best moments, nor as bad as his worst. The Reds brought him back for $3 million, at the high end of what they should be willing to pay. 2003 BP’s 2001 Golden Gun winner hauled home the far less-coveted lead glove last year by allowing 20 passed balls, five more than any other NL team. Jared Fernandez wasn’t the sole culprit, since LaRue caught less than half of the knuckleballer’s 50 innings. Naturally, the miscues didn’t sit well with his seven-time Gold Glove–winning manager. Either LaRue or Kelly Stinnett will be leaving town to make room for Corky Miller. The Reds would prefer to keep LaRue, who is Stinnett’s equal offensively, but younger and cheaper. 2002 One element of the catcher’s job that gets overlooked is the difficulty of adapting to catching major-league-quality breaking stuff. How much of that does a catcher really see in the minors? How many of those breaking balls are thrown for strikes so that you can work on framing them effectively? LaRue has yet to fully make the adjustment, but he has improved. He’s rumored to be on the block, and his trade value will never get much higher than it is now. 2001 Jason LaRue got jobbed out of playing time when the Reds brought in Benito Santiago. Eddie Taubensee's big September in 1999 had buried LaRue as a starter, anyway. He'll be around for a while; think Brook Fordyce's career path. 2000 The injury to Brian Johnson brought him to the majors as Eddie Taubensee’s caddy, a role that fits him. He won’t hit enough to be a regular, so backing up a left-handed-hitting catcher who is below average defensively makes the most of what he does well. LaRue has no star value. 1999 We said last year that he needed a two-level jump this year to get noticed; he did it, and excelled at Double-A. Of course, we said the jump was doubtful, which shows what we know. The power increase was dramatic, and enough to make him a star behind the plate. Now the #1 catcher in the Reds' system, and a threat to Taubensee this summer. 1998 LaRue tied for the minor league lead with 50 doubles. Unfortunately he did it at age 23 in the Sally League, which dampens our enthusiasm significantly. He showed little power other than the doubles and the rest of his game is unspectacular. Needs about a two-level jump this year to get noticed; doubtful.
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