Article: Turner Could Solve Minnesota's Catching Dilemma

[Cody Christie]

Minnesota had their anchor at catcher but tell the baseball gods your plan and they will laugh in your face.

 

Joe Mauer was locked into a long-term contract and he looked like he was on his way to a Hall of Fame catching career. There was a chance that Mauer could beat out the likes of Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra to be the best backstop of all time. Those plans changed in recent years as Mauer's concussion-related symptoms have moved him out from behind the plate.The Twins found themselves in a little kerfuffle with their long-term catching plans. Kurt Suzuki was brought in to bridge the gap to some of the younger catching prospects in the organization. With Suzuki's aging body, the Twins traded former first round pick Aaron Hicks to the Yankees for catcher John Ryan Murphy.

 

Murphy has struggled in limited action this season. Through this weekend's games, he has three hits in 35 plate appearances and only one of those hits has been for extra-bases. Suzuki has fared a little better as he has gone 7-for-37 but four of his seven hits have gone for extra-bases. With the weak production from the current catching core, it's tough not to look to the future.

 

Stuart Turner was drafted by the Twins in the third round of the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft from the University of Mississippi. With his college experience, the Twins have not been afraid to be aggressive with Turner. He has been younger than the competition at every stop except for rookie ball.

 

With Minnesota's aggressive approach, Turner has encountered some offensive struggles. At Fort Myers in 2014, he hit under .250 with a .698 OPS while getting on base 32.2% of the time. Those numbers dipped a little last season as he made the jump to Double-A. He still posted a .322 OBP but hit only .223 and slugged .306. These aren't exactly offensive numbers to write home about.

 

Turner has gotten high praise during his time in the system as a good game caller while being a strong defensive presence behind the plate. He's a leader on and off the field and that provides a lot of value to a club even if his bat never turns around... but what if his bat finally caught up to his defensive prowess?

 

The Twins sent Turner to the Arizona Fall League this past off-season and for the first time in his career, he has been asked to repeat a level to start 2016. The Twins could have been aggressive with him and sent him to Rochester but the organization thought it would be best for him to go back to Chattanooga. That decisions seems to be paying dividends so far.

 

Through this weekend's action, Turner was hitting .286/.432/.486 with four doubles and a home run. All of those numbers would put him on pace for career high totals. The most positive sign might be that Turner is doing this at Double-A in his age-24 season where he is roughly the same age as the competition.

 

This isn't a move that is going to happen in the next week or month but Turner is looking more and more like a long-term solution to the Twins catching woes.

 

If Turner can continue to evolve into a catcher who can be more than a defense-first option, he can become a vital piece for the Twins as they head into a new era. When the Twins have gone on World Series runs in the past, the catcher has always been a role player.

 

His defense, game calling, and leadership will continue to be strong. Turner can be that type of solid contributing role player as the Twins attempt to return to their World Series glory in the years to come.

 

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[Craig Arko]

Would love to see him be a Butch Wyneger or Rick Dempsey type.

[nytwinsfan]

While I am absolutely thrilled with Turner's hot start (more so than any minor leaguers other than maybe Meyer and Stewart), I think it is a little early to say he has figured it out at the plate (just as it is a little early to give up even temporarily on Murphy). Give it another couple of weeks of the same for both and I'd support calling up Turner in a heartbeat.

[Blake]

 

Would love to see him be a Butch Wyneger or Rick Dempsey type.

At this point, I'd settle for Tim Laudner. Speaking of which, I wonder if he's available?

[twinssouth]

Good article Cody and yes, his leadership, game calling is outstanding. With his bat coming around, could be reason why they let Hicks go

[DocBauer]

Starter or top backup, I like Turner. He is a high draft choice from a major conference with glowing reports in his defense, game calling a d leadership from a defensive priority position.

 

The Twins were aggressive with him early on, probably a combination of his backstop ability, splitting he and Garver up, and a sense of urgency with the Mauer move, and he skipped a level he probably shouldn't have.

 

Each of the past two seasons, while I don't have the splits in front of me, he improved and put up better numbers the second half of each season. (Though the 2014 improvement was stronger than '15) Repeating AA, for now at least, at age 24, average age for the level, we're seeing potentially more of what he might be.

 

Catchers generally take longer to develop, we know this. There are very few Mauer's and Rodriguez's out there. So while I've never been down on Turner for his so-so/inconsistent offensive numbers, I'm very encouraged by his start this year in regard to his future.

[Thrylos]

And Drew Butera is hitting .429/.500/.714 this season.

 

I bet he figured it out too....

SSS

[diehardtwinsfan]

I like the hot start, but no way would I be calling up Turner any time soon.  He's never hit well, and this is a SSS nightmare waiting to happen.  I'd probably call Garver up ahead of him, though truthfully, I'm perfectly fine letting each of them play out in AA for now with perhaps a promotion for one or both to AAA sometime later this year. 

[SirLoin]

I'm not for calling him up now....but what about using that open 40 man roster spot on him?

[clutterheart]

Its all so clear to me now.  Turner is the reason that Ryan let Hicks go for nothing and is now carrying 39 guys on the 40 man.  

 

The master plan is evident!  

[Mr. Brooks]

I'm not for calling him up now....but what about using that open 40 man roster spot on him?

There is no reason to put him on the 40 man roster if you are not willing to call him up today if needed.

[SirLoin]

 

There is no reason to put him on the 40 man roster if you are not willing to call him up today if needed.

 

Well, he probably can't hit any worse than JR Murphy....

[tobi0040]

I would say Turner has as good of a shot to being the Twins catcher in the next 1-2 years as Murphy, Garver, etc.

 

But I think it is a stretch to say he is going to solve a dilemma.  The dilemma is this is a position the Twins have completely neglected for years and for some reason didn't realize Mauer wasn't going to catch forever.  as a result we have a lack of catching talent in the organization, at all levels.

[HitInAPinch]

I don't think anyone on this team has disappointed me more than Murphy.   Good reputation, MLB experience and his play at a premium position.  But, boy his AB's have been fruitless and that handling of a bunt in a game the Twins could have won was a stunning show of failure under pressure. 

 

It's looking like he could use a cooling off period in the MiLB.

[Platoon]

If you build your roster around a plethora of corner/DH type players. You should be able to carry a catch first hit second defensive catcher. At least you should be able to..

[Mike Sixel]

Don't they both need to be on the 40 man next year? I don't think he's ready just yet.....nor is Garver.....but I'd be surprised if one of them is not in MN at some point this year.

[twins1991]

Interestingly, the 2015 AFL was the first time Turner and Garver were placed on the same team since rookie ball in E-Town (2013). If you look at their stats, Garver clearly outshone Turner in the AFL and was invited to the all-star game over Turner. Garver may be off to a slower start this season, but the season is still young. It will be interesting to see where it goes. I see them both playing in Minnesota shortly. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

Stuart's start is promising but he's not the type of guy you rush to the majors... You let that guy simmer and see if he's for real, then you promote and cross your fingers.

[jimmer]

I thought Murphy was supposed to solve Minnesota's catching dilemma.  

Edited April 26, 2016 by jimmer

[JaleelWhite FanClub]

So we should embrace small sample size in the case of Buxton looking overmatched in the majors, but ignore it when looking at the disparity between Turner's first few weeks and his career norms to this point.

 

If he is the long term solution, I really afraid to think about Twins' catching over next two years before he's called up.