Mitch Garver

Garver rebounded from an injury-riddled 2022 season with a productive campaign, posting a 138 wRC+, the third highest of his career. Garver played in 87 games, the most since 2019, but he missed just over one-third of the season after hurting his knee in early April. When healthy, Garver was the everyday designated hitter, mixing in 27 games behind the plate. Garver's success in the batter's box was fully supported by his underlying metrics, which bodes well for continuing to log playing time at designated hitter. Garver has never been known for his defensive prowess, so it's not a surprise the metrics were not kind to him in his limited time defensively. Even so, Garver regained catcher eligibility and at least for the upcoming season, he's borderline useful in single-catcher formats and a solid option in two catcher leagues. He will work as Cal Raleigh's backup and the Mariners' top option at designated hitter when healthy, after signing a two-year deal with Seattle this winter.

Garver was acquired by the Rangers ahead of the 2022 campaign, but he was limited to 54 games due to a forearm injury that eventually required surgery. He saw action in only 14 contests at catcher and worked primarily as a designated hitter while he tried to play through the injury. Jonah Heim took advantage of the opportunity and had a bit of a breakout, which could put him in line to receive regular playing time behind the plate in 2023. Garver had a .207/.298/.404 slash line with 10 home runs, though the fact he played through the injury for a while likely affected those numbers. Now entering his final season of arbitration eligibility, Garver should split his time between catcher and designated hitter and could be a late-round option for fantasy managers looking for a rebound. Availability remains a question mark given he's played in over 100 games only once in his big-league career.

Garver found a happy medium between his breakout 2019 (31 home runs, 24.2 K%) and his disastrous 2020 (two homers, 45.7 K%), reaching 13 long balls and striking out at a 29.2% clip in 243 plate appearances. Most catchers are banged up early on in the Major League Baseball campaign and remain that way. Garver was no different in 2021, battling shoulder and knee injuries before finally requiring IL stints due to groin and back issues. That's been a theme throughout his career (he attributed his 2020 struggles to an intercostal injury) and the Twins managed him carefully when they were lucky enough to have Garver on the field over the past five seasons. Minnesota was ready to move on after the lockout, however, trading Garver to Texas in exchange for Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ronny Henriquez. The change in home ballparks is negligible for a right-handed hitter, but Garver will be in a less talented lineup. Even so, his fantasy value in 2022 will be directly tied to how many games he is healthy for.

Garver's 2020 could hardly be more different than his 2019 breakout season. Garver went from hitting 31 home runs with a .630 SLG, to struggling with injuries, being lost at the plate and slugging just .264. Garver was hitting just .154 with a .474 OPS in his first 17 games before landing on the injured list with an intercostal strain. He missed a month with the injury and played sparingly when he returned. When he was healthy, he struggled to make contact with a 45.7 K%. He did at least maintain his improved defense with 3 DRS at catcher. Garver does draw walks (8.6%) and makes hard contact (41.7% hard hit rate). His 2019 season may have been unsustainable due to a 29% HR/FB rate. However, his 2020 campaign is likely the other extreme and his injury may have been a factor all season. Either way, the Twins will likely continue to make a concerted effort to keep their catchers well rested. As a result, he could split playing time with Ryan Jeffers, who established himself in Garver's absence, even though both hit right-handed.

Garver took a quantum leap in his second full season. His 31 home runs ranked second among catchers, and he did that despite amassing just 359 plate appearances, 20th among backstops. The Twins made a concerted effort to keep their catchers well rested and didn't alter the plan even with Garver's success. Garver also improved with his defense as he changed up his catching stance behind the plate to get lower and improve his pitch framing. He went from -16 DRS to 0 DRS at catcher as a result. Garver drew walks (11.4 BB%), made hard contact and had a passable strikeout rate (24.2 K%), which indicate his improvement was mostly legitimate. However, a 29% HR/FB rate is clearly unsustainable. Thankfully, the inevitable dip in rate stats should be offset to an extent by more playing time, as Garver is the team's clear top catcher with Jason Castro leaving via free agency.

Garver took over as the primary catcher last year when Jason Castro was lost for the season with a knee injury and showed he can hit well enough to be a significant part of the equation behind the plate in 2019. He hit .293/.340/.474 in the second half while splitting starts behind the plate. Garver draws walks at a decent clip (8.7%) and has modest power (seven HR, .146 ISO). However, he is not as strong against right-handed pitchers (.629 OPS) and wasn't a young rookie (turned 28 this offseason). He's a below-average defender behind the dish (-15 DRS, 34th among catchers), which could limit his playing time. He'll likely occupy the lesser side of a platoon with Jason Castro, which would help boost his batting average, if not his counting stats. Garver has shown he can hit well enough that even in a limited role he'll offer fantasy value in deeper two-catcher leagues.

Garver will contend for the backup catcher role with the Twins after a breakout season at Triple-A, where he hit 17 home runs with a .928 OPS. He showed some promise by posting a .753 OPS at Double-A in 2016, but wasn't considered a notable prospect since he was already 25. He hit for more power (.250 ISO), drew more walks (13.4 percent walk rate), and improved his defense at Triple-A, but it’s not clear if the improved offensive numbers were a product of him actually getting better or simply getting older. He could be a late bloomer at age 27 this season, although history tells us that is unlikely. That said, the catcher pool is so barren when it comes to offensive production, that Garver’s success at Triple-A, even as a 26-year-old merits notice. He is the favorite to win the backup spot over Chris Gimenez, but given Jason Castro’s contract and defensive prowess, Garver is unlikely to earn more than a third of the at-bats.

Given the dearth of catching in the Minnesota system, Garver has gained some steam as a sleeper at the position. He hit 11 home runs with a 118 wRC+ in 95 games at Double-A and dominated a brief run at Triple-A, thanks largely to a .436 BABIP. At age 25, he's not a top prospect but could find a role in the majors in 2017.