Atlanta Braves Catcher Tyler Flowers Should Be Given More Playing Time
By Jeff Schafer
Should the Braves catcher position be a question?
When the Atlanta Braves signed free agent catcher Tyler Flowers to a two-year deal on December 16, 2015, they still had Christian Bethancourt and A.J. Pierzynski on the roster. Bethancourt was one foot out of the door, we just had to find a team that would trade a bucket of balls for him, and Pierzynski was coming off a great season in Atlanta, but his 19th season in the MLB was ahead of him and was about to turn 39-year-old (14 days after the Flowers signing).
Flowers, who was originally drafted by the Braves in the 33rd round of the 2005 MLB draft, has played his previous seven years with the Chicago White Sox and was their primary catcher 2013 through 2015.
In Chicago, he was Pierzynski’s backup from 2009 through 2012 and now, once again it seems like he’s serving as A.J.’s backup in Atlanta. But, should this be the case?
Now that it’s Spring time, I say we should let the Flowers bloom! Okay, maybe that was really cheesy, but I’m in favor of giving Tyler Flowers more playing time.
Flowers has started at the catcher position in five of the Braves first thirteen games. Only five! In these five games, the Braves have won two out of three. Not to shabby as we’ve only won four games this season.
After Tuesdays’s 4-4 night at the plate, Flowers is now batting .412/.500/.412 with three walks, four RBIs, and two runs. In 20 plate appearances in 2016, he’s had seven strikeouts – which doesn’t bolster my argument.
He’s a catcher that won’t get you four hits a night, obviously, but his defensive skills is why the Braves signed him.
I asked 92.9 The Game Anchor/Host Grant McAuley his thoughts about the Flowers/Pierzynski case…
@TomahawkTakeFS I'd hope so. He won't be getting 4 hits every night obviously, but I think he adds a lot behind the plate.
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) April 20, 2016
@TomahawkTakeFS It comes over time, but I'm sure he's well on his way.
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) April 20, 2016
Flowers hasn’t caught Julio Teheran nor Bud Norris this season, but has been behind the plate with the Braves three other starters. Williams Perez he’s caught three times so far this season…hopefully this isn’t a trend.
Atlanta signed Flowers for a two-year deal with a third-year option. $2MM in 2016 and $3MM in 2017, and an option of $4MM in 2018 or a $300K buyout. Also, Flowers can earn $1.5MM worth of incentives each season based on games caught (each year maxes out at 120 games), meaning he can earn up to $13.5MM over this three-year contract with the Braves.
Maybe the Braves are being cheap here and making sure he doesn’t eclipse this mark…just raising an eyebrow, can’t imagine this be true.
In ending, Flowers should see more playing time as we continue to see Pierzynski struggle. The Braves take on right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling tonight and Clayton Kershaw on Thursday. Fredi Gonzalez could go with Pierzynski tonight and Flowers against the lefty Kershaw. After a night like he had on Tuesday, it would be difficult not to write his name on the lineup card today.