Aside from the time he’s been out of the lineup with an injury, it’s clear that, unlike some other Shorebird campaigns, there is a definite #1 catcher and Wynston Sawyer is the guy. He’s caught in more games than the other catchers on the roster combined, and if he can stay at his offensive level shown so far this season Sawyer has the potential to post a number of career bests among his four years in the Orioles’ organization.
With a career-high 5 RBI last night on a three-run homer and two-run double, Sawyer’s average moved up to .249, with a career best 6 home runs and 27 RBI. His .759 OPS to date is by far a career pinnacle, nearly 150 points above his lifetime average coming into 2013. (OPS is on-base percentage plus slugging percentage – the league average is around .700, so Sawyer is showing above-average ability.)
Perhaps one reason for Sawyer’s improvement is the fact he’s almost exclusively a catcher now. In previous seasons Wynston spent plenty of time playing at first base, with a nearly even split between the positions last season. But this year he’s only played at first once, although it was fairly recently (July 29.)
Sawyer, who doesn’t turn 22 until November, came out of Scripps Ranch High School in California as an 8th round pick in 2010 but has never really shown a great bat. If anything, it was consistent because Sawyer had hit .231, .231, and .221 his first three seasons. The .221 mark was at Delmarva last season, where he had a line of .221/2/49/.608 OPS. Over the years, though, Wynston has shown himself to have good strike zone knowledge as his ratio of walks to strikeouts has improved each season.
But after flying out of the gate with a .351 average in April, Sawyer crashed back to earth with a subpar May and June. At the All-Star break Wynston was in his usual .230s rut, but lately the bat has heated up and four of his six home runs have been hit in the season’s second half. With a lack of catching depth in the organization, the opportunity is there for Sawyer to be promoted by next year.