Any talk of best MLB catcher now or for the next decade officially ends right now

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And yes this includes Matt "Joe Mauer with power" Wieters

I go out of town for 4 days this weekend and come back to see an already scorching Mauer went 10-13 with 10 runs, 4 HRs and 13 RBIs since Thursday night
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This man did not swing a bat all offseason because of an injury, then missed the season's first 22 games, and here are his 2009 season totals after yetanother pinch hit bomb last night on what was supposed to be his day off:

23 Games, 81 AB, 11 HR, 31 RBI, 16 BB, 25 R, .444 BA, .530 OBP, .914 SLG, 1.444 OPS


Gold glove. Batting titles. Now power. It's too bad a lot of people cannot watch him play every night. The only thing that's gonna suck is the Yankeesoffering him $300 million next year if the Twins don't lock him up early.

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I always wondered why Joe could not hit for power given his athleticism...

But Fangraphs thinks it's a mirage.


http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=1857&position=C
Joe Mauer has been one of the best hitters in the game for years. He owns a career .321 batting average and has walked more than he has struck out each year since 2006. His remarkable bat control has made him one of the game's most valuable players, but questions about his lack of power have always followed him. Listed at 6′5 and 230 pounds, Mauer has the frame of a guy who should be able to drive the ball, but he's never hit more than 13 home runs in a season. A compact, level swing and an opposite field approach have led him to develop into a really good singles hitter with gap power - until this year, anyway.

Since returning from the disabled list, Mauer has slugged eight home runs in 86 plate appearances. His next home run will tie his 2008 season total, and he's 547 plate appearances away from matching his opportunities from last year. When you see a 26-year-old show a huge power spike like this, the natural assumption is that he's finally learned to turn on the ball, and is starting to tap into his natural pull power.

The problem, however, is that it's not true. Here's his home run chart for 2009, via Hit Tracker Online:



Of the seven home runs that Hit Tracker has the data for (they're still working on last night's shot, I'm sure), five of them have been to the opposite field and two have been to dead center. The grand slam he hit yesterday against the White Sox was to nearly the same spot where he has hit all his other home runs. He has yet to pull the ball over the wall this season.

Now, opposite field home runs are great. Having a guy who can take a pitch on the outer half of the plate and deposit it over the wall drives pitchers nuts, and there's no good way to pitch to a guy like Mauer. However, if we were looking for evidence that Mauer's power surge in May has been caused by a significant shift in his abilities, we'd be more apt to give credence to the long ball barrage if it hadn't been built on series of just enough shots to left center field.

Mauer's a great hitter, and he's having a great month. There's probably some real power growth being displayed as he's muscling balls over the wall in left field, but if he ever wants to be a 30+ home run guy, he's going to have to pull the ball with some authority, and he's not doing that right now.

I love Joe Mauer as a player, but if you were thinking that he's showing signs of becoming one of the game's elite sluggers, I don't think it's in the cards. He's a fantastic hitter, but I wouldn't count on seeing too many more months like this any time soon.

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But Matt Weiters looks like a real deal 30+ homer guy.
 
Matt Wieters will be better



But it is amazing how Mauer has 11 homers already this year when he only hit 9 last year in 500 some ab's
 
Jason Castro
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no but you have to give Wieters chance in the majors before you hand this to Mauer
 
That power ain't for real... Just a nice little surge coming out the gate...

We'll see what happens when Wieters starts destroying baseballs...
 
Im anxious for Wieters to finally get to the bigs so we can see him jump Mauer's production which apparently is inevitable.
 
I remember someone a week or two ago saying Victor Martinez deserves the All-Star nod over Mauer...
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Originally Posted by Nowitness41Dirk

That power ain't for real... Just a nice little surge coming out the gate...

We'll see what happens when Wieters starts destroying baseballs...


Wrong. He always had a power stroke, it just never developed into many home runs until now. He's developing as a hitter the way it was called years ago.

Wieters has too much too prove. I don't know what ya'll say he's gonna be better for.

Twins make the playoffs...Mauer gets MVP. BOOK IT!
 
I'm not saying he is going to be better than Mauer, but Buster Posey will be good. Of course, I'm a bit biased.
 
Definitely appreciated
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....his frame always screamed,"Power Hitter" but his production was mostly singles, and doubles.

He's coming around in a big way.
 
Always liked him.

As a Yankee fan though...I'm a little nervous thinking about Weiters/Roberts/Markakis.

But then I remember their pitching/bullpen situation and go back to worrying about the Rays.

Hopefully DoubleJ's will stay in the LeWhistle thread.
 
This extremely-hyped-by-the-media-machine Matt Wieters is getting a little old, mostly because of the "Mauer with power" tagline synonymous with hisname. The fact is, people take that reputation and place him on a pedestal. It's pretty unfair.

He's swinging on a slightly more elevated plane this season, and the results show. Mauer HAS BEEN the best catcher in the majors and now that goes withoutargument.
 
we'll see how much power he has after a month when his legs are worn out from catching
 
Mauer is a far and beyond a better overall catcher than Bengie, especially defensively.
 
Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

Mauer is a far and beyond a better overall catcher than Bengie, especially defensively.

i know, but throwing some props to bengie, lost in sf
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Mauer can have tired legs later and have that HR production go down....that's fine. He'll likely just then take in another batting title to go alongwith his gold glove.

Again,

American League batting titles by Joe Mauer - 2
American League batting titles by every other catcher in the history of Major League Baseball - 0

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Originally Posted by RyGuy45

American League batting titles by Joe Mauer - 2
American League batting titles by every other catcher in the history of Major League Baseball - 0
^ that is kind of crazy
 
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