Martin Maldonado making 1st MLB start tomorrow (Tuesday)

[3and2Fastball]

According to Ron Roenicke, Maldonado will be starting at catcher tomorrow and for the next few games as they try to get Kottaras healed up...

 

I thought it'd be good to give Maldanado his own thread...he and his family have got to be pretty excited, it has been a long road for Martin to get to MLB, as he was a 17 year old rookie in 2004

 

He is a plus defender with a great arm (42% caught stealing pct. throughout his minor league career) and that will be fun to watch....

 

He's struggled as a hitter, and is hitting just .198/.270 in AAA this year, but did hit .287/.373 in 2011 dividing his time between AA/AAA.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=maldon001mar

[AZBrewCrew]

Well at least since hes coming from Nashville he should be used to catching Fiers.

[3and2Fastball]

Well at least since hes coming from Nashville he should be used to catching Fiers.

 

That is what I was thinking as well...

 

One thing I like about his approach at the plate is his ability to take walks. His OBP is usually 80-90 points above his batting average every year

[PrinceEatMeat]

The main reason he's catching is because Kottaras shouldn't be. He'll probably start the next 3-4 games to continue rest Kottaras as Roenicke said. It does work out that Fiers is pitching tomorrow though. At least Kottaras should be available to pinch-hit.

[benji]

I am glad for the defense as it was painful to watch Abreu steal a base last night. K-Rod probably had something to do with that though. I wonder how Randy Wolf will handle the switch.

[3and2Fastball]

I wonder how Randy Wolf will handle the switch.

 

Yes it is important that George rests up for the next 3 games and is ready for the next time Wolf starts, otherwise Randy's head might explode!

 

I'm looking forward to seeing what we have in Maldonado. He projects as a great fielding backup catcher who could really help an MLB team

[monty57]

Once Kottaras is healed, what should we expect? Will Kottaras will play 4/5 of the time, will we have a "normal" platoon, will one get 3 pitchers and the other 2? It'll be interesting to see how Roenicke plays this.

 

While I'm happy for the Maldonado household, I really hope Lucroy is a quick healer.

[3and2Fastball]

I hope Lucroy is a fast healer too... that said I'm very intrigued with Maldonado as I see him as our backup Catcher of the future. I'm trying to remember the last time the Brewers had a Catcher that was as good defensively as Maldonado....

 

Kendall was very good but Maldonado has a better arm. Maldonado might be better than Chad Moeller & Damian Miller, too

[PrinceEatMeat]

Once Kottaras is healed, what should we expect? Will Kottaras will play 4/5 of the time, will we have a "normal" platoon, will one get 3 pitchers and the other 2? It'll be interesting to see how Roenicke plays this.

 

While I'm happy for the Maldonado household, I really hope Lucroy is a quick healer.

 

My guess is Kottaras plays against RHP and when Wolf pitches, and Maldonado plays against LHP and when Fiers pitches.

[3and2Fastball]

I think that once Kottaras is 100% he will start a majority of the games. More than likely Kottaras will start 4 out of every 5 games until Lucroy is back. They will sit Kottaras in the typical way that teams sit their #1 Catchers, i.e. day games after night games or particularly tough matchups/splits.

[HiAndTight]

Once Kottaras is healed, what should we expect? Will Kottaras will play 4/5 of the time, will we have a "normal" platoon, will one get 3 pitchers and the other 2? It'll be interesting to see how Roenicke plays this.

 

While I'm happy for the Maldonado household, I really hope Lucroy is a quick healer.

 

 

If so, give Maldonado Greinke and Gallardo because Kottaras is just awful at blocking balls behind the plate.

[Bombers]

I am very impressed with his defense. If he can just hit ok and take some walks I will be happy. But from a defensive standpoint this kid looks awesome

[patrickgpe]

very impressed with his defense. i know he struggled in nashville but i hope he starts more than 20% of the time.

[3and2Fastball]

Maldonado was awesome tonight. Even better defensively than I thought he'd be....

 

Can Lucroy play 1B?

[CheezWizHed]

I've been so busy, I haven't had much chance to follow the Brewers lately. So it was quite a surprise to see Fiers (ok, I kind of knew that one), Maldonado, and Conrad all in the box last night!

 

But Fiers and Maldonado are two of the "underdogs" in our system that I enjoy following. Great job guys!

[EdRomero11]

I know this is the small sample, but does anyone think Martin calls a better game than Lucroy or Kotteras, hense a little winning streak.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

I think who calls a better game is a fairly small marginal factor. They all gameplan together and the pitcher has the final say. I think it's more our pitchers have gotten in a better groove while playing some lesser hitting teams.

 

Maldonado is much better defensively than George and probably Luc. He's significantly better than George with a bad hammy.

 

I'm impressed...my guess is he makes George expendable at some point.