St. Louis Cardinals’ MLB Draft Preview: Catcher, a Position of Interest

The St. Louis Cardinals have one of the best catchers of all time on their team. However, as we have mentioned several times, it is getting near that time to replace that catcher.

The St. Louis Cardinals have been lucky when it comes to catchers over the course of their franchise. They had Mike Matheny before Yadier Molina, guys like Ted Simmons and Joe Torre before them. Not to mention they had the likes of Tim McCarver and Darrel Porter as well.

However, Molina definitely stands out as the best out of all of them. I don’t need to go into detail in the numbers, as you saw those when we did our historical series during the winter. However, age is catching up to Molina and fast.

He’s had two thumb surgeries the past two seasons and has missed time towards the end of the past two seasons. He’s under contract for a couple more seasons, and the Cardinals are already grooming his replacement in Carson Kelly.

Last season, the Cardinals picked up a couple catchers in the later rounds of the draft, but did not find a value in one in the higher rounds. With a total of four picks in the first two rounds of the draft, that could change this year as the club looks to maybe have a backup plan in case Kelly doesn’t pan out.

So, what catchers are available that could be a good pick for the Cardinals? Let’s have a look.

Next: Chris Okey

Option #2 Sean Murphy

Age: 21

Hits/Throws: Right/Right

School: Wright State

Murphy is quite the interesting player. Murphy is quite a bit bigger than Okey and is almost a polar opposite type of player. While Murphy has good numbers throughout his three seasons at Wright State with a slash of .308/.407/.462, his Cape Cod numbers of .226/.314/.366 show that he is anything but an advanced hitter.

However, Scout.com’s Jeff Ellis mentions that Murphy is absolutely a defensive stud behind the plate and mentions that he could be one of the very best defensive players in the draft regardless of position. Red Baron of Viva El Birdos says that he possesses a 70 grade arm and calls it an absolute “howitzer”.

Minor League Ball had this to say about Murphy’s draft stock, “A team who focuses on catcher defense more than offense will gladly grab Murphy”. That sounds like a perfect description of the Cardinals. As with Carson Kelly the team is focused on developing him defensively as a strong defensive catcher and developing his offense as it comes.

Red Baron mentions that his height at 6’3″ could be a bit of a problem in his career as a catcher. Honestly, the size doesn’t worry me as much. There are a number of good catchers in the league at that height and if Murphy can develop offensively a bit the size will come in handy.

If Murphy were to stock up a bit, I would think he would profile quite a bit like Salvador Perez with his elite defensive skills. Red Baron believes that he could potentially develop the power and hit tool needed to survive in the majors. However, the defense is reason enough to expect him to at least make the big leagues as a backup.

I really think if Murphy falls to the Cardinals at pick #70 in the second round, he has the potential to be an absolute steal and a perfect fail safe in case Kelly doesn’t develop.

Next: Cooper Johnson

Option #3 Cooper Johnson

Age: 18

Hits/Throws: R/R

School: Carmel High School (Chicago, IL)

Cooper is yet another defense first catcher and many believe he is even more defensively gifted than Murphy. The difference here is that Johnson has more time to develop than Murphy and more time to refine his already elite defensive skills and try to become at least serviceable with the bat.

Like Murphy, the offense is absolutely a big question mark for Johnson. Prospect Junkies says that he biggest challenge for Johnson at the plate has been pitch recognition. This is something that he can develop a bit through the minors, but if it is something that he is already struggling with at his level it is a bit concerning.

This is especially true when you read Joe Schwarz’s piece for Viva El Birdos on Randal Grichuk and pitch recognition. So, while he may have good potential to develop offensively and could have good power potential, this is not something we want to worry about already.

Much like Murphy, Prospect Junkies believes Johnson already presents a 70 grade arm. This presents Johnson in the category of a player you jump on and pay over slot for because of the potential.

While Cooper sounds like a good option for the Cardinals, he would have to be selected with one of the club’s supplemental round picks. He won’t likely last long in the second round with his potential at his age. If he does last longer than the second round, he would have to be paid quite a bit over slot to sign with a strong commitment to Ole Miss in his back pocket.

Next: Ben Rortevedt

Option #4 Ben Rortevedt

Age: 18

Hits/Throws: L/R

School: Verona Area High School (Wisconsin)

Here we have quite an interesting prospect. Rortevedt is absolutely a more well rounded prospect than the previous two and is probably the one that I like the most out of the prospects we have talked about so far.

I am not alone in the praises of Rortevedt as Red Baron laments not putting him in his early favourites list. Rortevedt is a different player than the previous two in that he has more offensive upside to his game currently.

You can see in his stance and body that he is not your normal high school kid. He is built like a truck and will absolutely lean on that as he progresses through the minor leagues. Red Baron likes his size much better than the taller Sean Murphy and believes it will be a strength for him defensively.

He mentions this about his defensive ability behind the plate, “The catch-and-throw skills are as good as any you’re likely to see in this year’s draft, with quiet, soft hands behind the plate, and an arm that has been clocked well into the 80s on throws down to second base. He moves extremely well behind the dish, as well, getting low to block pitches in the dirt with aplomb and showing outstanding lateral mobility.”

“The catch-and-throw skills are as good as any you’re likely to see in this year’s draft, with quiet, soft hands behind the plate, and an arm that has been clocked well into the 80s on throws down to second base. He moves extremely well behind the dish, as well, getting low to block pitches in the dirt with aplomb and showing outstanding lateral mobility.”

On the other side of the plate, Red Baron has this to say about Rortevedt’s ability,

“Rortvedt shows exceptional power potential, befitting an athlete who looks the way he does, with plus bat speed and explosive hands. He shows a willingness to use all fields, again in a way that would suggest a player much older and wiser, and has pop going the other way as well as to the pull side.”

His ability at both offense and defense make him absolutely worth taking a flyer on with one of the Cardinals’ two supplemental picks. He will command a high amount of the draft pool at that slot, but with his ability it is worth it.

Next: MLB Draft Preview Round One

While I could go on and on about catchers in this draft. These are the four that I believe that will make sense for the Cardinals in their first four picks. I doubt they will use their first pick on a catcher, but wouldn’t be surprised to see them use a supplemental pick on a catcher they believe in.

Regardless, I do believe that Carson Kelly is the future for the organization at this position, but it doesn’t hurt to have depth at this position.