Atlanta Braves Sniffing at C Tyler Flowers
Aug 11, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers (21) shakes hand with relief pitcher
David Robertson(30) after after winning 3-0 against the Los Angeles Angels at U.S Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Atlanta Braves Expressing Some Interest in Acquiring C Tyler Flowers
Even as I was getting ready to start writing this morning that the Braves could do themselves a favor and see if Catcher Tyler Flowers would like to return to the organization, we get this from Mark Bowman:
The #Braves have shown some interest in catcher Tyler Flowers, who was non-tendered by the White Sox.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) December 4, 2015
Flowers was drafted by Atlanta in 2005, getting to the High-A level before being traded to the White Sox in 2008 – seven years ago today – as part of a large deal that netted Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan for Atlanta.
He made the majors in 2009 (briefly then, and again in 2010) and has been in the majors for good since 2011, though mostly in a backup role until 2014-15. 2014 saw Flowers’ best offensive production, hitting .241 for the season with 15 homers and 50 RBI. His very high strikeout rate (well over 30%) combined with a low walk rate (~6%) certainly hampers both his production and his OBP.
But then, Flowers hasn’t ever been thought of as an offensive threat. His thing is defense and pitch receiving.
Of all catchers in 2015 ranked at StatCorner.com, Tyler Flowers was #2 in receiving the ball.
What Does That Mean?
The rankings are based on these factors:
- The percentage of pitches, caught within the strike zone, called a ball (zBall / nZ = zBall%; lower is better)
- The percentage of pitches, caught outside the strike zone, called a strike (oStr / nO = oStr%; higher is better)
- Total number of +/- calls achieved
Flowers actually tied Francisco Cervelli of the Pirates for average number of calls “earned” per game: 1.79. That’s like buying a couple of extra strikes for his pitcher every day.
How good is that? Let’s compare. In total there are 117 catchers ranked on that chart.
- Flowers: #2 ranked overall, +1.79 per game
- A.J. Pierzynski: #111 overall, -0.75 per game
- Christian Bethancourt: #104 overall, -.1.14 per game
- Ryan Lavarnway: #88 overall, -1.28 per game.
There is a ‘cumulative’ nature to these stats, so if Bethancourt were playing more, for instance, his -1.14 lost strikes per game would have ranked him lower.
In any event, using Flowers would improve the pitch framing substantially – for roughly 2½ to 3 extra strikes per game in contrast to our current top catchers. It may not sound like a lot, but in key situations, it could matter.
Aside from the pitch framing factors, Flowers is actually below average on his defensive metrics among “regular” catchers. In fact, AJP had a higher fangraphs defensive score in 2015 (4.7 to 3.5). But he’s steady behind the dish, and could certainly teach the rest of the catchers a thing or two about receiving pitches.
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He’s not going to be terribly useful on the offensive side, but should be worth a look. Flowers made $2.675 million last season and was up for 2nd-year arbitration eligibility when non-tendered by the White Sox. A $2 million deal might be sufficient to bring the nearly 30-year-old Roswell, GA native back home to Braves’ Country.