John Murphy, a catcher from Pendleton High School in Florida. This spring, Murphy hit a ridiculous .627 with 11 home runs and 66 RBI’s for a nationally ranked team against strong Florida competition. While playing on the Florida Bombers in the summer, he broke records held in the past by Eric Hosmer, Jemile Weeks, and JP Arencibia, all first-rounders.
Murphy, listed at 6’0″ 190, is a recent convert to catcher who has taken to the position well. He was an outfielder and a 3rd baseman in the past, so he has decent athleticism behind the plate, and seems likely to stay a catcher as a pro. He is a polished righty hitter with good contact skills, a line-drive swing, and some power potential. He also was rated to have the 2nd-best strike zone judgement of all the high school hitters in the draft, and the Yankees definitely do value plate discipline. He is still learning the catcher position, and does not seem to have all the instincts down yet, most evaluators are confident that he can learn.
Nice Dreams psp I didn’t know anything about Murphy prior to the selection, but apparently he was one of the top prospects in Florida, with a commitment to baseball powerhouse Miami. He was considered a possible supplemental round pick because of his bat and his likelihood to stay at catcher. He’s not a super sexy pick, but his hitting ability should make him valuable, especially if he can stay at catcher, as he is projected to do. At best, he can be an above-average offensive catcher who could be an average to above-average defender. He probably does not have an all-star ceiling, but his offensive polish could allow him to advance through the minors quickly if his defense continues to improve. Again, not an exciting pick (reminds me of the Romine pick a few years ago), but I assume he will sign, so I am satisfied. I hope there are more high-ceiling guys coming later.
Here’s a scouting video of Murphy.
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28 Responses to With the Yankees 2nd round pick, they select
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TIQ IQ
Yeah, he was 88 on Klaw’s list, seems like a solid prospect. KLaw likes his offense, as does BA I believe (someone at RAb copy and pasted a scouting report from somewhere), and they think his defense should be solid as well. A bit strange due to depth at catcher, but I cant complain about stockpiling players up the middle.
I’m kind of disappointed in this pick with Stassi and Bailey both still on the board. Just not looking to be a premiere draft for the Yankees thus far. I really hope they can pick up a bunch of quality guys on day two
Chip who would you consider to be quality guys that are left? Got to be something up with Stassi if no team has picked him thus far. Perhaps his price tag went up, or something is wrong with his shoulder. Things can change quickly on draft day.
What they got were two players considered to be among the Top 100 draft prospects in the US. Not a bad way to use your picks. We shall see.
I’ve heard lots of good things on Renfroe, wonder if we grab him late. I bet his price tag is quite high though.
The Sox took Renfroe. I wonder if he signs.
With Stassi and Bailey dropping still, I would say that there is a consensus about them.
I’m wondering how J-Mo and Austin Romine will react to this pick? For them, this pick is not really a vote of confidence. If J-Mo is not going to catch, I guess he’s going to be traded at some point, since, as an outfielder, he’s not going to be athletic defender. With this pick, I’m quickly losing interest in Romine and J-Mo. I also guess that the Yankees will not, after all, get a high-ceilinged SS in this draft, such as Renfroe. This pick seems like the pick of someone, who thinks they know it all
Really? Building depth at the scarcest position on the diamond for hitters says nothing about the other guys in the system. Zero. An 18 year old has no bearing on two guys two years ahead of him.
Damn why did we draft another catcher? dont we have enough of them already?
Nope. There really is no such thing- catchers that can hit are the scarcest resource in baseball outside of the ace pitcher. Further, if Montero needs to move, only Romine is a legit top 100 type prospect at catcher for the Yankees.
I understand that but i figured if we drafted another catcher it would be the kind of guy who had all star potential. I thought those were the kind of guys we drafted for the most part.
Romine is a top catching prospect.This kid sounds like a very good hitter with the ability to develop into a solid catcher too.Good hitting catchers are a huge plus.
Exactly. When they say that his bat could play at 3rd or in the outfield, but that his defense is good enough to stick at catcher, that is a nice asset.
As nice as Murphy sounds, I also have to think the pick not being protected had something to do with the Yankees taking him. Should be an easy sign.
That makes sense. I bet they take a bunch of signability guys with their first couple of picks tomorrow.
Thing is, who’s left? None of the big stars fell and a few of the DES guys are already gone too
Not sure. Maybe they pop Bailey or Stassi, best player available, even though both are catchers. Also, I dont know all of the prospects, but I am sure there are some arms that fell because they were assumed headed to school.
I agree and love the scouting reports on the kid but I don’t understand him over Bailey and really don’t see it over Stassi
Considering Stassi is still available, and a number of catchers have been taken over him, the Yankees are not the only team to not be as high on Stassi as BA and the other prospect-rating sources.
Absolutely true, we don’t know how the Yankees rank these guys and he could turn out to be great. It’s just hard when we don’t get any really high-ceiling guys
As a result of this pick, this draft will probably not have an answer to this major NYY question, “Where is Jeter’s successor?”
JETER is good for 3 more good years and then 1 or 2 more in decline.He’s in better shape now and moving better than in a few seasons.
I guess we can trade a catcher for a SS and there’s always free agency.
By the way is Murphy 5’10 -11 or 6′ , I’ve seen him listed all 3 and history suggests that the shorter heights are usually the correct ones.
He’s a high-schooler. It’s possible the smallest is correct, it’s also possible he grew as most teenagers do.
A lot of people thought Renfroe would need to move to third anyhow. And there are still plenty of rounds to go, all of which have produced major league players in the past. With the Yankees likely to pay over slot going forward, they could still pick some people up that could help.
If you believe Damon O, there is a budget this season.I believe him and with the Stadium not filled, don’t be shocked if Yankees are more conservative this season.
There may be a budget, but they basically stayed with slot players in the first two picks. They should have plenty of dough for some guys who dropped.
Interestingly, according to Baseball America, Murphy was rated the “second best” in “strikezone judgment” of all 2009 high school prospects. So, maybe we should reserve judgment on this pick.
Nice find Bart. That is always good to hear.
For people complaining about our catching depth, go look at how much Jarrod Saltalamacchia is worth. He is a career .257 hitter who was traded for Teixeira. And now Texas is demanding Clay Buchholz for him. Point is, young catchers are worth a lot. If you think you have too many, then trade one of them for our shortstop of the future.