Tyler Flowers: Flowers cannot match Posey’s overall game but this White Sox prospect could make veteran A.J. Pierzynski expendable after the 2010 season – if not before. Flowers might struggle to hit for a high average because he has trouble making contact sometimes (30.5 K%), but he posted a .246 ISO in 248 double-A at-bats before moving up to triple-A. Flowers, an average backstop, also takes a ton of walks, having posted a 19.2% walk rate in 2008 and a rate of 18.7% in double-A in ‘09. Flowers has been a lefty killer in his minor-league career and hit .358 against them this year with an OPS of 1.119.
Flowers is not slated to get much playing time for the White Sox until they completely fall out of the playoff race. But the Braves’ 2005 draft-and-follow will give a sneak peek as to why the White Sox expect him to be their everyday catcher in 2011. Acquired in the Javier Vazquez trade last winter, Flowers showed once again this year why he’s one of the better catching prospects in the minors, mainly because of his bat. He has plus power from the right side and enough patience to get into hitter’s counts where he can drive the ball. Behind the plate he’s still a work in progress. He continues to struggle to block balls in the dirt and threw out only 27 of 93 basestealers between Double-A and Triple-A.
