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Atlanta Braves Top 100 Prospects: #54 Tanner Murphy

By Benjamin Chase

Sep 3, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of a catchers mitt prior to a game between the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; A general view of a catchers mitt prior to a game between the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 3, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Detailed view of the catchers mask of San Francisco Giants catcher Hector Sanchez (not pictured) laying on the ground against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Detailed view of the catchers mask of San Francisco Giants catcher Hector Sanchez (not pictured) laying on the ground against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

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

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