Player Profile: Chris Iannetta
By Ben Renner
Chris Iannetta needed a fresh start after hitting only .188 for the Angels last year. Thanks to Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto, he’s getting one.
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Chris Iannetta will take over the catcher’s position for the Mariners this season after Jerry Dipoto, a former Angels executive, brought him in as a free agent to replace Mike Zunino. As you all know by now, Iannetta’s .188/.293/.335 slash for the Angels last season would have been an improvement over Zunino last year. Zunino slashed (if you’re squeamish, skip to the next paragraph) .174/.230/.300. Yes, his on-base percentage was .230. That’s what a 21/132 BB/K ratio looks like, folks.
Chris Iannetta isn’t the next Mike Piazza, but his awful batting line last season set all kinds of career lows for the 10-year veteran. In fact, he has never had a season anywhere near as terrible as his 2015. Last year was the first time Iannetta’s slugging percentage was below .350. It was also the first time his OBP was worse than .318 and his batting average was worse than .197. In 2010, Iannetta set all of his previous career lows with the Rockies, a season in which played only 61 games.
Iannetta’s 2015 could be natural age regression, but I find it difficult to believe he’ll hit below the Mendoza Line in 2016. He’s not going to be a big offensive contributor, but he’s also not going to be the drain that Zunino has been*.
All of the sabermetrics I looked at for Chris Iannetta told the story of a strictly average fielding catcher. I’ll spare you all the numbers and jargon for once and simply note that he at least fields his position credibly and calls a decent game behind the plate. He doesn’t have much of an arm, however, and his pitch framing is inconsistent.
Dipoto brought Chris Iannetta in as a short-term answer to a position that plagued the Mariners last year. It wasn’t all Mike Zunino’s fault. Jesus Sucre provided no relief in the few innings he played and Dipoto could only come up with another backup catcher to join his motley crew–former Oriole Steve Clevenger.
The starting catcher’s job is Iannetta’s for the taking in 2016. The best thing we can hope for in the Mariners’ sorry yet upgraded catcher corps this season is for Zunino to tear up the Pacific Coast League for the Rainiers until he forces his way onto the big league roster and hits well enough to stay there. Most likely we’ll see Iannetta behind the plate unless Clevenger forces him out. Like I said, it’s an improvement.
Next: Fantasy Baseball Preview Part 2
*I like Zunino and he’s young enough that he can still develop into good player for the Mariners. He’s great with the pitchers behind the plate and he can frame pitches like a gallery curator.