ABQ
Tyler Stephenson, C
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Scouting report
Initially called up when Tucker Barnhart went on the Paternity List, Stephenson got an eight-game cup of coffee in the big leagues, but only a three-game shot of espresso at catcher. It'd be foolish to construct a new opinion of his offense from an eight-game statistical sample but it was instructive to watch him catch most of a big league staff during those three games behind the plate. Stephenson catches on one knee with the bases empty, then from a crouch with runners on. For most fastballs, his glove works from the middle of the plate outward, and for breaking balls he typically works from beneath the zone, up. The latter is more effective from a pitch-framing perspective, but both approaches are fine from a receiving standpoint, which was an issue for Stephenson as a younger prospect. So, too, was ball-blocking. Stephenson is 6-foot-4 and his wickets are pretty big. His legs often get down late when he has to block a ball, but they're so long that he ends up having good lateral range by using his length to slide around. Even then, Stephenson mostly tries to use his glove to pick balls in the dirt rather than get his knees down and pads over the ball, which may affect pitcher confidence in his ability to block balls. Stephenson avoids tipping pitches with runners on base. His legs bow out wide when a breaking ball is coming, but it happens too late for the baserunner to signal the hitter. I suppose we don't know how well he will be able to block the nastiest of breaking balls, but I think he clearly looks capable of catching and will be at least an average defender with a big time arm. Offensively, Stephenson puts on quite a show during batting practice but has a contact-oriented approach in games. Per a source, he had one of the better in-zone contact rates in the 2019 minors, which is quite the opposite of how most of the amateur side of the industry thought he would develop as a pro. It's possible he eventually makes an adjustment that unlocks more in-game power, but I think a contact-first approach that derives power from Stephenson's strength is still plenty for him to profile as a good, everyday catcher. (Alternate site, MLB)