SF Giants prospects position preview chat with Wrenzie & Marc: Catcher

SF Giants prospects position-by-position chat: Catcher (Part 2)

M: Moving attention away from those guys, let’s play a little over/under game. Do you think there are currently more or less than 2.5 future everyday catchers currently in the Giants minor-league system?

W: I like this game. Right now, I am taking the over. Ricardo Genoves will be the third guy. Even if he does not have an average impact offensively, I am sure his defense can play at the big league level, albeit for a different team unfortunately with the kind of depth that the organization has at the position. When the Giants released their Spring Training catching videos on YouTube, it was Genoves who I was the most amazed with his defensive chops, even more than Bart or Bailey.

I actually think there is a fourth in Adrian Sugastey, but we can probably talk about him more later if you want to.

M: Haha, we are on the same page here. Honestly, for me, the over/under is probably 3.5, but I’m higher on the other catchers than most. I’m really curious to see Genoves, Sugastey, and Rayner Santana this year because I think the gap between them and Bart/Bailey might be a lot smaller than we realize because they just have not gotten the same exposure.

Santana is definitely going to have an uphill battle to sticking defensively, but he has some strong offensive potential too. I think one of Genoves, Sugastey, and Santana end up among the system’s top-ten prospects by the end of the year.

W: Oh yeah, I am intrigued with the young catchers that the system offers. I have Sugastey as the 22nd best prospect in my top 30 and the highest-ranked prospect from the loaded 2019 international FA class. He’s someone that I think can blossom to a really good prospect three or four years from now.

He’s hit in his teenage years, he’s posted an exit velocity of 112 MPH in games as a teenager, he is very athletic, has a plus arm, and is agile behind the dish. That my friend is a really exciting collection of tools as a catcher. If there is a top 10 prospect among those three that you mentioned, I’m betting my money on Sugastey.

My worry about Santana is his body ages into his mid-to-late-20s. He does also have tremendous power and arm strength. A bit sloppy behind the plate at the moment so that’s why he’s seeing time in other positions, but catchers do develop rather slowly as they learn the nuances of the position. It’s all a matter of Santana developing enough to play the position.