Garrett Stubbs

Stubbs fills the clubhouse hype man part of the backup catcher role expertly, which is good news for the Phillies, as J.T. Realmuto's incredible durability doesn't leave Stubbs with much else to do. In Stubbs' two seasons in Philadelphia, Realmuto has left a total of 64 starts behind the plate available for other catchers; Martin Maldonado has been on the bench for 98 games over that stretch, while every other backstop has sat at least 100 times. That leaves Stubbs with virtually no path to fantasy relevance regardless of how he performs, though his performance last year in limited action did him no favors as far as future opportunities go. In 125 trips to the plate, he slashed just .204/.274/.283 with one home run and two steals. He did not record a single barrel. Stubbs did manage a far better .264/.350/.462 slash line in a similarly small amount of work in 2022, so if an injury to Realmuto does open up extended playing time, it's not impossible to envision Stubbs going on a run, but the likeliest scenario is his value remains limited to the post-game playlist.

Backing up J.T. Realmuto isn't the toughest job in baseball. The Phillies' no. 1 backstop started 130 games behind the plate last year, 14 more than anyone else. While Stubbs handled every single other contest, that left him with only 32 starts, 62nd-most among all catchers. Stubbs acquitted himself quite well in his infrequent opportunities to play, slashing .264/.350/.462 with five homers and a pair of steals in 121 trips to the plate, though there was a fair amount of good fortune in that performance. He managed just a 27.3% hard hit rate, with Statcast giving him a .207 xBA and .299 xSLG. It's going to take an injury to Realmuto to give Stubbs meaningful playing time this year, and while the opportunity to start regularly as part of a strong lineup in a hitter-friendly park would be attractive should that happen, Stubbs' underlying numbers suggest his fantasy value would remain muted even in a best-case scenario.

Since being drafted in 2015, Stubbs has played almost exclusively in the minor leagues. Now 27, he has managed only 49 career plate appearances in the majors, all of which have come between the 2019 and 2020 campaigns. Both in the majors and minors, Stubbs has shown a discerning eye at the plate and an ability to make contact, rarely surpassing a 15% strikeout rate while drawing walks at a near 10% clip. However, he produces little power and posted an ISO better than .157 in just one of three seasons in the upper minors. Due to his limited bat, defense will be Stubbs' calling card to earn a consistent role in the majors due to his ability as a receiver and game-caller. Stubbs will enter the year third on the depth chart behind Martin Maldonado and Jason Castro.

Both Robinson Chirinos and Martin Maldonando hit free agency this winter, leaving Stubbs atop the depth chart before the Winter Meetings began, but Maldonado ultimately returned on a two-year deal and will likely be the starting catcher. Houston allowed Stubbs to play other positions in the field last season because at 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, he is not built for the rigors of a full-time catching position. He has spent time in Triple-A each of the past three seasons for Houston, hitting .273/.358/.412 over the course of 170 games. The Astros believe in the bat, which is why they want to see how he can play other positions so they can utilize his skills more frequently and keep him from getting too banged up behind the plate. The limited appeal here is you can draft him as a catcher, and then see how Houston deploys him throughout the season when he isn't being used behind the plate.

As of early January, the Astros' two big-league catchers project to be Robinson Chirinos and Max Stassi. If J.T. Realmuto does not enter that mix, then it would seem likely Stubbs will throw his hat into the ring at some point in 2019. The 25-year-old has not yet reached the majors, but his production last year at Triple-A was promising. He led Pacific Coast League catchers with a .310 batting average and 120 wRC+. Additionally, his 26.3% line-drive rate was the ninth best mark among all PCL hitters with at least 300 PA. He gets rave reviews for his makeup and is reportedly a pretty good defensive backstop. At just 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, he may not hold up under a 120-game workload, but if he were only asked to start 90-100 games per year, that could be doable. The main selling point is that Stubbs has the potential to hit for a high average and get on base at a high clip while qualifying at a position where almost nobody does either of those things.

Stubbs put up fantastic numbers across stops at Lancaster and Corpus Christi last year, showing off a superb approach and potentially plus hit tool. Of course, Lancaster has propped up mediocre hitters before, but Corpus Christi skews more neutral and Stubbs was actually better after his promotion to Double-A, posting a 14:11 BB:K in 137 plate appearances. Stubbs' slight frame doesn't fit the prototype behind the dish but he is pretty athletic, grades out well as a pitch framer and has a good enough arm to not be a liability in the running game. He also has exceptional makeup, so there are signs that he could stick at catcher. The Astros have Brian McCann under contract for two more seasons, so Stubbs won't be rushed to fill a need. If he were larger, then there would be those who would label him as a top-100 prospect in the game. Instead he lingers on the periphery as a potential starting catcher with a plus hit tool, excellent approach and sneaky 10-15 homer pop.