Raul Chavez has quietly performed very admirably as the Blue Jays backup catcher since being recalled in April. While he won't fill the box score with incredible statistics, he has done the little things that are important to win baseball games. Case in point, his outstanding effort in the series finale against the Yankees.The 36 year old Chavez went 2 for 4 with a pair of singles and a walk and provided stellar defense behind the plate. The veteran backstop came up with a clutch RBI single in the 6th inning to cut the Yankees lead to 1, made an incredible pick off of Ramiro Pena at first base to end the 7th, drew a walk in the 8th inning after a lengthy 10 pitch at bat to set the table for the Jays offense (they couldn't bring him in), and also singled to again get the Jays kick started in the 10th frame (again, they failed to score)
In 38 games this season, Chavez has thrown out 15 of 33 runners attempting to steal for a 45% clip, posting a respectable .281 batting average.
5 comments:
SNAP THROW!
It was good to see that work because Chavez tries those often but they don't always work. Either way, just throwing it down there is keeping those runners in check so it's great that he does it. Chavez definitely has to be back next year as the backup catcher!
He's the starter in my books. Barajas contributes a poor throwing arm, poor on base average, mediocre power....why wouldn't Chavez be able to at least do what Barajas does at the plate? We know he's better defensively...
I still miss Zaun and his ability to get on base...
It's hard to know if that is sarcasm relating to Zaunbie lol. I'll assume it is at this point.
If Chavez is the starter, obviously the Jays are in full rebuild mode and likely would have J.P. Arencibia as the backup (though he hasn't been overly stellar in Vegas this year)
Chavez is solid though for sure. Definitely a fan of his.
Barajas: a career .240 hitter and this may be the first year since he was in his 20's that he hits more than 11 home runs in a season.
That's a pretty low number for a guy who swings for the fence in every at bat...
He's just flat out terrible!
Gregg Zaun is a much better hitter than Barajas and ALL the numbers show it. He got criticized for his arm, but his numbers defensively aren't all that different than Barajas'.
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