There's a lot of intriguing catching platoons out there this year. The Braves are using Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy equally yet still emphasizing Baldwin. The Angels are using Logan O'Hoppe and Travis d'Arnaud relatively interchangeably solely because I think they're paying d'Arnaud too much to refer to him as a full backup. The Rangers are using Kyle Higashioka as the primary and Jonah Heim as the glorified backup, and Higgy seems to somehow be working more. And now we have the White Sox, after breaking into the season with a Matt Thaiss/Korey Lee catching duo that was working so much better than expected that the Sox had to deal Thaiss to Tampa, going with two rookie catching options and both working.
It helps that these two have not only been the prizes of the White Sox's farm system, they were the prizes of other farm systems as well. Edgar Quero was an Angels catching prospect [which makes it even funnier that O'Hoppe wasn't even homegrown], and he was traded to the White Sox in that ill-fated Lucas Giolito deal. Kyle Teel, along with Chase Meidroth and current Birmingham Baron Braden Montgomery in that matter, was brought to Chicago in a much more even trade for Garrett Crochet, who has thankfully continued at ace levels. Two aces are in other markets, ironically both in Boston, and in return the White Sox got a catching platoon that could last them a while.
The Teel/Quero duo has been a success so far, netting a 3.2 WAR cumulatively. Quero, as he started earlier, has the firmer stats, he's hitting .282 with 79 hits in 87 games, plus 35 RBIs. He's also the better defensive catcher, with above-average numbers there. Kyle Teel is the more powerful hitter, he's got 51 hits and 25 RBIs in 54 games, hitting .300 and sporting an .802 average. I think Quero is more likely to be the everyday catcher going forward, whereas Teel is more likely to be moved to either 1st or DH. Keeping both in the lineup is probably optimal, because they're both great at different things and are both important to this team's upbringing. It's the same reason Lenyn Sosa will likely still factor into things even as Chase Meidroth gets to play 2nd everyday.
That's another very good thing about this season for the White Sox: they can finally see answers at multiple positions. Colson Montgomery and Chase Meidroth are looking like a long term DP combo. Quero and Teel are both great catching options for the foreseeable future. Miguel Vargas, at the very least, can be an anchor at third for the next few years. And Shane Smith, Davis Martin and Sean Burke are already viable major league starting options. Now, because it's so few, you're seeing this team accommodate lots of replacement level players just so they can finish the season. Michael Taylor's starting in center, Brooks Baldwin and Curtis Mead are in the mix, and the bullpen mostly consists of people booted off better rosters. Occasionally one of those will do well, like professional leadoff man Mike Tauchman and finally-healthy Martin Perez, who's been on yet another strong stretch. But it's a lot of filler.
The hope is that Teel, Quero, Montgomery and Meidroth can be the starting seeds of a team that can compete again. And if those guys are already doing well...it could be soon.
Coming Tonight: Last night, he faced one of the hottest young pitchers in the game while also being backed by another one of the hottest young pitchers in the game. So you can sort of understand why he's having a down year.
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