When Wieters was promoted May 29th, there were 114 games left in the season.
My prediction on his stats were:300 batting avg, 15 homers, 57 rbi, 850 OPS, 53 walks, 65 k’s, 19 doubles, 100 games, 395 at-bats.
From his initial game against the Tigers, I noticed him having a long-swing. In the 10-15 games after that, I noticed a number of times I thought Wieters was slow to the ball.
I have to admit, I have been surprised by just how slow, and unathletic Wieters is. (even for a catcher).He should spend the Winter doing that training Roberts and Jones do in Arizona, sprints in a pool, etc etc… anything that improves his athleticism at all. Playing catcher in the heat and humidity of Baltimore for the next few years will take a toll out of him physically. Anything that can be done to improve him physically now, and limit some of the drop going forward, should be done.
It has been a learning experience for 130 at-bats, but I do feel like Wieters is improving. No extra-base hits, but has hits in 4 games in a row. If anything, I kind of like the idea of Wieters going through a bit of adversity. That is what baseball is all about. Dealing with failure, and making adjustments.
You have a player that has probably never been challenged on a baseball diamond. Seeing him deal with this, and emerge making adjustments speaks well to his long-term future. How he handles himself in interviews, also speaks to that.
Wieters is going to continue to adjust, and he will end 2009 strong. Might not reach my initial projections, but he will finish strong. I would be very surprised if when the 2010 season ends, he is not in the discussion for the best catcher in baseball.
That opinion aside, if I were going to issue a word of caution to myself, it would be that when Wieters was drafted the comparison was to Varitek. At the time, some people were saying Wieters might not match Varitek’s offensive production.
I have said that his upside is Piazza with actual defense, and at a minimum he should be Varitek, and I still believe that. If he winds up ‘just’ being Varitek, that will be a very useful piece, but I will admit to being disappointed.
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.