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Atlanta Braves Scouting Report on C Tanner Murphy

By Benjamin Chase

Mar 2, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves catcher Tanner Murphy (80) pose for photo day at Wide World of Sports. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 2, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves catcher Tanner Murphy (80) pose for photo day at Wide World of Sports. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 2, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves catcher Tannner Murphy (80) pose for photo day at Wide World of Sports. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 2, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves catcher Tannner Murphy (80) pose for photo day at Wide World of Sports. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Tanner Murphy finished the season on a tear. Can he be the Atlanta Braves catcher of the future?

Player Profile

The Atlanta Braves selected Tanner Scott Murphy from Missouri high school in the 4th round of the 2013 draft.

He opened his pro career with the Braves’ Gulf Coast League affiliate, playing 32 games and hitting .227/.313/.258 with 0 no home runs but 5 stolen bases. He also posted a 10.62% walk rate and 30.09% strikeout rate.

Murphy moved to advanced rookie Danville in the Appalachian League for the 2014 season. He hit .242/.361/.389 with 5 home runs and 2 stolen bases over 50 games. He also posted a 15.71% walk rate and 19.9% strikeout rate.

2015 saw Murphy in his first full-season league, spending the year in low-A Rome in the South Atlantic League. He flashed elite defense, but the bat certainly was less than stellar as he hit .193/.277/.312 with 7 home runs, a 9.95% walk rate, and a 23.82% strikeout rate.

Murphy opened his season in 2016 in high-A Carolina, and his bat was again struggling. Some midseason adjustments behind the plate and at the plate yielded some big time results.

He simply wasn’t seeing the ball well early at all, and on June 1st, he sat with a slash line of .128/.186/.160 with one home run, a 5.77% walk rate, and an 18.27% strikeout rate.

He began work on a new swing in the second half, and early returns yielded a slash of .210/.349/.387 with 5 home runs in June and July with a 17.69% walk rate and 16.33% strikeout rate.

He continued to work with coaches, and a very different swing in August from the swing he opened the season with allowed him to get to balls much better, making more consistent contact with the ball, using his excellent eye to his advantage.

While just a one-month sample, from August 1st to the end of the season on September 5th with his adjusted swing, Murphy hit .338/.434/.382 with a 12.05% walk rate and 14.46% strikeout rate.v

Overall in the 2016 season, Murphy hit .214/.320/.310 with 6 home runs, a 12.57% walk rate, and a 16.47% strikeout rate.

Next: Murphy's scouting report

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