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Reese McGuire just turned 21 years old in March, young for a Double-A player, and especially a catcher.
This is a sink-or-swim level, and many organizations prefer not to promote catchers to the upper minors so quickly because their responsibilities increase significantly. They can’t just look out for themselves and their own numbers at the more difficult level, but have to be mindful of every pitcher on the staff and what it takes to help all of those guys succeed, as well.
It’s in that regard that McGuire needs to be largely analyzed this season. And judged by that standard, the 2013 first-round draft pick has made big strides in his development.
“I think he’s taken this pitching staff and tried to figure them out, meaning establishing a relationship with them and finding out what makes them tick, what pitches, what side of the plate they want him to sit on,” Curve pitching coach Justin Meccage said.
“He’s getting with every guy and establishing that relationship so they can trust him, and that’s probably the biggest improvement that we’ve seen as the year has gone on.”
McGuire is known primarily for his excellent defensive work and potential behind the plate, but he had a big game standing at the plate Tuesday night. He tied his career high with four hits, as did teammate Anderson Feliz, and the Curve won their fifth in a row, 6-2, over Erie before 4,197 fans at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
McGuire went 4-for-5, scored three runs and scored one, plus he had a triple. He hasn’t been a huge force with the bat this year, but he has been consistent, in the .250-260 range most of the season, and now at .265.
What’s most impressive about him as a young hitter is his plate discipline, drawing 28 walks to only 24 strikeouts, and he also has 36 RBIs to go along with a .689 OPS in 74 games.
Those are all improvements over his numbers from high-A Bradenton last year, when McGuire hit .254 with just a .595 OPS and 34 RBIs in 98 games.
“I love where I’m at right now,” McGuire said of his offensive progress. “Batting average is stuff you can’t really control. All I can control is putting a good swing on the ball, hitting it hard.”
As for his consistency, he said, “That’s a huge part about hitting is not having big roller coaster swings, just staying pretty level and consistent and trying to get better every day and keep developing.”
There’s plenty of time for him to develop offensively, but given his age, what McGuire has accomplished this season has to be encouraging for the Pirates.
Defensively, he’s probably already a major league caliber catcher, and he still has areas he can improve on with experience.
“This is probably the best season I’ve had for sure,” McGuire said of his defense. “I’m back-picking guys, being aggressive, blocking a lot of pitches lately and having the trust in the pitching staff to throw the ball in the dirt with two strikes.”
Curve manager Joey Cora said McGuire still has “a long way to go,” pointing out he hasn’t played a ton of games in high-A or Double-A.
“Obviously he’s a very talented guy,” Cora noted.
“Good catchers in the big leagues are very scarce. He has a chance to be one of them, but he knows that he still has a lot to learn, and he’s asking questions, he’s working hard and he’s on his way.”
McGuire said he’s always been one of the youngest players on the team, even going back many years, so he’s used to that. There sometimes might be a tendency not to step on the toes of older guys, but he added that part of being a leader is knowing when and how to do what he can to make his pitchers better.
“Learning a guy off the field is just as important as on the field,” McGuire said. “That way you can approach each pitcher that gets up on the bump differently, you know what makes each guy tick, what gets him going.”
For a young player at a key position to already have developed that kind of maturity is what it’s all about, Meccage said.
“That’s what makes the Chris Stewarts, the (Francisco) Cervellis special is that ability to get that relationship with those pitchers so that they can trust him when they’re out there,” the pitching coach said.
SUBHD: Game recap
Key player: C Reese McGuire went 4-for-5 with three runs for the Curve.
Key play: Altoona broke open the game with three runs in the seventh, with McGuire’s RBI single scoring the first run.
Key stat: The Curve have bounced back from a seven-game losing streak to win five in a row.
SUBHD: How they scored
Top 1st: Bernard singled, scored on fielder’s choice (0-1).
Bottom 2nd: McGuire singled, scored on Allie single (1-1).
Top 4th: Krizan walked, scored on Gerber single (1-2).
Bottom 4th: McGuire singled, scored on Allie single (2-2); Barnes singled, scored on Newman sacrifice fly (3-2).
Bottom 7th: Feliz singled, scored on McGuire single (4-2); Wood single scored McGuire (5-2); Barnes single scored Wood (6-2).