Leadership, toughness and experience are a few qualities that make up one of the most important defensive positions in baseball— catcher.
Sophomores Brock Mathis and Saul Garza will take up that role behind the plate. Head coach Paul Mainieri looked to gain more productivity from the position after a 2018 season where catcher was a liability rather than asset.
LSU catchers gave up 12 passed balls throughout the season while their opponents combined for a total of seven. Allowing passed balls in key spots hurt the Tigers during their late season run, but that wasn’t the only inconsistency from the position. Offense was not always dependable from the men behind the plate either.
Hunter Feduccia started the majority of games behind the plate, 48, and had a .233 batting average with only three home runs and 31 runs batted in. Of the players who played in over 30 games, Feduccia provided the second lowest batting average.
The inconsistency and decline from Michael Papierski’s impactful 2017 season to the struggle-filled 2018 season led Mainieri to bring in offense and defense at the position.
Mainieri said the number one recruiting goal was to bring in someone who could strengthen the position. He brought in two recruits to try and fill that void.
With each looking to take up the starting role because of different abilities, the Mathis-Garza battle began in the fall. Both Mathis and Garza were recruited for specific reasons, and it was time to find out who was the most well-rounded to earn the job.
Mathis said that he is confident in his approach at the plate and hitting coach Sean Ochinko has helped him improve. That won’t take away from his defense-first mentality though.
“The biggest part of me is my defensive game, and if I can keep the ball in front of me and keep the pitcher locked in the zone,” Mathis said. “That’s something for me that’s crucial.”
Garza, on the other hand, can swing the bat with serious power. He hit 23 home runs and added 52 hits in his lone junior college season. The position battle ended earlier than expected for Garza when he went down after re-injuring his knee. That left Mathis to take up the starting position when the season begins on Feb. 15.
Garza was out most of the fall, but he was cleared to hit on Dec. 27 and fully cleared on Jan. 24. Garza said he was shaky in the beginning after coming back, but Mainieri told him to keep his confidence up.
Defensively, Garza said he probably won’t be able to physically catch until around early March, but Garza and the doctors will “play it by ear.” Since coming back, he hasn’t completely regained his full form in the batter’s box.
“He really struggled this week even though he hit the two home runs,” Mainieri said. “He struck out a lot. His mechanics were a little bit messed up, but I’ll tell you Sean Ochinko has done some great work with him this week, and he’s looking a lot better the last few games and scrimmages.”
Mainieri said Garza won’t completely be out of the lineup when the season begins though. It seems as though the Tigers will be lucky and receive the benefits of both catchers as Mathis will assume the role behind the plate, and Garza will start the season hitting in the middle of the lineup.
