VAZQUEZ REMAINS A LEADER IN THE ARMS RACE
THROWDOWN!
His arm might have been — and may still eventually prove — one of the best baseball has seen.
In Christian Vazquez’ rookie season in 2014, he threw out 52 percent of attempted base stealers — the highest recorded by any major league catcher in five years — and one couldn’t help but wonder if he would one day break the single-season record of 64 percent, established by Yadier Molina in 2005.
Only three catchers have surpassed 60 percent (minimum of 50 games played): Molina in ’05, Jason LaRue in ’01 and Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez, also in ’01.
Vazquez hit just .240 with one home run in 55 games as a rookie, but it hardly mattered. To many, he was already the Red Sox catcher of the future. Before blowing out his elbow so severely in 2015 that it required season-ending surgery, the speed of Vazquez’ throws from home to second base was astonishing.
“His times before he had Tommy John surgery, they said he was consistently below 1.8 seconds,” Dave Dombrowski said. “That’s as good as it gets.”
But when Dombrowski arrived as the new Red Sox president of baseball operations in August 2015, Vazquez was already in recovery and out for at least that season, if not longer. Expectations were unknown. Flash forward to last week in Toronto. Vazquez went 4-for-4 with a two-run, go-ahead home run and has pushed his season average to .290, third-highest among active catchers with at least 200 at-bats.
The backstop who was once known for his arm has become something more.
And now the Red Sox need to figure out if he can once again be their catcher of the future.
It wasn’t until spring training of 2016 that Dombrowski first saw Vazquez’ arm for himself.
“And then you’re looking at somebody who hasn’t played for a full year, whose arm strength isn’t really quite the same,” Dombrowski said.
Dombrowski looked at his roster and saw two others at the position: Blake Swihart, who was coming off a solid rookie year; and Ryan Hanigan, a steady veteran who understood how to be a backup and had a history of performing well in such a role.
That spring, it was assumed Vazquez would be the odd man out. His arm looked nothing like it did in 2014. His bat still wasn’t worth winning a spot.
“A lot of guys were coming back,” Dombrowski said. “He wasn’t as good as he was capable of being. But everybody kept telling me, ‘You just got to be patient with him and let him keep playing. He’s a real good player, not only receiving but a great thrower.’ He wasn’t throwing quite as well, he was throwing good but they kept saying he was better than that and he’ll hit enough. And that’s what he’s worked into.”
Swihart won the starting catcher job out of the gate in 2016, caught six games, hit .278 and got demoted to Triple-A Pawtucket.
Vazquez was called back to the majors in a heartbeat. But he was still recovering. And since Sandy Leon was having a breakout season, Vazquez hardly played.
In spring training this year, Vazquez unleashed a throw from behind the plate to second base that bullpen coach Dana LeVangie recorded at 1.75 seconds.
LeVangie said that’s what he was used to seeing before Vazquez blew out his elbow.
Encouraging as it is that he can still record such remarkable times, it’s nevertheless saddening that those perfect throws are no longer the norm. They’ve been a bit slower. Some off the mark.
And still his arm is one of the elite. His caught-stealing percentage this year is 37 percent, 11 percent better than league average. Only six regular catchers have a higher rate.
Said Dombrowski: “Oh, yeah, his times are good, but now they’re consistently good. Once in a while he’ll throw one like that (under 1.8 seconds). But it tells me there may even be more (capability) in there at one point.
“This is only the second full year after Tommy John and you never know because it’s very rare that a catcher has Tommy John. The time it takes to get back — and he does a lot of throwing.
“This winter, when he has some down time and rest, who knows? He may come back and be throwing even better next year.”
The comparison most frequently drawn for Vazquez is Molina, his countryman from Puerto Rico, his idol and, now, a friend.
And while the two powerful arms are easy to compare, Molina is a far more established hitter. A far better hitter.
The lesser known part of Molina’s story is how poorly he hit early in his career.
During his minor league career he hit .281, but with little power and just a .711 OPS. Like Vazquez, he reached the majors early, at age 21, because of his defensive ability.
His first season in the majors, Molina, the 14-year catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and a future Hall of Famer, hit just .267 with a .684 OPS. He didn’t have an OPS above .700 until his fourth major league season.
Vazquez has posted nearly identical numbers.
In the minors, Vazquez hit .266 with a .734 OPS. His first MLB season he hit .240 with a .617 OPS.
“Molina was a defensive player who became a better player,” Red Sox hitting coach Victor Rodriguez said. “Same with Sandy
Alomar Jr. — he was defensive. Then he became a better hitter as the years go on and he gets to know pitchers and how they pitch to him.”
