Yasmani Grandal - Jr. C - U. of Miami

[Obando]

I know Matt Wieters is our catcher of the future, but it's hard to ignore the offensive stats Yasmani Grandal is putting up this year at University of Miami. His value is even higher when you consider he is a catcher and was previously thought of to be more of a defensive catcher than offensive. With the year he is having, a case could be made that he's worthy of being a top 10 pick. You can never have enough quality catching in your organization and to me, if he is really this good of a hitter, we could be in a great spot eventually if he gets to the majors and can alternate with Wieters behind the plate, where if one guy needs a day off there isn't much of a drop off with the other, or one guy can DH while the other catches. Ultimately, to have 2 strong hitting, defensive catchers on a team and in the same lineup gives the manager a lot of options. Some think Caleb Joseph could be the future backup catcher, and he very well may be, but I wouldn't not draft Grandal just because we already have our catcher of the future. To me, it's about best player available and a case could be made that Grandal, as a good defensive catcher that can hit, is the best player on the board when the O's pick at #3 (depending on who goes 1 & 2).

[Hutman]

I have heard that KC is very interested in him at # 4.

[Obando]

That's not surprising and shows that maybe Grandal could be an under the radar surprise for the O's at #3 if their top 2 targets are gone. Just like they say you can never have enough pitching I think the same holds true for catchers that can hit. There really just aren't many good defensive catchers that also can hit, which is why a guy like Wieters is so valuable, as well as guys like Mauer, McCann, Varitek, Posada, Russell Martin, etc.

I wouldn't sleep on Yasmani Grandal, as I think he has a lot more value than many people think or have been suggesting in mock drafts. Remember, Tony Sanchez went #4 to the Pirates last year and he's nowhere near as good as Grandal is, in my opinion.

[RenegadeOsFan]

And if he does show he can hit after getting drafted, why not try him at 1st base?? Is that idea far-fetched?

[Arthur_Bryant]

And if he does show he can hit after getting drafted, why not try him at 1st base?? Is that idea far-fetched?

It's not far-fetched, but it's also not very smart.

You'd be throwing away much of his value. Good defensive catchers who can hit are worth way more than 1Bmen who can hit. The smart move would be to develop him as a catcher and then work a trade when he's ready.

[RenegadeOsFan]

It's not far-fetched, but it's also not very smart.

You'd be throwing away much of his value. Good defensive catchers who can hit are worth way more than 1Bmen who can hit. The smart move would be to develop him as a catcher and then work a trade when he's ready.

Also, instead of trading him, the Orioles could hold onto him as a catcher. We'd have pretty good talent with Weiters, Joseph, and Grandal in the organization.

[Hutman]

At 6'5" and 230 Weiters may be a 1B someday, but I'd rather see us go Tallion if he's there.

[panick]

I wonder if he's ever had to face a pitcher named Beowulf?