Brett Nicholas: The Forgotten Catcher

In everyone’s talks about who should be the Rangers starting catcher in 2015, I hear a lot of names. Jorge Alfaro won’t be ready, Geovany Soto may not be invited back, Robinson Chirinos has certainly made a name for himself in 2014, and J.P. Arencibia is not going to return and Chris Gimenez is probably not coming back either.

Meanwhile, down at AAA, sits a power hitting catcher named Brett Nicholas. Brett Nicholas has played the entire season so far at Round Rock, and he has amassed some pretty good numbers. Brett Nicholas has a line of .278/.327/.398 with 10 home runs and 53 RBI in 417 at bats. He has a .991 fielding percentage behind the plate and he has caught 23% of potential base stealers. Those numbers may not wow you, but I believe that they are pretty good for a guy who is being turned into an everyday catcher at AAA ball.

I had a conversation with Brett Nicholas a couple weeks ago in Round Rock, and I specifically asked him how much a base stealer is on the pitcher and how much it is on the catcher.

"“Well I struggled with that at the beginning of the year, but just with time back there and trying to learn throughout it , and my goal now is to sit between a 1-9 and a 2-0 straight down there, and if the pitcher gives me time to throw him out down there then we’ll get him, but if not then I just have to take care of what I can do.”"

In the game I attended in Round Rock, Brett Nicholas hit a three run shot to win the game, and all of his home runs seems to come at crucial points of the game. Brett Nicholas is a name that I think should be mentioned more when it comes to next years catcher tandem, and I really hope that we get to see him in September, showing all Rangers fans what he has to offer both behind the plate and at the plate. Do you agree or disagree?