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

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