[BirdWatcher]

The catcher position has been a mostly unstable one for the Brewers for the past several years. The original Brewer catcher, Sam Rogers, who was also the original team captain, was traded away at the end of May, 1968 as his defense was diminishing and his hitting skills were minimal, in spite of the fact that he was very popular and a 3-time All-Star. Since then a few veteran catchers have come and gone- Brett Wood and Carlos Rivera- with very poor results in Brewers purple.

For the first several years of the franchise the team did not have much success bringing along prospects at the catcher position. In fact, even now the man who the OSA ranks as our top catcher prospect is no longer even playing that position as he has switched over to pitching exclusively. (He was a poor defensive catcher with diminishing potential as a hitter, per our scouting staff. He is a decent minor league pitcher but certainly not a major league prospect at any position.)

There is now, however, some hope on the horizon with several decent catching prospects moving up through the pipeline.
One thing that has become clear is that the Brewers are forming a preference for a type when it comes to this position. First and foremost, they are looking for defensive excellence. Secondly, acknowledging that good hitting catchers are few and far between, they are focusing on catchers who at least have a good eye at the plate and can draw an above average amount of walks. If a catcher has some power potential, either for balls into the gaps or over the fences, all the better.

The Brewers two current big league catchers fit at least some of this profile. Both Kevin Curtis (.169/.271/.239, 0.3 WAR) and Joey Townsend (.151/.326/.178, 0.1 WAR) are above average defenders, with Curtis quickly gaining the reputation of being a potentially excellent back-stop. They both have the ability to draw walks, though they also both strike out quite a bit. And Curtis, in particular, in spite of his general disinclination to make good contact, has good gap power when he does. Curtis is also considered a leader on the team and a hard worker. (Townsend, on the other hand, has the reputation of being unmotivated and maybe even just downright lazy.) Neither is likely a long-term solution as a starter, but Curtis has great potential to have an impact at the very least in a back-up role going forward.

Most likely Townsend will not be on the roster in 1971. At this stage of things it appears that Jeff Darden may be the obvious choice to take his place. Darden has put up good numbers this season at both AA Nashville and AAA Chester and is a very solid defensive catcher with a great reputation as a hard worker. Hit hitting skills are considered limited at the WPK level, but like Curtis he will draw a decent number of walks. Darden will likely back-up Curtis in 1971.

But longer term there are better prospects coming up. 21-year old Spencer Wilson is the one most likely to challenge Curtis and Darden for the starting position in the next year or so. Wilson was putting up good numbers at A Bainbridge earlier in the season and earned a promotion to AA Nashville, where he has been even better in 41 games played. He is a well above average defender with a plus arm, has a great eye at the plate and average to somewhat below average hitting ability.

Alex Hernandez, a 21-year old playing at A Bainbridge this season, could have even more hitting potential, though he is not as selective at the plate. He is also a plus defender with a solid work ethic.

But probably the best catching prospect in the Brewers organization is 20-year old Zacarias Martell, currently playing for short season A Jersey City. Martell has the potential to be a great defensive catcher (though with only an average arm) and a possibly above average hitter with good gap power and a decent eye. At this stage of his development (and admittedly, it is early days) the Brewers scouting staff sees him as a possible impact player on a contending team.

While there are probably no superstars in the making at this position for the Brewers, they do have a greater depth of potential then at any other time in team history and anticipate at least a few of these players developing enough to give the big league club a solid tandem behind the plate in the next few years and hopefully for many years into the future.

(And I haven't even mentioned the recently drafted Warren Tinsley, who has very little offensive potential- though he could become an above average power hitter, both gap and HR- but is probably the best defensive catcher in the organization and is a natural leader. He could still work his way up into a defense-first back-up role and the WPK level.)