Demilio: Pirates Have Third Catching Prospect Worth Keeping Eye On (+)
Two of the Pittsburgh Pirates top prospects at the moment are both catchers. Henry Davis and Endy Rodriguez carry quite a buzz as they move up the ranks, and rightfully so.
Davis was the first overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft by the Pirates and has been on fire this year at the plate.
In 51 games between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis, Davis was slashing .284/.433/.541 with 11 home runs, 30 RBIs and nine steals.
Davis, of course, was recently promoted to Pittsburgh and already has a couple games under his belt at the big league level, though none of those appearances have come behind the plate.
While Rodriguez has struggled this season in Triple-A, the backstop has hit at every level as he’s climbed the ranks, allowing the Pirates to not have to hit the panic button.
While both prospects are worthy of their top prospect status, there’s another minor league catcher worth keeping an eye on — Abrahan Gutierrez.
The Pirates acquired Gutierrez from the Philadelphia Phillies at the 2021 trade deadline for minor league left-hander Braeden Ogle.
In fact, the Pirates liked him so much, they really acquired him twice. Gutierrez was initially part of a reported trade which would have sent left-hander Tyler Anderson across the state with Gutierrez and another prospect coming back to Pittsburgh.
After the deal fell through to injury concerns, the Pirates ended up shipping Anderson to the Seattle Mariners in a three-player swap. Ben Cherington continued to pursue Gutierrez, and ultimately worked out the other deal to land him.
When Davis was promoted to Indianapolis prior to his big-league callup, Gutierrez took his place on the Altoona Curve’s roster, but the news was overshadowed by Davis’ promotion.
The call-up for Gutierrez was well deserved.
In 20 games with High-A Greensboro to start the season, the 23-year-old hit .260 with a .360 on-base percentage and a pair of home runs. He posted an impressive 11.2% walk rate and an equally-impressive 15.7% strikeout rate.
Since his promotion to Altoona, Gutierrez has continued his hitting ways. So far with the Curve, Gutierrez is hitting .300 with an .883 OPS, four doubles and two homers through his first 11 games.
There is another reason to keep tabs on Gutierrez. While most of the question marks surrounding Davis and Rodriguez are behind the plate, Gutierrez might be the most polished defender of the three and has the most upside defensively.
According to Fangraphs, Gutierrez is a 50-grade defender on the 20-80 scouting scale and projects to be even better as he develops with a 60-grade future value in the category.
In fact, as well as he has hit, his defense behind the plate is his calling card, leading to this from Fangraphs:
“His carrying tool is still his defense, especially his receiving, which is crafty and advanced. Gutierrez has soft, quiet hands, he doesn’t tip pitch type or location with runners on base, and he will drop to one knee when he receives some pitches as a means of framing them.”
Now, this is not to say that Gutierrez has more upside or will eventually be the best player amongst the three catchers.
Both Davis and Rodriguez are considered top 100 prospects for a reason, whereas Gutierrez isn’t even a unanimous Pirates’ top 30 prospect yet.
Still, since being acquired by the Pirates, Gutierrez has emerged as an intriguing player in the Pirates’ system.
Combined with his defense, if he is able to continue to show he can be capable with the bat, Gutierrez’ could see his prospect status soar while giving the Pirates three potential dynamic backstops.
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