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What stands out to me at initial glance is the amount of pitches he sees that are
out of the strike zone. 40% of the pitches he sees are off the plate outside for him, being a
left-handed hitter. But, the real thing that stands out is the fact that he can lay off of all of
those pitches. He saw a quarter of the pitches thrown to him down and out, but he was
able to match his balls in play in that area almost exactly with balls in play when the pitch
is thrown right down the pipe. A smart hitter like Avila has the ability to recognize those
pitches and lay off, which is what explains the steep increase in OBP compared to his
average.
My knock on Avila is that his fly ball numbers are a little too high for my liking at
some points. His line drive numbers could be better, but the key to producing runs (now
in a lineup that needs some of that) is to either up that number, or pound the ball into the
ground and let your guys get around the bases. Besides a sac fly, a fly ball never does any
good, and Avila can find more holes if he put it on the grass. He knows what its like to
quietly help lead a team to the playoffs, and now with the best pitcher in the division on
his side, he will be given the chance to show what he can do with the bat once again.
And then theres Dioner Navarro, who did what he needed to do behind Russell
Martin in helping the Blue Jays reach the ALCS. He served as the everyday catcher in
Toronto in 2014, but lost the job to Martin and played in just 54 games this past year.
Turning 32 just before the 2016 season will commence, I personally suspect his starter
abilities are close to, if not entirely gone. Avila will start, but Navarro can supply valuable
innings off of the bench during his one-year deal.
My one complaint about Dioner Navarro is his inability to lay off of the low stuff.
He stayed within himself for the most part, but if he has any plan to make this catcher
competition in February and March a true competition, he must become the more
selective hitter, because Avila has him beat in both the age and defense categories.
Both of these catchers are on one-year deals, but having these two is certainly
better than hanging onto the Ghost of Potential Past in Flowers and the Cub gone Sock in
Geovany Soto. Avila gives them legitimate filler in the lineup, while Navarro will provide
valuable at-bats when need be. If all goes well, Rick Hahn will, hopefully, gain a little
warranted recognition in the executive baseball world, and the White Sox may have a
fighting chance for one of those Wild Card spots.
**All numerical statistics not associated with the figures and graphs are courtesy of
espn.com**