Yankees catcher of the future?

With Stewart and Cervelli as the possible alternative to Romine....may as well take a good look at Romine this spring. I have a feeling that maybe we'll be on the outside looking in at the end of the season anyway, so why not bring Romine into the mix, see what he can do at the MLB level?

QUOTE(#1):

Originally posted 08:28 AM ET  12.26 by Yogi-Zen

With Stewart and Cervelli as the possible alternative to Romine....may as well take a good look at Romine this spring. I have a feeling that maybe we'll be on the outside looking in at the end of the season anyway, so why not bring Romine into the mix, see what he can do at the MLB level?

Can Romine stay healthy? Bad backs are career killers, even more so for a catcher.

I like Stewart, great defensivley. Cervilli sucks.

If the 24 year old is all of that then you can get by with a 200 hitting catcher.

QUOTE(#4):

Originally posted 09:10 AM ET  12.26 by toad

If the 24 year old is all of that then you can get by with a 200 hitting catcher.

They did with Martin last year.

They should've signed Pierzynski.

QUOTE(#4):

Originally posted 09:10 AM ET  12.26 by toad

If the 24 year old is all of that then you can get by with a 200 hitting catcher.

Problem with his bat is that at the AA level he is about a .280 hitter but once he gets to AAA he drops below .200. The majors won't make it any easier for him to get near or over the Mendoza line.
Therefore, he better be defensively at least as good as Pudge Rodriguez. And I have heard no one even mention that his arm and/or movement behind the plate was anywhere near being that good.

QUOTE(#8):

Originally posted 09:40 AM ET  12.26 by 4192jc (Don't give up!)

Problem with his bat is that at the AA level he is about a .280 hitter but once he gets to AAA he drops below .200. The majors won't make it any easier for him to get near or over the Mendoza line. Therefore, he better be defensively at least as good as Pudge Rodriguez. And I have heard no one even mention that his arm and/or movement behind the plate was anywhere near being that good.

Using Rodriguez as a measuring stick would make almost any other catcher look not so good defensively.

QUOTE(#9):

Originally posted 09:41 AM ET  12.26 by .ChiSoxFan.

Using Rodriguez as a measuring stick would make almost any other catcher look not so good defensively.

In my opinion, if you bat below .200 then you better be that good with the glove. But for the sake of arguement would you accept the defensive talent of Parrish or Simmons, then?

QUOTE(#10):

Originally posted 09:45 AM ET  12.26 by 4192jc (Don't give up!)

In my opinion, if you bat below .200 then you better be that good with the glove. But for the sake of arguement would you accept the defensive talent of Parrish or Simmons, then?

Let's set defense aside. I'd say even more important for the modern catcher is controlling the game and essentially developing a good rapport with the pitching staff.

With the Yankees offense, the catcher doesn't have to be Buster Posey. A .260 average with a little pop would be fine.

The C has to call a good game, throw out runners, block bad pitches and frame good ones.

About time they gave the kid a chance.

QUOTE(#12):

Originally posted 09:59 AM ET  12.26 by jgb

not sure why he'd drop 80 points

Me neither. AAA is filled with mostly careers minor-league players and a few players just not quite good enough to be in the majors. AA is usually where the most talent and potential stacks up developing for the bigs -- you typically don't see the kind of drop-off DGU! is describing.

Romine and Stewart will do just fine and be an improvement over Martin in some ways. And everybody knows Sanchez is the guy that will get the job full time, maybe as soon as next year.

QUOTE(#11):

Originally posted 09:48 AM ET  12.26 by .ChiSoxFan.

Let's set defense aside. I'd say even more important for the modern catcher is controlling the game and essentially developing a good rapport with the pitching staff.

Not sure defense can be set aside if the guy can't hit major league pitching.
Secondly, he can have all the rapport he wants to have with the Yankee pitching staff but that still doesn't mean diddily if he can't control the base paths, frame pitches correctly, etc...
Now, I don't believe Romine is as bad as, say, Posada was behind the plate but I still don't hear anyone really raving about how great a defensive catcher this guy is, either. It sounds like he is good behind the palte but not much beyond that. And, a fair to good defensive catcher, who hits a buck ninety, ain't gonna make it. Hell, they had Martin and should of over spent to keep him if that is what they wanted.
Not sure what the Yankees are doing here but if they are sacrificing next year until they get under the artificial cap then I guess so goes the war.
I am just hoping they get back closer to when players like O'Neill and Tino played. The present Yankee lineup of guys who can pop the ball over the fence and not hit for average is not conducive to winning the over all goal which I assume is to win a championship ring.

QUOTE(#18):

Originally posted 10:33 AM ET  12.26 by jgb

and also - these guys are supposed to be legit prospects.its not some 29 year old journeyman thats been in the minors forever(although it does seem like we've been hearing about him since 1956)smh

He has been in the mnors since 2007 and he is just 24 so it ain't like he is an abject failure but at 24, if he is to be the Yankee catcher of the future then push may need to come to shove rather soon.

QUOTE(#6):

Originally posted 09:34 AM ET  12.26 by jgb

why do we always have to baby these guys ?stick him behind the plate and lets see what he's got.- all our pitchers are veterans- they don't even need someone calling the gamesIf he sucks, I don't want to waste anymore time and resources on him

There's always the issue of hiding him as a "prospect" if you feel he doesn't cut it. He might be a chip to be played for another player if the buyer isn't savvy. Expose him in the majors and remove all doubt, and he's lost that trade chip potential.