General manager Ben Cherington opted to start top prospect Blake Swihart at Triple-A Pawtucket in 2015, which was a prudent decision because the youngster still has to improve on both sides of the ball. However, the 23-year-old is trending upward while the team's veteran catchers are not.
Swihart was invited to spring training this offseason and batted .333/.375/.533 with six runs scored, one home run and eight RBIs in 13 games with the Red Sox. Despite his impressive performance and a season-ending injury to incumbent starting catcher Christian Vazquez, the organization's top prospect only logged 18 career games above Double-A, so he started the season in the minors.
His first eight games with Triple-A Pawtucket doesn't give off the impression he's spent so little time there.
"Catcher Blake Swihart has an eight-game hitting streak to open the season, but the latter half of that stretch has seen the switch-hitter assume a torrid pace, going 10-for-17 in his last four games, including a 4-for-5 contest with two doubles on Saturday. He's hitting .389/.389/.472 with no walks and six strikeouts. The four-hit game was the second of his career; he had one in an extra-inning contest with Double A Portland in 2014," writes Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.
In 18 games with Pawtucket last season he batted .261/.282/.377 with six runs scored, one home run, nine RBIs and 15 strikeouts. So what's the difference this time around?
"He's working to all fields and attacking early," Triple-A manager Kevin Boles told Bill Koch of the Providence Journal. "He's taking a risk early and then setting into his (at-bats).
"Last year I thought he expanded the zone quite a bit when he was here. Now we're starting to see him manage his (at-bats). The strike zone is a little bit more compact."
Koch noted Swihart was concentrated on improving his plate discipline coming into the season after he witnessed his strikeout rate increase from 17.1% to 21.1% when he went from Double-A to Triple-A, drawing only two walks in 18 games.
Such maturity is exactly what clubs look for as they consider promoting prospects, especially those of Swihart's caliber. The switch-hitter is regarded as the organization's top prospect and was clearly humbled, realizing in the offseason he had much to work on before making his MLB debut.
And now, Boston's current cast of catchers is not performing well, with Ryan Hanigan batting .160 with seven runs scored, one home run and five RBIs in 10 games, and Sandy Leon hitting .214 with one run scored and two RBIs in five games. Vazquez was promoted last season after just 67 career games at Triple-A and a fairly solid stat line of .275/.335/.381 with 35 runs scored, 3 home runs and 20 RBIs in those contests.
If Swihart keeps performing at his current rate and Hanigan/Leon continue to struggle, it's hard to believe Cherington will have much of a choice as we get deeper into the 2015 season.
