Astros Catchers

Baseball Baseball Baseball! It is time for football playoffs and we are almost a full week into January 2008. Even with all the excitement of the Patriots perfect season and post-season football, I can't help but be excited for the upcoming baseball season. All I can do is keep checking the internet and reading articles here and there to keep myself under control. Pitchers and catchers report in 40 days for Spring Training! That isn't too far away. Before we know it, Opening Day will be here and the longest season in American sports will begin. The Houston Astros have completed a major overhaul of players. One position that needed a drastic change was the catcher.

Brad Ausmus has been a catcher for the Astros for 9 seasons now, 1997-98 and 2001-2007. He will be back for the '08 season, but this time he will not be the everyday starter. This role has fallen into the lap of the young J. R. Towles. He will be a young 24 when the season starts in April.

Towles started the '07 season in Single A Salem and worked his way through the system to end up with the Astros in September with the roster expansion. While with the Astros he hit an average .375 with 40 AB. With his 15 hits came 5 Doubles, 1 Homerun and 12 RBI's. On September 20 against the St. Louis Cardinals, Towles set a franchise record with 8 RBI's. It seemed apparent this guy could hit.

It has been great having Ausmus behind the plate for 9 years and having him call all those games. On the other hand, I believe his time has come (may have come and passed by now). It is time for another guy to step in and call these games. Over the 9 seasons with the Astros, Ausmus has never hit above .269 and has hit as low as .229. Towles isn't expected to continue his tear through the National League pitching, but anything is better than an old Ausmus at the plate. Towles has the potential to be a great major league hitter. "He can wear out third basemen and the left-field wall", said GM Ed Wade. As well as picking up the slack at the plate, Towles will have one of the best minds of baseball coaching him throughout the entire season. Ausmus has always been regarded as one of the most smartest catchers in baseball. With Towles being as young as he is, it was great to see Ausmus step down from the starting role to the bench/coach role.

I am extremely excited to see someone new behind home plate this next season. With that said, I am also extremely excited to see Ausmus on the bench willing to help out Towles and be there for the learning experience.



Written in response to Around the Horn: Catchers written by Alyson Footer
Quote taken from Around the Horn: Catchers written by Alyson Footer