Oakland Athletics: putting all the eggs in the Sean Murphy basket
The Oakland Athletics are going full steam ahead with their top catching prospect, Sean Murphy. The growing pains may outweigh the rewards.
The Oakland Athletics are going all-in with rookie catcher Sean Murphy, giving him the reins to the pitching staff and banking on a strong offensive performance. When the dog days of summer set in will the A’s be lamenting their decision or reaping the rewards?
Known more for his defensive prowess behind the plate, Murphy has developed a great reputation as a “pitcher’s catcher”. He is very agile behind the dish and boasts one of the strongest throwing arms amongst minor league catchers.
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In the minors, he threw out 33% of attempted base stealers and in a brief stint with the A’s last year those numbers held true as he gunned down 2 of 6 attempted stealers.
The third-highest ranked prospect in the A’s farm system is definitely defensively minded and a hard worker behind the plate. His great footwork, strong arm, and game calling could be enough to overshadow his deficiencies at the plate as a hitter.
Last season in a small sample with the AAA-Las Vegas Murphy hit 10 home runs and had an OPS of 1.011. The Pacific Coast League has always had a reputation of being a hitter’s league, though the production from Murphy was consistent with what he did in his cup of coffee with the A’s later on. He smacked four homers and five doubles in just 53 at-bats.
How will these numbers look spread out over an entire season, as Murphy will be doing the lion’s share of the catching? Austin Allen and Jonah Heim, and their combined 19 games catching experience are the only other catchers on the 40-man roster. Carlos Perez, a veteran of four Major League seasons, is in camp as a non-roster invitee, though he hasn’t played in the Majors since 2018.
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Being the main breadwinner behind the plate will begin to wear on Sean Murphy and two months into the year his lack of offensive production may become too much for the Oakland Athletics to handle. They will need to look for other options to fill the void.