J.T. Realmuto, C

[Todd]

Me thinks another year in Jupiter might have been warranted.

[dim]

I've said this before. Move Barnes to AA and send Realmuto back to A+. It's where both players belong.

[Miamarlin21]

Added to the Southern League All-Star roster.

[dim]

Nothing says All Star like a .631 OPS.

[HUGG]

More proof that being a minor league all-star is meaningless.

[Miamarlin21]

It's going to be really interesting next year to see where the Marlins put Skipworth, Realmuto and Barnes. Barnes hit .367 in April but has hit .223, .247 and .192 in the months since.

[dim]

Our catchers all suck.

[emkayseven]

"I can't really ask for a much better night," said Realmuto, who had his parents and his girlfriend in the stands at Tropicana Field to share in his dream game.

"It's nice to get a couple knocks, a few RBIs. You can't ask for more than that," added Realmuto who joined Jeremy Hermida (Aug. 31, 2005) as the only Marlins with at least three RBIs in their debut.

The only other NL catcher since 1914 with multiple hits and three or more RBIs in their debut was Pittsburgh's Aubrey Epps on Sept. 29, 1935.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index..._away&c_id=mia

[Todd]

Aubrey Epps is a pretty awesome baseball name.

[HUGG]

That's the only game Epps ever played.

[emkayseven]

might be the same for JT
--------------------
at least Epps had a cool nickname, apparently he was called Yo-Yo

[Todd]

Hope not.

[emkayseven]

The Miami Marlins promoted catching prospect Jacob "J.T." Realmuto to the major leagues last week. This was easy to miss due to all the attention surrounding the 2014 draft, so let's remedy that and take a look at Realmuto as today's Prospect of the Day.

Realmuto was drafted by the Marlins in the third round in 2010, from high school in Midwest City, Oklahoma. A high school star as a quarterback and a shortstop, he had a scholarship to Oklahoma State University and wasn't a cheap sign, his $600,000 bonus almost double what was normal for that round.

The Marlins moved Realmuto behind the plate, using him as a catcher to take advantage of his athleticism, leadership skills, and arm strength. He took to catching well, immediately throwing out 42% of runners in his first year in 2011 and maintaining a 39% percentage for his career thus far. He's steadily refined his blocking and receiving skills, lowering his error and passed ball rates, to the point that his defense is his best overall asset.

Realmuto was a monster hitter in high school, hitting .595 with 28 homers his senior year, but that hasn't translated to pro ball. He got off to a good start with a .287/.347/.454 line in Low-A in '11, but his production in '12 (.256/.319/.345 in High-A) and '13 (.239/.310/.353 in Double-A) was much less impressive. His eye for the strike zone was fairly good but his swing didn't translate his strength into power.

2014 has been much better: .301/.364/.503 in 46 games in Double-A. Yes, he was repeating the league, but the enhanced power was good to see.

I had Realmuto rated as a Grade C+ pre-season, optimistic that his valuable defense would give him a big league career, but uncertain if his hitting would be good enough for him to start. I'm still not certain about the bat to be honest, but there are reasons for some optimism. Even when he was struggling to drive the ball earlier in his career, he still made contact and wasn't over-matched with the strike zone. Swing adjustments and physical maturity can result in breakouts in such cases.

Catchers have unusual development curves but sometimes that actually works in their favor.

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2014/...-miami-marlins

[emkayseven]

NEW YORK — Do the Miami Marlins have a catcher controversy brewing?

Rookie J.T. Realmuto made his second straight start behind the plate Thursday, when he went 0-for-4 in the Marlins’ 7-5 loss to the New York Mets.
Judging by the pregame comments of manager Mike Redmond, Realmuto — who made his major league debut Wednesday — may be out there again Friday and perhaps for a couple days beyond that at the expense of veteran catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
The Marlins signed Saltalamacchia to a three-year, $21 million deal following the 2013 season, but he hit just .220 in 2014 and has two hits and 11 strikeouts in his first 22 at-bats this year.
“There’s no doubt Salty’s been grinding,” Redmond said. “The idea is to give him a couple of days just to kind of regroup and we’ll go from there.”
Of course, if it was just a matter of a couple days off, would Redmond feel the need to speak to Saltalamacchia about the matter in a conversation the manager described as “touchy?”
“It’s always a touchy situation anytime you have conversations with guys and you have to give them a break,” Redmond said. “We’re trying to win ballgames here, and if giving Salty a few extra days here or there helps him and helps us, then it will be worth it.”
The injury suffered by backup catcher Jeff Mathis — he broke his right ring finger when he was hit by a foul tip on Sunday — may have opened the door for Redmond to make the move.
Mathis is a 32-year-old who is a lifetime .195 hitter in the bigs, while the 24-year-old Realmuto, who was recalled from Triple-A New Orleans when Mathis went on the disabled list on Monday, has been one of the Marlins’ top prospects almost from the day he was drafted in 2010.
Redmond said it wouldn’t benefit the Marlins or Realmuto to promote him from Triple-A New Orleans, where he was playing every day, in order to place him on the bench.
“With young guys, you want to be careful to not sit them on the bench for an extended period of time,” Redmond said. “So we’ll try to get him in there as much as we can.”

http://lindyssports.com/mlb/miami-ma...s-bench/304042

[HUGG]

MLBPipeline #2 Prospect, #69 Top 100, #8 Top 10 C

Scouting Grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 40 | Run: 40 | Arm: 60 | Field: 55 | Overall: 55

A two-sport athlete in high school, Realmuto didn't begin catching until the Marlins drafted him in the third round in 2010. He's taken to his new position well and made his Major League debut in 2014.

Realmuto uses a short, balanced swing that enables him to keep his bat in the zone for a long time. While that approach doesn't lend itself much to power, he drives the gaps well and collects plenty of doubles.

Defensively, Realmuto has made significant strides since beginning to catch. He has a plus arm and gets rid of the ball quickly, limiting opponents' running games. His athleticism plays well behind the plate, and he has done a good job of working with the Marlins' deep stable of premium pitchers in the Minor Leagues.

http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2015?list=mia


John Sickels #2 Prospect, #116 Top 175

2) J.T. Realmuto, C, Grade B/Borderline B-: Age 23, excellent defensive catcher, hit .299/.369/.461 in Double-A, .241/.267/.349 in 29 major league at-bats. I totally believe in the glove but am not 100% sold on the bat, more like 79.27% sold. Heading to Triple-A, should be ready in 2016.

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2015/...pects-for-2015