RealGM

I am torn

Honestly, I believe a success full team who wants to carry a strong rotation would be best served with a defensively strong catcher. D'Arnaud is not only an ace when it comes to defence, but he a very good all around hitter. He doesn't dominate but he will be a key hitter in a MLB roster one day, not sure if its in Toronto yet, but he will somewhere.

However, Arencibia I believe will become a very special hitting catcher.... his average will always be average "at best" though. I honestly think his defense is better than it put out to be because he's always had a reputation as a bad catcher and his start in the MLB was horrible on that end. He really improved. As for his offense it is amazing for a catcher and he did it as a rookie. If he improves on it, he could be scary, in that terms. He is better than Jesus Montero. Monetero is super-hyped up but his defense is worse than Arencibia by a mile and his average isent eye popping. He is just like Arencibia with more hype. Take ur pick, but i take the Jay, just personal choice.

I know theres a low chance Arencibia could be converted to a 1B if he imroves that much but D'Arnaud is the better defender. Yet, I think they will both be MLB catchers but one will be else where not too long from now...... I was fixed on JP but now D'Arnaud seems logical to me too.

the gold-glove defense of D'Arnaud with a solid all around offense game.... or.... the under rated defense and scary power offense of Arencibia?


well, atleast its a good problem to have......... GREAT problem

If Arencebia can improve this offseason on D, then he'll be fine. His offensive numbers for a rookie are pretty damn good. Both catchers like you said have great potential to do good things in the MLB. I believe we have another year or two to really see what were going to get out of JP, D'Arnaud is in AA (I think) and that should give JP some time to improve.

number15 wrote:As for his offense it is amazing for a catcher and he did it as a rookie. If he improves on it, he could be scary

You've clearly never looked at a single stat sheet. Arencibia will never make enough contact or control the strike zone enough to be a "scary" hitter.

This isn't even a competition. Only thing stopping d'Arnaud is health.

NM. Not worth it.

-MetA4- wrote:

number15 wrote:As for his offense it is amazing for a catcher and he did it as a rookie. If he improves on it, he could be scary

You've clearly never looked at a single stat sheet. Arencibia will never make enough contact or control the strike zone enough to be a "scary" hitter.

This isn't even a competition. Only thing stopping d'Arnaud is health.

and actually doing it once in the majors

d'arnaud is still maybe 2 years away from taking a full-tim gig in the majos. I really think it's gonna depend on how successful the team is with JPA catching. If we win the series with him being a solid performer it wouldn't make sense to force him out. If we're not making the playoffs or we're getting eliminated in the first round then maybe they'll look to use him as an upgrade chip.

I don't know all that much about D'Arnaud, but I'll take him anyway.

JPA is still young, and has some potential to improve, but from what we've seen, I'm not sure where the optimism comes from. It's nice to have a catcher with some pop, but while constantly flirting with the Mendoza line and providing below average D? It's probably a spot we are going to want to upgrade in the future, so it's either D'Arnaud, or someone else.

D'Arnaud isn't in the majors yet and I haven't seen anything from him... In my mind, that makes wagering a guess on who I'd take next to impossible. You never know how a guy will fare year to year. And even the most surefire prospects can at times fizzle out or at the very least underachieve. For me, I need to see guys play in the show to make judgements on who they are, and what they bring to the table.

AirCanada_1515 wrote:NM. Not worth it.

I'm sad I missed this post as I likely agreed with it.

.282 OBP. that is all

Easily D'Arnaud. Better defensively, and offensively. I'm hoping Arencibia is eventually packaged with some prospects for a big bat or a starting pitcher.

Both.

JPA gets longterm, manageable deal until age 30-31.

D'Arnaud with first few years of value-deals. Then substantial deal to retain.

Mattd97 wrote:

-MetA4- wrote:

number15 wrote:As for his offense it is amazing for a catcher and he did it as a rookie. If he improves on it, he could be scary

You've clearly never looked at a single stat sheet. Arencibia will never make enough contact or control the strike zone enough to be a "scary" hitter.

This isn't even a competition. Only thing stopping d'Arnaud is health.

and actually doing it once in the majors

A bit of a major step, indeed.

D'Arnaud's ceiling is certainly higher than Arencibia's, but this isn't a question that the Jays have to answer right now.

WpgPage wrote:.282 OBP. that is all

That's almost better than our starting 1B.

Randle McMurphy wrote:D'Arnaud's ceiling is certainly higher than Arencibia's, but this isn't a question that the Jays have to answer right now.

Agreed, though it's probably a question they'll have to answer in a year's time...if d'Arnaud excels in hitter-happy Las Vegas, and there's no reason to think that he won't, he will be knocking on the door by June or July, and we'll have a decision to make in the winter of 2012.

Randle McMurphy wrote:

WpgPage wrote:.282 OBP. that is all

That's almost better than our starting 1B.

That is very sad to think about.

Yeh I'm leaning towards D'Arnaud pretty heavily too.... like i said he is the type of guy u want with a solid rotation. D'Arnaud is the best "pure" catching prospect in the AL EAST by a mile and one of the tops in the MLB.

However, I also think Arencibia is gonna have a successful long career as a starting catcher in the MLB..... i honestly take him over Jesus Montero, and that guy is suppose to be a BIG time prospect according to hype. Yet, Jays will not get nearly as much for JP in a trade compared to what the Yankees can field for Montero.

It's hard to "prefer" a prospect over a guy with at least some major league experience, but I still prefer d'Arnaud. I like JPA -- he seems to get along well with the guys, he keeps improving on defense, hits for power well, and he's kind of shown a knack for hitting with runners on. But something still pulls me towards d'Arnaud.

How would you guys feel about JP DH'ing?

Arencibia would have been the 3rd worst DH by wRC+ and tied for 4th worst by wOBA among players with 150+ ABs. He's fine and all, but his value is in him being a catcher. Encarnacion is a step up from Arencibia.