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Tyler and the Reds
The ongoing 'What's best for Tyler/Reds?' is a really fascinating conversation.
The biggest reason to keep him at catcher is the value of having a stud catcher.
The biggest reason to move him off catcher is to keep him healthy/productive and to extend his career.
One of many parts to this conversation is the value/impact of an offensive C vs an offensive 1B. Stud catchers are rare. Gold. It's much easier to find quality bats to stick at 1B.
Here's how Stephenson's '22 numbers compare to other C vs 1B and where he would rank.
.305 BA......2nd C/T-5 1B
.361 OBP.....4th C/9th 1B
.468 SLG.....3rd /11th 1B
.829 OPS....3rd C/9th 1B
5 HR............T-10 C/T-19 1B
31 RBI..........1st C/T-10 1B
Another part of this is the production you get from his replacement. Aramis Garcia is hitting .169. Chris Okey is a career .210 minor league hitter.
Their best prospect in the system is Matt Nelson, the 35th overall pick in the 2021 draft. He's 23-years old and hitting .240 at High-A Dayton.
We will bring this topic up for discussion against tonight on Sports Talk.