Phillies Nation

Travis d’Arnaud, C

Born: 2/10/1989 in Lakewood, California

Height: 6’2”

Weight: 195

There are generally two types of catchers in Major League Baseball. There are the offensive catchers who give their team an advantage because the rest of the field is fairly weak behind the plate, like Brian McCann. And there are defensive catchers like Carlos Ruiz, who are lauded for their ability to call a good game and keep runners at their stations. Not many can excel at both facets of the game – and not many are expected to – so when a 20-year-old comes along with the potential to do just that, the hype is bound to build. Though he is still not close to the Majors, Travis d’Arnaud has been equally impressive at the plate and behind it in his minor league career and is now the best infield prospect in the Phillies system.

When the Phillies chose d’Arnaud with a supplemental pick after the 1^st round in 2007 he had a reputation as a great defensive catcher with a streaky bat that might never develop. After a so-so showing in Williamsport the summer that he was drafted, d’Arnaud started back in short-season ball in 2008. He opened up well at Williamsport, then moved to Lakewood before the season was out, posting a .305 average and 25 extra-base hits in 239 at-bats between the two leagues. With that, his name began to be mentioned right next to – or even above – Lou Marson’s name on many prospect lists. The pressure was on d’Arnaud to succeed this year, and though he got off to a very slow start, by the end of the year he cemented himself as a serious prospect at one of the few weak offensive positions on the Phillies club.

In his first full season of at-bats d’Arnaud hit .255 with 13 homers and 71 RBI at Lakewood this year. But a deeper look at the numbers shows an even more impressive season for the young catcher. D’Arnaud hit .306 in the second half of the season, consistently ripping off multi-hit games after a disappointing first half. He finished the year by hitting .391 while catching every game in the playoffs for the S.A.L. Champion Blue Claws. His walk-to-strikeout ratio of 41-to-75 isn’t bad, and though he runs like a catcher he has good awareness on the basepaths so he was able to steal eight bags this year. The 13 homers are nothing to laugh at, but next year should see a spike in d’Arnaud’s power. Many of the 38 doubles he pounded out this year will likely begin to clear the fence next year as he harnesses more of his strength.

Scouts say that d’Arnaud has an above-average arm behind the plate, regularly gunning down steal attempts or picking off baserunners straying too far from the bag. His soft hands and agile movement make him a great receiver to go with his strong arm. The type of hitter who gets good contact and hits every ball hard, d’Arnaud should only grow in the next couple of years as a batter. He could be in store for a breakout season in 2010 when he should start in Clearwater with a chance of tasting double-A by the end of the year. The defense is already there, and the offense is well on the way, so it seems only a matter of time before d’Arnaud becomes the complete package at catcher. With the three prospects ahead of him on this list fast-tracked for the Majors, d’Arnaud could be the top prospect in the organization within a year or so.

Statistics

Year   Level   AB   H   2B   HR   RBI   BB   K   AVG    OBP    SLG

2007   ROOK  141  34   3     4    20    4   23  .241   .278   .348

2008   A-      175  54  13    4    25   18   29  .309   .371   .463

2008   A       64    19    5    2    5     5   10   .297   .357   .469

2009   A       482  128  38   13   71   41  75   .255   .319   .419

Rankings – All previous prospect profiles can be found here, which is also on the left sidebar for easy viewing

4.   Travis d’Arnaud, C
5.   Zach Collier, OF
6.   Trevor May, RHP
7.   Joe Savery, LHP
8.   Vance Worley, RHP
9.   Sebastian Valle, C
10.  Mike Stutes, RHP
11.  Antonio Bastardo, LHP
12.  Anthony Gose, OF
13.  Colby Shreve, RHP
14.  Anthony Hewitt, 3B
15.  Justin De Fratus, RHP
16.  Sergio Escalona, LHP
17.  Yohan Flande, LHP
18.  Julian Sampson, RHP
19.  John Mayberry, Jr., OF
20.  Mike Cisco, RHP
21.  Freddy Galvis, SS
22.  Jonathan Pettibone, RHP
23.  Domingo Santana, OF
24.  Jonathan Singleton, 1B
25.  Drew Naylor, RHP

About Ben Seal

Ben Seal has written 48 articles on Phillies Nation.

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