Atlanta Braves Top 100 Prospects: #54 Tanner Murphy
Atlanta Braves Catcher Tanner Murphy
Who Is He?
Murphy was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 4th round of the 2013 draft out of high school in Missouri. The Braves started him with their GCL team in Florida, and he hit .227/.313/.258 with a surprising 5 stolen bases and a 12/34 BB/K ratio while throwing out 42% of base runners.
The Braves sent Murphy to advanced rookie Danville in 2014. His power began to shine through as he hit .242/.361/.389 with 5 home runs in 191 plate appearances with a 30/38 BB/K ratio.
Next: Murphy's scouting report
The Braves moved Murphy up to full-season A-ball with Rome in 2015, and he became the team’s primary catcher as the season wore on, in spite of his contact issues. His slash line was .193/.277/.312 with 7 home runs and a 38/91 BB/K over 382 PA. He also threw out 33% of base stealers.
Scouting Report
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Murphy is listed at 6’1 and 215 pounds. He’s a right-handed hitter and thrower.
Hitting
Murphy will likely never win a batting title for the Braves. In fact, I’d be impressed if Murphy hits .250 consistently as a professional. He has a long, looping swing that struggles to adapt once it gets started, so if he’s committed to swinging, he’s not going to be able to hold back. That said, Murphy does have a decent batting eye. His strikeout numbers were higher than expected after watching a half dozen games, so I went back and looked at games where he racked up big strikeout games, and he seemed to get into funks where he would be looking to just get out of the hit funk, and rather than letting his natural power swing work, he was adjusting his swing, and he was missing pitches badly. When he used his natural swing, he struck out less and pitchers pitched around him more. Part of hitting under .200 on the season was pitchers attacking him quite a bit in the zone. As you’ll see in the videos below, however, when Murphy makes true contact, it’s easy to fall in love with his ability to be a guy who could put together a batting line with good patience and power and a low batting average.
Base Running/Fielding
Murphy is a better athlete than he gets credit for, and his 5 steals his first season in the system were evidence of that. He’s not a guy who will likely ever be stealing 20 bases or even 10, but he’s got enough speed to leg out a triple on a gap hit and go first-to-third on a single to the corner. He’s not likely going to be sent very often on the base paths, however, as the team will likely want to preserve wear and tear on his body for behind the plate.
Behind the plate is exactly where Murphy shines. His 6’1 frame is bigger than most catchers, who frequently sit 2-3 inches shorter than he does. He’s also an athletic, muscular 215, so he gives his pitchers a solid target to work with. From that good target to start, however, is where he makes the difference. Murphy is easily the best framing catcher in the Braves system that I’ve witnessed without much argument, very possibly due to his solid frame, but also due to seemingly having his body perfectly positioned for each pitch to allow the pitcher a sizable target to hit and still get the call. He moves well laterally, but he’s notably good moving up and down on pitches.
In the run game, Murphy’s biggest negative on his catching defense is his “pop time”, or his time it takes to get from his crouch to the point of throwing the ball, much of that due to his height. That said, once he does release the ball, he has a cannon of an arm, which allowed him to catch 33% of would-be base stealers in 2015.
Next: 2016 outlook
Video
2016 Outlook
Tanner Murphy reminds me tremendously of current Seattle Mariner catcher Chris Iannetta, who is 6′ and 230 pounds with similar walk and strikeout rates as Murphy with good power and an excellent defensive reputation. Iannetta is entering his 11th major league season in 2016, so Murphy’s skill set can obviously hold a major league job, and for a long time. A more extreme example of this skill set is Houston Astros catcher Jason Castro, who has a similar high-end defensive reputation and power, but he also walks less and strikes out more in his offensive profile, so the length of tenure in the majors is likely to be more mercurial.
Next: Braves Top 100 Prospects Updated
Right now, the path between Murphy and Atlanta is really quite open. The Braves brought in a ton of guys seeking out a “last chance” or “second chance” to fill the AA/AAA rosters, and in house guys like Joseph Odom will still get a shot, but outside of that, the road is clear for Murphy to establish himself and move quickly to the majors. He handled, in my opinion, the toughest “stuff” pitching staff in the system last year, working with Max Povse, Touki Toussaint, Ricardo Sanchez, and all the other pitchers in Rome last season, and he handled them well. He should move up to Carolina in 2016, and his glove will carry him for sure, but if the Braves see a long-term solution in Murphy, they may end up holding Murphy back a bit to work on the bat skills. I think we’ll see in the speed of his advancement exactly the future the Braves see in his skill set.