Tyler Flowers to be relied by Chicago White Sox as catcher for 2013-MLB Update
Chicago White Sox have taken a huge risk by not re-signing A.J. Pierzynski, who is their established catcher for the last many years.
Complete reliance on the relatively younger catcher, Tyler Flowers for the 2013 season comes with a lot of question marks.
Flowers has yet to go a long way in becoming an ideal replacement of Pierzynski.
To hit in the range of above .250 throughout the season, along with substantial number of home runs, cannot be expected from Flowers.
The void that has been left by the absence of Pierzynski in the line-up of the White Sox can be realised from the fact that his batting average in the last season was .278.
On the other hand, his successor has the career average of .205.
Such a huge difference means that the White Sox will be going into the next season with a weakened offence.
Unless they counter balance the impact of Pierzynski through new acquisitions on the roster, counting on Flowers entirely for the upcoming season cannot help the White Sox much.
On a positive note, Flowers can prove to be a valuable investment for the team.
After earning opportunities at the major league level, his talent will be nourished and that can result in him becoming as prolific as Pierzynski.
Flowers is young and ready to learn lessons from his mistakes. He is improving after every year as is indicated by his slightly upgraded batting average of 2012.
Talking about exclusion of Pierzynski, general manager of the White Sox, Rick Hahn, has accepted that letting the star catcher leave the organisation was not an easy move.
"I get it,'' he said. "I was upset when Wilber Marshall joined the Redskins, when Horace Grant left the Bulls for the Orlando Magic … but at the end of the day, we had to do what we thought was in the best interest of the organization.''
Hahn believes that it is the long-term development of the club that makes it difficult for him to pursue high profile players such as Pierzynski.
All in all, he is happy with the progress of the team as he is looking forward to see the White Sox achieving something remarkable during the 2013 season.
Tags: