Getting to know Guillermo Quiroz

Published by on March 17, 2013 | 2 Responses

As we near the start of the season, it’s looking more and more like noted hacker, Hector Sanchez, might not be ready to play baseball.

From John Shea’s twitter:

 

Sanchez has been dealing with shoulder soreness for most of the spring. He’s also had some calf issues. Despite the injuries, Sanchez has taken 19 at-bats for the Giants this spring, ranking him third on the roster behind Buster Posey (21) and Jackson Williams (21) for playing time among catchers. Coming into the spring, Sanchez was expected to be the backup catcher to Buster Posey. Now with the mounting injuries, that looks doubtful.

If the Giants decide to stay in-house for a Sanchez replacement, they’ll probably look in the direction of 31-year-old non-roster invitee, Guillermo Quiroz.

A couple of things about Quiroz.

  • He was once considered a prospect. Pre-2004, Baseball America rated him the 35th best prospect in baseball; pre-2005, he was the 79th best prospect.
  • He’s coming off a pretty nice season in 2012 with the Mariners AAA team. In 89 games, Quiroz posted a 118 wRC+. He posted a career high walk percentage (10.4) and hit 15 home runs.
  • Park factors for the minor leagues are hard to find, but it appears that Tacoma — where Quiroz played in 2012 — is mostly a neutral run-scoring park.
  • He’s probably an average-ish defensive catcher. I say ‘average-ish’ because he’s barely played in the majors and the advanced defensive stats are barely relevant, but in 645 career defensive innings he rates at -6 runs by DRS. The fielding component of FanGraphs’ WAR rates him at -4.8 runs.
  • The projections say: ZiPS (.223/.277/.341); Oliver (.219/.281/.346); Steamer (.238/.298/.369)

All of those points add up to the same thing: he’s a fine depth player to have on the team. And while Sanchez rates a little higher by the projections — and his upside is better — you might be a little shocked to see that the difference in their bats — ZiPS has Quiroz projected at a .270 wOBA; Sanchez at a .284 wOBA — is smaller than you might think. Their gloves also look similar, and neither would rate, even if you were being charitable, as average runners on the base paths. So while the team is slightly — microscopically, almost — worse with the Quiroz-Sanchez swap, it’s probably not that big of a deal in the long run, as long as Sanchez can regain his health and eventually return.

So for whatever reason why fans tend to overvalue what Hector Sanchez has done, you can rest a little easier knowing that his replacement — while not nearly as good — is good enough to hold down the backup catcher position for awhile. Sanchez clearly has Quiroz on upside and ‘what he could be one day’ but they’re most likely quite similar players in 2013.

Also, when Quiroz dingers, he does so with pizazz. Proof.

quiroz_dinger

The best part about this GIF is the context that accompanies it. This game is from 2008. Coming into the game Quiroz was hitting .203/.266/.288 in 66 PAs. He would finish the year with an 38 wRC+ in 56 games. And yet, on that HR swing, he’s got all the style and flair of a 30-HR power hitter.

 

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mtkoaktown
mtkoaktown

Another excellent update in advance of a possible move. thanks. I like how Sabean and co. have created an attitude of hunger for players to be good at their job because of competition. Javier Lopez came and pressured Affeldt and both delivered in 2010 and 2012, Gregor Blanco pressured Angel Pagan in cactus league last year and at the beginning of the season last year and both delivered in WS2012 (esp. since Melky was gone). It sounds like Quiroz/Sanchez, from these numbers,sharing the load when Buster's not catching could create similar competitive spirit, improving both.

Will_the_Shrill
Will_the_Shrill

Thanks for the update. Every article of yours gets a solid laugh out of me, while also informing me. So, basically your website is art because you teach and delight. Thanks.