Astros depth chart at catcher remains up for grabs

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As many Houston Astros fans know him well, Martín Maldonado can play one heck of a defensive game as catcher. His combination of experience both playoff and regular season, as well as his skill set, make him a valued asset on the Astros.

One question remains however on Maldonado, at age 35-years-old, he is more of a platoon player at this point or can he still be the everyday guy, and if he can who is his backup?

Maldonado is a well above average defensive catcher in the American League, he has a killer arm and consistent pop time that keeps runners at bay. The right-hander’s game management and pitch calling is also nothing to bat an eye at as he has big game experience and has faced the best of the best in the major leagues.

Aside from his strong showing on the defensive side of the game, his offense leaves something to be desired, hitting a career-low in batting average at .172, yet at the same time hitting 12 home runs and driving in 36.

In addition, Maldonado had a .300 slugging percentage last year with a .573 OPS, both of which were career lows for a full season of games.

So with the recent prospect rankings for the Astros farm system signaling catcher Korey Lee is top of the list, the question remains, is Maldonado’s lack of offense good but superior defensive skills enough to keep him full time behind the dish?

Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

With Maldonado’s offense on the decline, will Lee make the jump?

All-in-all, Maldonado has been declining in production at the plate going from a regular .220 average down to .172 this year and hitting a paltry .130 in the playoffs with no home runs and 5 RBI.

Lee was a surprise first round pick for the Astros, as he was projected to go later around the third round. Lee is new to the catching position but he is learning and catching on quickly (pun intended) with plenty of quality coaching in the minor leagues.

Lee’s meteoric rise to Triple-A and the top of the prospect list also drives the question, does he deserve his shot at the highest level this season, I think he does indeed.

Lee would be a perfect platoon split at catcher to learn from the veteran pitchers and Maldonado on how to call a game and play in the bigs while getting some opportunities to showcase his talent.

Mandatory Credit: The Corpus Christi Caller Times /

With two veteran catchers on the roster, when will Lee get a callup to the Astros?

Lee played only nine games in Triple-A, but in his 50 games in Corpus Christi, he slashed .254 with eight home runs and 27 RBI as well as slugging .443.

Now with all that said, nine games in Triple-A doesn’t scream ready for the Bigs nor do they say pull me up now, but that could have easily been feasted out in major-league spring training if we had that going on right now.

One thing is certain, Lee deserves a chance and with Jason Castro being the only backup on the roster and both major-league catchers on the roster in their mid 30s, it might seem necessary to at the least make Lee a September call up.

I would argue for more however, if we do get a short spring training and Lee can prove his worth, I would like to see him platoon with Maldonado taking on maybe 1/3 of the games and getting used to the speed and skill set of the major league pitcher.

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I believe Lee will be a guaranteed a roster spot in 2023, but maybe the Lee era will start this year. We would get to enjoy some serious offensive production out of a previously limited offensive position for the Astros for as long as I can remember.

I for one will take a solid offensive contributor with a decent defensive grade over a solid defender with little upside offensively.

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One question remains however on Maldonado, at age 35-years-old, he is more of a platoon player at this point or can he still be the everyday guy, and if he can who is his backup?

With Maldonado’s offense on the decline, will Lee make the jump?

With two veteran catchers on the roster, when will Lee get a callup to the Astros?

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