A well-developed catcher is worth ten hard-hitting batters. Catchers are hard to develop.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have two of them. Endy Rodriguez, 23, and Henry Davis, 24, are MLB.com’s No. 2 and No. 3 prospects, respectively.
They were able to avoid collisions earlier in the season. That’s because Rodriguez started the season in Triple-A and Davis in Double-A.
But that changed. Davis was promoted to Triple-A. Double-A was too small for him. He blew up the league with a .284 batting average, .433 on-base percentage, and .547 slugging percentage, and the club decided to promote him.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said, “The way he’s played the last two months, we know he’s ready for the challenge 스포츠토토. At some point, Triple-A was going to be a stage he had to go through, and now is the time,” said Pirates president Ben Cherington about the promotion.
Barring an immediate call-up for Rodriguez, two top catching prospects will be on the same team for the time being. It’s possible that one or the other could impact playing time.
“We’ll see how it goes week to week,” Cherington said when asked about their playing time. The plan is to adjust their playing time accordingly.
“They can both play different positions,” he said, adding that they can coexist in the lineup.
In addition to catcher, Endy Rodriguez has experience playing first base, second base, and even the entire outfield. “We don’t want to put too much pressure on him,” Cherington said, adding that Rodriguez will only play first base in addition to catcher. As for Davis, he can also play right field.
It’s possible that their coexistence will eventually affect their positions. It’s not uncommon for positions to change during development.
Cherrington emphasized that developing both players as catchers is a priority, saying, “In the short term, the goal is to put together the best lineup to win that day, but in the long term, the goal is to develop both players into major league catchers.”
It remains to be seen how Pittsburgh will develop these two catching prospects. “Good players eventually get opportunities,” Cherrington said, adding that if they continue to play the way they are, they will get them in the big leagues.