When the Phillies acquired top catching prospect Jorge Alfaro in the Cole Hamels deal, many people, including myself thought the Phillies finally had their catcher of the future. Andrew Knapp has other plans. Knapp was promoted to double A Reading in early July, and he’s been as hot as the weather.
With Alfaro out for the year with an ankle injury, Knapp has been giving the opportunity to show he can be the Phils future back stop. Andrew is 23 and was a second round pick in 2013 from Cal. He is considered an offensive minded catcher, but reports from Reading are that he has made great strides on defense and game calling. He is also a switch hitter which is rare and valuable for a catcher.
In 34 games with Reading, Knapp is hitting .403 (54-134) with 17 doubles, 2 triples, 6 homers(including a walk off on Saturday) and 40 RBIs. He’s also scored 26 runs with an OPS well over 1.000.
Andrew Knapp’s recent surge had given the Phillies a good problem to have if he keeps this up. With Alfaro expected to recover fully, he should be a power hitting catcher with an above average arm. In a perfect world, Alfaro and Knapp both pan out and the Phillies have to decide which to start. Well Alfaro has history at first and right field. Both are not great defenders so it would be interesting to see who starts at catcher , but this is a story to follow about the future of the Philadelphia Phillies.
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