Jordan Abruzzo –S/R – 6’2” 220 lbs – 13^th rd ’07 – b. 8/2/24

Abruzzo hit his way out of Savannah and into the middle of the St. Lucie batting order in the first two months of 2008. So the Mets rewarded him by sending him down two levels from St. Lucie to Brooklyn on July12th. Abruzzo is a free-swinger with some pop from each side. The combination of his receiving abilities and modest power will keep him in baseball for the foreseeable future. He profiles as an org guy or, if he’s lucky, a backup catcher somewhere along the line.

Abruzzo will have a chance to improve his stock slightly in HWB this fall.

Likely 2009 Start: AA

Josh Thole – L/R – 6’2” 205 lbs – 13^th rd ’05 – b. 10/28/86

Josh Thole knows the difference between a strike and a ball. For the third time in four years as a professional, Josh Thole had more walks than strikeouts. In 2008, he started to convert those pitch capabilities abilities into a nascent ability to drive the ball. His 25 doubles and five homers each exceeded his total from his first three seasons (23 and 2, respectively) and 591 professional Abs.

The left-handed hitting Thole actually had an OPS 11 points higher against left-handed pitchers than against righties.

So, that kind of production, from a catcher - good contact skills, with burgeoning pop - makes Thole a really good prospect right? Not so fast. Can he handle catcher? Thole led FSL catchers with a .994 fielding percentage, and was fifth in the league among qualified backstops (a short list) by throwing out 22.5% of baserunners. In less than 20 innings of observation, I did not focus enough on Thole’s defense behind the dish to have strong opinions on his capabilities. JJ Cooper at BA recently wrote of Thole, “there are few who liked his work at catcher.”

I’ll add here that there are questions about nearly all young catchers’ abilities behind the plate. A young shortstop or centerfielder can blow a scout away with speed, hands, and arm. Catchers by contrast can show the tools – arm, footwork, transfer – but at no other position on the diamond, is there as much to learn to become an MLB caliber defender. For example, catchers must learn to handle pitchers, read batters swings, read pitches, refine their blocking mechanics, refine their footwork, smooth out the transfer from glove to hand.

The Mets are challenging Thole by sending him to the Arizona Fall League. I look forward to reports on his progress, and specifically his defense from the desert. I might or might not make a trip to AZ myself.

Likely 2009 Start: AA