Rodriguez believes Vazquez hit the proper way in the minor leagues, but “he came up here and wanted to add a leg kick to create more power. But he could not control the leg kick. I said, ‘Get out of the power and let’s get back to staying consistent with the swing path and get your hits. Nobody is asking you to hit for power.’ And that’s what he did.”
He eliminated the leg kick last year. This year, the results are showing.
He has just six career homers, four of which have come this year, and all of which have been timely. All six have come when the Red Sox were within two runs of their opponent. Five of the six have been with runners in scoring position.
“He has power,” Rodriguez said. “But he has power when he doesn’t create power, when he trusts his hands.
“I think he’s getting more comfortable. He’s going to be a productive hitter. Is he going to hit .300? It’s tough to say. He might hit better. He might not hit .300. But his at-bats are being productive. And I think he can already get better when he gets to know pitchers. Because in the majors you face these pitchers over and over and over through the years.”
For catchers who prioritize defense, it’s not unusual for them to take longer to develop with the bat. Vazquez has a .738 OPS in his third major league season.
“It’s simple: Be simple at the plate,” Vazquez said. “Don’t try to do too much and give my best. Hit it to middle and right field. That’s my game.”
Red Sox manager John Farrell has always said that the catcher position is a two-man job.
He maintained that stance firmly until Wednesday, when he eliminated the season-long battery of Rick Porcello and Sandy Leon and instead started Vazquez behind the plate
Vazquez’ bat has become a weapon too valuable to lose.
“Going back to the first time Christian came to big league camp, you saw occasional power,” Farrell said. “He’d kind of sell out and get a fastball and show you that type of power. We’ve always viewed him as a defense-first catcher. But as he’s ironed out some of the movement in his lower half, it’s just putting him in a better position to cover the plate.
“We’ve seen him catch a couple of pitches up in the strike zone and hit them for home runs. There’s power in there. But I don’t want to go too crazy and all of a sudden think he’s an offensive-oriented catcher. That’s not the case.” Not yet, anyway. Vazquez, only 27 years old and not eligible for arbitration until next year, has improving to do. He’s constantly developing.
Is he the Red Sox catcher of the future, or will they continue to look at it as a two-man position?
“I think that is ultimately dependent upon how guys play,” Dombrowski said. “It’s worked out well for us this year. Sandy Leon has done a good job and it’s been a good combination this year. But if a guy goes out there and keeps performing, keeps putting up numbers and keeps improving — it’s not like we’re committed to it. As we go forward, we don’t have to have two guys split all the time. If somebody is good enough and they can get the playing time, good for them.
“Not many guys catch 140 games anymore. That’s why I think if you talk about 130-game catcher, I can see he has that potential to do that.”
Devers has right instincts
Rafael Devers isn’t making all the plays at third base — the 20-yearold Dominican phenom has six errors through his first 31 major league games after making 16 errors in 72 minor league games this season — but the Red Sox have been surprisingly encouraged by his defensive ability.
Infield instructor Brian Butterfield said he hasn’t noticed anything glaring about Devers’ errors and compared his instincts to that of a Hall of Famer.
“Every time there’s a swing and a foul ball, you see him breaking hard, which is always a great attribute for an infielder to have because that means he’s anticipating,” Butterfield said of Devers. “Sometimes guys make up for lack of foot speed with great anticipation. Cal Ripken spent a long career like that. Knew how to play hitters.”
Drew rises from `surplus'
Drew Pomeranz is looking like the clear-cut No. 2 starter in the Red Sox rotation right now, but it didn’t look that way to him in spring training.
“I didn’t know, felt like we had a surplus of guys,” he said. “We had me, (Eduardo Rodriguez and
Steven Wright) almost feeling like we’re fighting for two spots. But you stay confident. I knew I had to make some changes to pitch at Fenway and I think I made those changes pretty good. I pitched a lot better this year, just being less predictable, realizing people’s approach because the Wall is right there. Rick (Porcello) improved so much his second year at home — it makes you a smarter pitcher all around. You start to realize things you can take with you the next year.”
Kimbrel keeps his cool
One secret to the success of the Red Sox bullpen?
Craig Kimbrel’s dedication to the grind.
LeVangie said Kimbrel is out on the field on time for a 3:45 p.m. stretch daily, no matter how late the Red Sox plane lands in a road city.
“Craig is just one of the guys,” LeVangie said. “He isn’t intense until he ties his shoes in the beginning of the eighth.”
Who keeps things loose down in the ’pen?
“You have Brandon Workman on an everyday basis, has a smile on his face, doesn’t have too many bad days,” LeVangie said. “I haven’t seen him have a bad day yet. He just brings smiles to people’s faces, whether it’s his humor or his laugh. He brings that good smile to people.”