Jun
2
2011

The Curious Case Of Josh Thole.

An article by Sean Kenny

It seems like just two years ago, a 53 at bat appearance from an apparent non-prospect catcher Josh Thole showed the Mets their backsto of the future, hitting .321 with nine RBI and a 4/5 BB/K ratio. He had plate discipline, a short swing and was not named Brian Schneider. 2009 saw the Mets go out and sign two backstops while seemingly forgetting about Josh Thole. Despite this, after the trade of Rod Barajas, Josh Thole received the majority of the starts and turned in a .277 line with 3 home runs and 17 RBI, with a 24/25 BB/K. The patience was still there, and the three home runs showed that maybe Josh Thole wouldn’t be a light-hitting catcher. And behind the plate? He was apparently making great advances and calling good games, everything you’d expect from a catcher.

What a difference a year makes.

So far this season, Josh Thole is hitting .225 with 17 RBI, a 15/24 K/BB ratio and only six extra-base hits, all doubles. Josh has looked overmatched at the plate, consistently grounding out to the 2B/1B or seemingly forgetting his line-drive swing and trying to smash the ball out of the yard when that isn’t his game. He has grounded into five double plays, and some in key situations in Mets rallies. His 66 OPS+ puts him well below league average and says we could be trotting about any out there, and they would be playing better then Mr. Thole.

It isn’t the offense where Josh is struggling. Defensively, Josh has looked bad as well, coughing up seven passed balls and only throwing out 19% of runners. Teams are using this to there advantage, and it has been working. Thole has yet to find consistency in catching, so badly to the point Terry Collins sat Thole for a few games and played Ronny Paulino against both righties and lefties, when he is equally inept at hitting righties. If this doesn’t say how far from grace Josh Thole has fallen, think of it this way – he has ten hits and nine RBI since May 1st, and hasn’t been above .260 since April 19th. Thole was flirting with the Mendoza Line as recently as last week.

What is wrong with Josh? Is it the pressure of being “the man” at catcher, the duties of an everyday catcher taking away from his skillset, or was Josh a marginal player who was getting by on smoke and mirrors until the league finally got the book on him and pitched him accordingly? Whichever is the answer, the main question becomes – even if the farm system has no one better at the moment, how much longer does Terry Collins keep trotting out Josh Thole knowing he is trotting out a liability?

About the Author: Sean Kenny

Sean Kenny is a student/writer currently attending school at the City College of New York. For more Mets news, notes and thoughts follow him on twitter @TheSeanKenny

12 Comments + Add Comment

alex68 June 2, 2011 at 11:14 am

another guy mets FO and Fans overrate, then he shows his true colors and we’re wondering “ohhhm what happened, he was supposed to be good”.. well, reality bites doesn’t it.. this guy is a back up of a back up at best, the white version of luis castillo minus the ugly face… he’s a below average catcher at best..
- Des June 2, 2011 at 11:28 am
  
  “another guy mets FO and Fans overrate ….”
  
  In his own words alex68 tells us he’s really not a Mets fan. Anybody ever doubt it? LOL
  - alex68 June 2, 2011 at 1:11 pm
    
    not realistic mets fans des, i am a die hard, but i am a realist, i don’t get high on guys who are nothing but 1 year (or in case of most mets players, 2 months)wonder..
- t agee June 2, 2011 at 12:02 pm
  
  Josh is a 13th round draft choice who only had 238 games at catcher in the minors. He came up here in 2009 for three reasons. Brian Schneider, Omir Santos and he was making league minimum.
  
  He never threw people out in the minors so how can you expect him to up here? Opening day he repeatedly called for the same pitch four, five times in a row.
  
  At 24 he has yet to reach his full potential but short circuiting his development puts a lesser talented player at an even bigger disadvantage then he already is.
  
  In a couple of years he could be this years Justin Turner but the Major Leagues aren’t really set up for instruction and development. That’s what the minors are for.
  - Sean Kenny June 2, 2011 at 12:28 pm
    
    Last year – 44%. Year before, 33% but only in six attempts
Dennis Ribant June 2, 2011 at 1:33 pm

lets see , thole regresses, Pagan regresses, Pelfrey regresses, Parnell regresses, Bay regresses, Treat men like infants and that’s what you get. lesser perfpormance. Does your perfpormance improve when your boss yells like Coillins? Sure doesn’t. does constant screaming at your kids work well? Sure doesn’t. You want Collins to be what youy all hate in tbhoise around you. And you wonder what the heck the problem is? You got what you wanted. Enjoy it…..
- Even Flow June 2, 2011 at 5:23 pm
  
  Let me get this straight: You BABIES whined & complained so much about not having a fiery manager and cried over Bobby Valentine all winter and NOW when you have someone who tells it like it is and someone who’s not so laidback like the last couple of clowns managing this team, you say he treats them like “infants”? SHUT THE HELL UP! If you’re too slow to notice, ALL those guys you mentioned SUCK.
  
  Pagan has one good year and all of a sudden, “he’s such a great player”.
  Parnell throws 100 MPH, “he’s a great hurler”.
  Bay hit 30 HRs in hitter parks, “great power hitter”.
  Pelf had a good first half, “lock him up because he’s our “ace”".
  Thole has a so-so year as a backup, he’s our “catcher of the future”.
  
  If putting boots in the asses of these SLACKERS doesn’t help, nothing will. If they need to be treated like infants, so be it! Stop making excuses for these idiots when they can’t get the job done.
  - t agee June 2, 2011 at 6:40 pm
    
    Just way too stupid to even respond to Even Flow. The guy hates Alderson, hates Collins, wants to continue doing business the way it’s been done around here for the last twenty years and expects to get different results.
    
    Don’t worry he’ll be on the bandwagon.
jdon June 2, 2011 at 3:05 pm

Catching is not an offensive position for most teams. So I guess I am not too concerned there. He will hit better than he is. He will never be an offensive diamond in the rough. What I don’t like is his catching. He is sloppy, and does not call a good game. His arm is crap too. I want my team to have a top D catcher. Jerry Grote spoiled me.
- t agee June 2, 2011 at 6:51 pm
  
  Well jdon, there are a few pretty good one’s in this Mondays night’s draft.
  
  Blake Swihart NM, HS strong committment to Texas. Will take money to get him to forego that schlorship.
  
  Andrew Susak Oregon St.
  
  Austin Hedges Calif. HS, UCLA committment and a Boras client.
  
  A latter round guy is Sean Trent FL HS.
  
  We really have no sure thing in AAA or AA, Pena’s looking like he’ll age out and good catchers are so rare in the draft I hope we get at least one.
Metsie June 2, 2011 at 4:51 pm

I personally care much less what the catcher does with the bat than I care about what he does in keeping our Pitchers from going off the reservation and out of Kilter.

Grote and Piazza were pretty much opposite ends of the spectrum….

But everyone remembers who Grote Caught and you have to wonder how much having the guy who catches Seaver helps some other pitcher feel confident enough to listen to him and get the job done!
Todd June 3, 2011 at 8:30 am

the guy is a rookie…rookies struggle. you keep him in the lineup and help him make the adjustments he needs to make. This guy is gonna be their catcher for the next 3-5 years at least, he doesnt need to be good right now he needs to get better. Remember that not every young player is david wright and can make the jump to the big leagues and hit .300

NL East Standings

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB
Braves	24	18	.571	-
Nationals	23	20	.535	1.5
Phillies	20	23	.465	4.5
Mets	16	24	.400	7.0
Marlins	11	32	.256	13.5

Last updated: 05/18/2013

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