House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves 2018 minor league review: catchers

By Benjamin Chase

27 Jun 1998: A general view of the catchers mask for the San Diego Padres sitting on the bench during an interleague game against the Anaheim Angels at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The Padres defeated the Angels 5-1Mandatory Credit: Todd Wa
27 Jun 1998: A general view of the catchers mask for the San Diego Padres sitting on the bench during an interleague game against the Anaheim Angels at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The Padres defeated the Angels 5-1Mandatory Credit: Todd Wa /
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A-ball

This is where the top guy dwelled in 2018. That “top guy” is William Contreras, the brother of Chicago Cubs All-Star catcher Willson Contreras. Contreras has been a guy that I’ve had excellent reports on since he was in the Dominican Summer League, having him inside of my top 35 prospects in the prospects since that first season. He’s certainly done nothing since to change that opinion.

This year, he had his first full season, working across both A-ball levels, and he put up a very impressive .285/.347/.436 line with a sub-20% strikeout rate while hitting 24 doubles and 11 home runs. On top of that, Contreras worked hard behind the plate with coaching. Many will see his error total and be concerned, but one of the things scouts rave on Contreras about is his ability to move laterally. His issue is much more in his throwing, as he has the strong arm, but his footwork needs work, which hurts the accuracy of his throws.

Contreras could find himself in the top 100 of many prospect lists this year and should be playing through the upper minors in 2019. He’s going to be banging on the door in 2020.

Drafted in the same draft as his high school teammate Kolby Allard, Lucas Herbert could not have made a better first impression, going 2-4 with a home run in his first exposure to pro ball before he was hurt. He’s never found the bat again since. He’s also been a guy who’s been willing to take more risks than most would like behind the plate, leading to Herbert leading the organization in catcher errors the previous two seasons. There’s still raw talent there, and Herbert is young enough not to give up on, but the seeds for concern have certainly been planted.

Hitting big after being an 11th round draft pick out of the University of Michigan in 2017, Drew Lugbauer even drew a quality nickname in “Slugbauer”. While he’s known for his bat, he was known plenty for his swing and miss in the Sally in 2018. Lugbauer struck out roughly 1/3 of his plate appearances, which really hurt the impact of his power. He did make strides in his framing and has an above-average arm behind the plate.

Alan Crowley is one of those guys that has developed into a quality organizational guy the last few seasons after being a 2016 26th draft pick. One interesting negative thing for Crowley this year was a spike in his strikeout rate, fanning in nearly half of his plate appearances. His handling of pitchers behind the plate is the thing that could keep him in the org, though.

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