Three Way Dance

Bleeding Blue and Teal has a look at three Seattle Mariner catching prospects, who also happen to be Timber Rattler alums.

Clement vs. Johnson vs. Moore

Jeff Clement, Rob Johnson and Adam Moore are the top three catching prospects in the Mariners organization, but not necessarily in that order. You all know Clement and have heard of Johnson, but Moore may be a bit of a mystery to you. Hopefully this will have you well acquainted with all three.

The golden boy of the trio, Jeff Clement was taken with the third overall pick in the 2005 draft ahead of Troy Tulowitski, Ryan Zimmerman, Jacoby Ellsbury and Ryan Braun. If not from the extensive coverage directed towards him following the draft, you may know Clement by his memorable home runs during his September callup last season, or the reoccurring mention of his name in trade rumors this offseason.

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Rob Johnson is about the opposite of Jeff Clement. The two have split time in AAA between catcher and DH, showing off different skill sets. If the two could be melded into one, you would have the perfect catching specimen. Johnson has less offense, more defense and more speed than his power hitting teammate.

Tacoma's team captain last year, Johnson can call a good game, block tough pitches and is nimble behind the plate. He was drafted as a defensive catcher with some offensive upside, but he has yet to break out as a hitter. He still has the makings of a starting catcher, but will have to compete for every job he gets in the majors. Right now he projects to be an average major league hitter, hitting in the bottom third of the order. The power could still come, but for now he is predominately a singles hitter, muscling out the occasional home run while hitting few doubles.

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Adam Moore, Seattle's second best catching prospect, was drafted in 2006 and is 23 years old. Fairly new to the organization and unknown to most Mariners fans, he projects to be slightly above average defensively and slightly more above average offensively, but doesn't stand out on either side of the ball the way Johnson and Clement do.

Taking a quick look at the stat sheet, it is easy to be impressed by Moore's 2007 numbers. He hit .307 with 22 home runs and 102 RBIs in 433 at bats for High Desert. Some great stats, but keep in mind that he was playing his home games in the most hitter friendly ballpark of the very offensive California League. I've seen him compared to Michael Barrett offensively, and we should be able to better tell where he stands after next season.

Much more on each player at the post.