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James McCann - catcher of the future ?


Colinski

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James McCann has a 3.4 WAR this year according to baseball reference, he works hard on game preparation and is loved by the pitching staff according to reports. Can anyone remember the last time we had a catcher with a 2+war not called AJ ?

Before I get into why I am creating this thread I want to say one thing. I really like McCann, I don’t know why but I do. 

From a rebuild perspective he is the one win from our pro scouting so also gives me hope our organisation are not poor talent evaluators. Everything is pro McCann.... except his second half numbers!

I’ve posted these stats at the bottom. For those of you who love tradition stats the first numbers are average, OBP and slugging.

For those of you who like more advance states he is about 25% below league average at hitting. THe saving grace is a lowish .296 babip (406 was his babip in the first half).

This could all simply mean the first half and second half is what he is overall and neither explain fully who he is. A .275 average hitter with some pop and good defence. I’d take that any day of the week.

So my questions to you all are.

who is the real James McCann the first half, second half(or what I call Detroit McCann) or somewhere between?

Is he our catcher of the future? 

If so would you extend him and for how much ?

 

222 .275 .403 .679 71 3 4 1 0 0 2 .296 71 75
 
 
 
Edited by Colinski
Typed on phone so there are lots of typos etc, some I cannot be bothered to edit or find.
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2 hours ago, Colinski said:

James McCann has a 3.4 WAR this year according to baseball reference, he works hard on game preparation and is loved by the pitching staff according to reports. Can anyone remember the last time we had a catcher with a 2+war not called AJ ?

Before I get into why I am creating this thread I want to say one thing. I really like McCann, I don’t know why but I do. 

From a rebuild perspective he is the one win from our pro scouting so also gives me hope our organisation are not poor talent evaluators. Everything is pro McCann.... except his second half numbers!

I’ve posted these stats at the bottom. For those of you who love tradition stats the first numbers are average, OBP and slugging.

For those of you who like more advance states he is about 25% below league average at hitting. THe saving grace is a lowish .296 babip (406 was his babip in the first half).

This could all simply mean the first half and second half is what he is overall and neither explain fully who he is. A .275 average hitter with some pop and good defence. I’d take that any day of the week.

So my questions to you all are.

who is the real James McCann the first half, second half(or what I call Detroit McCann) or somewhere between?

Is he our catcher of the future? 

If so would you extend him and for how much ?

 

222 .275 .403 .679 71 3 4 1 0 0 2 .296 71 75
 
 
 

Extend him for 2 additional years at 5 million per year.  I would like to see him used with Grandal & Collins as Catcher/Backup Catcher/DH kind of role.

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27 minutes ago, poppysox said:

Extend him for 2 additional years at 5 million per year.  I would like to see him used with Grandal & Collins as Catcher/Backup Catcher/DH kind of role.

If he is the back-up catcher and accepts that role, then $5 Mil is okay. As many have said, Grandal is going to cost at least $16 for 3-5 years.  I would think McCann will look to get out in 2021 or sooner.  I doubt he signs a 2 year. 

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McCann is a really well prepared and competent catcher.  If we were to get Grandal I would view it as a job share more than backup role.  It seems broadcasters are nightly talking about the pounding McCann and catchers in general take.  Two really good catchers seems a necessity for a team expecting to compete.  Also, a great place for Collins to receive mentoring and not have much pressure as he is obviously not a finished product.

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6 hours ago, Colinski said:

Not saying you are wrong, but what is it that makes you feel this way?

Everything about his first half felt fluky and his second half confirmed it. He works well with the pitchers, and I'd like to keep him around, but they need someone better than him as the every day starter. 

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8 hours ago, TaylorStSox said:

I'm not worried about scoring runs. I think it's more important to have a veteran catcher who can handle a young staff, even if he's a light hitting catcher. McCann seems to excel in that area. 

I agree that McCann is great as a handler of this young staff and his hitting is fine for my taste.  However...Grandal & McCann would be dynamic.  Have Collins learn from two veteran pros while backing up catcher, DH and 1st base.  

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Sign Grandal and put his name (not position) into the #5 for the year. 110 games at catcher, 35 games at DH and 10 games at 1B. Sign a solid left-handed infield bat to compliment. 

CF Robert

2B Madrigal

3B Moncada

1B/DH Abreu

C/1B/DH Grandal

LF Jimenez

DH/C Collins/McCann

SS Anderson

That's without even addressing RF which they will do in some way. 

 

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11 hours ago, raBBit said:

Sign Grandal and put his name (not position) into the #5 for the year. 110 games at catcher, 35 games at DH and 10 games at 1B. Sign a solid left-handed infield bat to compliment. 

CF Robert

2B Madrigal

3B Moncada

1B/DH Abreu

C/1B/DH Grandal

LF Jimenez

DH/C Collins/McCann

SS Anderson

That's without even addressing RF which they will do in some way. 

 

Throw in Nimmo or another left-handed RF and that’s my exact plan.  Collins gets half a season or so to show he’s a major league hitter before Vaughn starts to enter the equation.

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18 minutes ago, SouthWallace said:

Honest question, who is the better receiver/defender/framer/game caller, McCann or Grandal?

I am all aboard the Grandal/McCann/Collins 3 headed C/DH/1B train, I just haven't seen enough of Grandal to know.

The Baseball Prospectus version has McCann 12th worst in baseball in framing and substantially worse than even Collins. He was roughly average on the other things catchers do (blocking and throwing) in their version. 

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1 hour ago, soxfan49 said:

Because they want to win?

Why are we down on Collins now? He's a 10th overall draft pick? He has Carlton Fisk size. What has made him be out of the mix? He's supposed to be one of the studs in the rebuild at No. 10 pick overall. He's got the experience. He's more than old enough. Play him. Start him next year.

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20 minutes ago, greg775 said:

Why are we down on Collins now? He's a 10th overall draft pick? He has Carlton Fisk size. What has made him be out of the mix? He's supposed to be one of the studs in the rebuild at No. 10 pick overall. He's got the experience. He's more than old enough. Play him. Start him next year.

Who cares where he was drafted and how big he is? He can't hit a fastball. Defensively he's not very good. He has been pathetic in his big league career. 

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