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2008 As big of a surprise as Paulino was in 2006, when he came up from the minor leagues in mid-April and seized the starting catcher's job, he was that much of a disappointment in 2007. Paulino's work habits last year were poor and he regressed both at the plate and behind it. Most of his regression on offense, however, was due to a 47-point dip in batting average, as he actually hit for more power and saw very little change in his walk rate. There's still potential here if Paulino can improve his worth ethic and get his average and his defense to rebound. 2007 Paulino was lost in the great flood of quality rookies in 2006, but he posted a WARP3 of 4.9, good enough for third among National League catchers behind sophomore Brian McCann of the Braves and fellow rookie Russell Martin of the Dodgers. Paulino is two years older than Martin and three years older than McCann, but there`s nothing new about a catcher getting a late entry into the big leagues. He`s a plus guy behind the plate but his lack of noticeable secondary offensive skills (.050 on-base and .084 slugging) are a bit worrisome in a regular; a batting average collapse would take his whole offensive game down with it. 2006 Paulino is one of the most underrated prospects in the system. The organization loves his defensive skills, and he`s cultivated a good power stroke over the past two seasons. The problem, for the time being, is that Paulino is behind Ryan Doumit in the organizational catching queue. However, because of his superior glove, it may be Doumit who finds himself moved to another position. The Pirates have had to make a lot of decisions like this in recent years: Craig Wilson: animal, vegetable, or mineral? Is Tike Redman or isn`t he? Who`s on first? Whatever the case, they`ve rarely been decisive, meaning they might not commit to either Paulino or Doumit at catcher for a long time. Jim Tracy`s first test will be to demonstrate more ability than Lloyd McClendon at sorting out options. 2005 The Eastern league's All-Star catcher hasn't had an easy path, having lost time in 2003 to the Rule 5 draft (yes, it was a problem in previous years too), and injuries plagued him in 2002 and 2003. However, he finally put in a healthy season, and played his way onto the 40-man roster. His future depends on two things: If Cota fails to claim the job from Santiago some time this year, and if Doumit keeps getting hurt. He lacks Doumit's offensive potential, but he's not too dissimilar from Cota, including the plus defensive rep.
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