NJtoFLAcane
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obrien drafted by the yankees
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JimmyJohnsonsHair
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NJ (and others who have watched him play), what are your thoughts on O'Brien? Is he a legit MLB prospect?
NJtoFLAcane
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hes def a legit prospect because of his bat
his got a great bat and good power.......hes only an average defensive catcher
as an MLB prospect.......he may actually be a better prospect at first......if he worked on his defense
but hes certainly a legit prospect......depending on how he does calling games at the lower levels may determine his future as a catcher
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JimmyJohnsonsHair
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^ Cool. Thx for the info.
Penalties Galore
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Strong arm and decent quickness - I think he is going to get a chance at catcher initially.
Unfortunately, the Yankees system is loaded at the catching position with Romine, Sanchez and Murphy. Russell Martin is surely out after this season and many hope Romine steps in. Depending on who you ask, Murphy or Sanchez is the gem of the group but both are in A ball, high and low respectively.
Back to O'Brien, bread and butter is his bat though, and if he hits his way through the minors he is going to get a chance in the AL. As the Yankees did with Montero this Winter, they won't hesitate to deal a prospect. Should be fun watching O'Brien develop with the league's finest organization. I expect they start him in the Penn league this year, but there may be room for promotion right away if they bump up Murphy and Sanchez.
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Penalties Galore
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NJ - For those unable to watch the kids regularly, who handles the pitch selection duties at Miami? Do Morris / Arteaga give the kids any freedom? How much was O'Brien responsible for the success of our staff this season?
NJtoFLAcane
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agreed
alot of people found it hard to believe that the yankees traded montero for pineda......but they obviously had no idea how deep the catching is in that system
he will almost certainly start as a catcher.......but i think next year is crucial in determining if he stays there or not
his bat could certainly get him onto the same roster as either murphy or sanchez.........and at that point.......his future behind the plate will likely hinge on how well he stacks up up against those guys defensively and in game calling
and if he does get moved........hes got the build and quickness to play 1st........but i dont see him winning any gold gloves there
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NJtoFLAcane
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typically weve have always called most of the game from the dugout.......but from what i remember depending on the pitcher and catcher......they have been given some freedom on the field
for example......i remember watching a game in 2010 and they interviewed morris and were talking about a specific sequence in an at bat......and praised grandal and the pitcher who was either erickson or hernandez that day......for the way they navigated through it......and for the way grandal called the at bat
the reason i didnt mention that aspect though is because after he got hurt........the staff didnt really miss a beat with kennedy behind the plate and we know that he wasnt giving a true freshman any responsibility in that area of the game
although at times i think you could see a difference in them being more confident with obrien behind the plate compared to kennedy.....and maybe the fact that obrien had more control in certain situations could have played a role in that
he also seems to be the all important "good clubhouse guy"......and that chemistry always helps a battery.......which is why some pitchers have "their" catcher.......and some of those pitchers are the only reason some backup catchers even had major league jobs.......which im sure wont hurt him at all either
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JimmyJohnsonsHair
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FWIW, Romine has chronic back issues and neither Sanchez nor Murphy are good defensive catchers.
NJtoFLAcane
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i havent seen them play down here at all.....but from what ive read......on sanchez you are correct......but ive read a couple of things that say murphy is actually excellent behind the plate for the level hes at
how well that translates as he moves up......who the **** knows?
but sanchez seems to be the better hitter of the 2
sanchez is in the sally league......aka low A right now
its possible that he could hit his way past murphy this year or next.......and as i said earlier......its also possible that POB could hit his way to being on the same roster with one of them next year.......again it would be at that point that his defense and game calling ability could determine if hes a catching prospect or if he gets moved to first
the trend in the majors in recent years is to sacrifice offense if you have a great defensive catcher
it seems like defensively he will have to beat out sanchez......because their bats could be very similar.......but despite what ive read about murphy being that solid defensively.....he doesnt seem to have any bat at all
thus far murphy has hit about .255 in low A and this year is only hitting .237 in high A
he only still 21......and could well develop a bit later......but if that trend continues.......even if he was a gold glove catcher......his bat may well hold him back from ever even being a regular at AAA
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