In what might be the biggest player move of the spring so far, the Indians announced yesterday that Tony Wolters would be changing positions.
Tony Wolters, their No. 3 pick in 2010, will move from second base/shortstop to catcher this year. He'll start the season at Class A Carolina.
Wolters played shortstop up until last year, when he moved to second base. His bat, while affected by a hamate bone injury last year, should play at shortstop or second base, but the concern was that he didn't have the range to shortstop. That's not that big a deal in an organization that doesn't lack for shortstop prospects, from Ronny Rodriguez to Francisco Lindor to Dorsyss Paulino, but the Indians also have several second base prospects in the organization as well, not to mention Jason Kipnis, who is just going into his second full season in Cleveland.
So the Indians have decided to turn Wolters into a catcher. The move will delay Wolters' path to the majors at least a year, as he'll probably spend much of 2013 in Carolina again. But if works out, he'll become the Indians' top catching prospect in an organization that didn't really have one beyond Yan Gomes and perhaps Roberto Perez. A drastic position chance ended up working for Jason Kipnis, and the Indians are rolling the dice again with Wolters. Tony caught in high school, and seems to be the right size for the position, but it's going to take some time to really know for sure if he can be a major-league catcher.
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| Tony Wolters |
Some of the biggest news on the minor league front occurred a couple of days after I left Goodyear (of course). I was set to write about how much more comfortable Tony Wolters looked at 2B than at this time last year, and how excited I was to see him in AA Akron this season. Then on Friday, the Indians announced that they’re moving Wolters behind the plate. He was the club’s 3rd round draft pick in 2010, and posted a .724 OPS for high-A Carolina last year as a 20-year old. Wolters caught some in high school, and he definitely has the physical and mental tools to stick behind the plate. He’s a tireless worker, a plus athlete and a leader. But catcher is the most difficult position on the field, and there are guys who have caught their entire lives and still can’t perfect the intricacies of the position. The real question for me here is whether the Indians felt they needed to move Wolters off middle infield because of the organizational depth there, or if they truly see this as an opportunity to us an above-average bat behind the plate. Wolters did nothing to show the Indians that he couldn’t play 2B/SS, so I have to lean towards the latter explanation. Wolters will spend a couple of weeks in extended spring training working on the new position, and then rejoin the high-A Carolina Mudcats. I should get to see Wolters in action behind the plate at the end of April when the Mudcats travel to Potomac to play the P-Nats, and I can’t wait to talk to Wotlers and get his thoughts on the new position. Posted by Al Ciammaichella
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