Matt Wieters is surprisingly under the radar this offseason, if only in comparison to where he was last offseason, when the Orioles faithful eagerly waited for the phenom catcher to burst into the majors with home runs in his first 9 at-bats en route to a .450 average, a perfect percentage of stolen base attempts thwarted, and a presence that would drive the team to the postseason and force all potential competitors to prostrate themselves before the 8’9” catcher and forfeit the World Series trophy unto him. Okay, so maybe the expectations weren’t quite that great, but Wieters-mania was clearly out of control for much of last year. And to be honest, I think fans looked at him too much as a savior and not as another great young player to build the team around.
I admit, while I tried to temper expectations I was still part of the hype. The picture on the main page is one I shot after Matt got his first career hit, a double against the Tigers at Camden Yards in his second major league game. I remember jumping around, grabbing the camera from my girlfriend to make sure I preserved this historic moment.
All that pressure may have showed in his performance. Wieters gathered a .257 average in May, which is perfectly respectable for an ordinary 22 year old prospect, but fans immediately wondered what was wrong with their young catcher. Of course, as more attention shifted to the young pitching of Bergesen and then Tillman & Matusz, and as he adjusted to the big leagues, Matt Wieters gathered himself with a strong September in which he batted .362 with 3 home runs, his most of any month last season. He finished with a remarkably strong .288 average, and will likely build on that performance. However, while the Joe Mauer comparisons will invariably continue throughout the first few years of his career, it is important not to try to compare him too much to one of the greatest hitters in baseball and the best all-around catcher in the game. That simply isn’t fair. Matt will continue to develop both offensively and defensively, the latter of which might need more work.
While he did a good job of guarding the plate when his young pitchers went awry, Wieters nevertheless struggled in his delivery to second in catching baserunners, with his throws often going high and resulting in additional bases. He needs to shorten the delivery of his strong arm and make an accurate throw later rather than a quick and inaccurate throw. Brian Roberts and Cesar Izturis are more than capable of gathering the ball and making the tag so long as the ball is there. It isn’t possible for us to determine this watching the game, but he has indicated several times over the last 6 months or so that he needs to work on his ability to help pitchers call their games as well. Hitters were starting to recognize patterns in the cycle of pitches being thrown, and it is on the catcher to, well, catch that before this hitters make the pitcher pay for being to predictable.
All in all, Matt Wieters is an incredible player already, with an average that is already 30 points higher than the average major league catcher. However, we need to keep our expectations reasonable for any second-year player, however hyped. If he can stay in rhythm and not push like he did for parts of last season (easier said than done), the Orioles could have a catcher on their hands with at least a .300 average and 17-20 home runs, which would be a huge boon to a team that will need their offense.
If you compare Wieters numbers to Mauer's first 500 at bat season (actually 489), Mauer hit .294, 9, 55. Wieters hit .288, 9, 43 in 130 fewer ABs. Mauer really didn't hit for power until his 5th year in the bigs. I really believe the sky is the limit for this kid. As you stated, the expectations for this kid were totally out of whack. I think some fans expected the 2009 Joe Mauer, not the rookie Joe Mauer. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders and a solid foundation at GT. As you stated, I hope some of the hype can settle a little this season and that Matt can go about becoming all us fans hope he can be.
I don't like the idea that our best player is catching. Too many chances for injuries.
So what? We have a player who could become one of the best catchers in the majors, who cares if he is our best player or not? If Matt Wieters played first and the Orioles had an awful catcher, it wouldn't make things that much better for the O's. If I were you I'd just be happy Baltimore even has a player of this calibur.
My point is that I would rather have Weiters play as long as a Carlton Fisk rather than a Chris Hoiles. Hoiles came up as a hot rookie, had some good years until his knees went bad from so many years of catching. His career was cut short from catchiing. He was probably our best hitting catcher ever. So I would rather have Wieters for 20 yrs versus 6…
Nails,
I don't know that Wieters is the Orioles best player…he could be some day, but not now. Markakis and Jones are the two rising stars in this organization. That's gotta take some heat off the youngster.
It's also tough to say that Wieters is Baltimore's best player. The O's hope that he will become that, but right now he's got a lot to prove.
I think he's well on his way, but for now it isn't an issue.
That's a really fair expectation from Wieters. Honestly I think comparing him to Mauer at any stage in his career in a lot of pressure. These guys don't develop major league power over night, it takes time. What you've got to hope as an Orioles fan is that he continues to progress this season.
Too early to compare Mauer and Weiters. Tony Muser had similar stas to Albert Pulhos and look at their careers.
Nails,
I realize it's not a fair comparison. I was just pointing out that while everyone else last season was looking for Wieters to have 2009 Joe Mauer numbers, it is more realistic to compare his numbers to Mauer's rookie season – comparing apples to apples.
STG,
You are correct. Don't know what I was thinking. He may even be 4th or 5th best. I just don't like the idea of him catching. Look at how Jayson Werth's career took off when he went to the outfield. I must note that he was a #1 pick by the Orioles in 1997.
Nails,
I will give you credit, even when they had the Flanagan-Beatie and Flanagan-Duquette years, you never gave up on them. I did. But with the recent developments over the last 3 or so years, I have hope, despite what the record says.
I wouldn't trade Markakis and Jones for any two outfielders in the game. Not just for what they've done, but what they will hopefully do in the future.
But when the Bandwagon gets cranking, let it be known that Nails was on it from the beginning.
The bandwagon now consists of one 3 broken wheels and one that's cracked.
Mark,
No doubt…12 consecutive losing seasons causes a lot of issues with your bandwagon. But I want to be on before all the rest of the great unwashed mob hops on board when this thing turns around. There's light at the end of the tunnel now. Go to the light…
Mark,
it's OK to be a disgruntled passenger.
I have friends that think if you are critical of the team, that you are not a fan. I am not of that opinion. My thing is, if I didn't care about the team, I wouldn't be so passionate about it.
Looking forward to an exciting baseball season.
STG
I hear ya. I'm just a beaten man when it comes to this organization.
Looking forward to a……………………………………..baseball season.
Don't worry, I'm on the wagon too.
Never left.
I'm just a highly disgruntled passenger.