WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2007
R+:  209/288/324, 139, 7 2B, 3 HR, 14 BB, 28 K, 4-7 SB

Played exclusively behind the plate in rookie ball and struggled to hit.

2008
A:  335/407/506, 385 AB, 26 2B, 5 3B, 10 HR, 43 BB, 74 K, 15-18 SB

The Brewers started playing Fryer a lot in left in low A; he got in 55 games there and 39 behind the plate.  He had a big season at the plate, even doing very well as a base stealer.

2009
A+ (NYY):  250/333/344, 224 AB, 11 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 27 BB, 43 K, 11-16 SB
A+ (Pgh):  242/360/369, 157 AB, 11 2B, 3 HR, 22 BB, 25 K

Opening the season in high A with the Yankees, who had acquired him during the off-season for LHP Chase Wright, Fryer caught only five games.  He instead played left most of the time and struggled at bat.  After the Pirates acquired him, he became the starting catcher at Lynchburg over Kris Watts.  He showed a bit more power and patience than before the trade, but getting out of pitcher-friendly Florida State League may have helped.  He threw out 36% of opposing base stealers with Hillcats.  His plate discipline on the season was good.

2010
R:  143/500/143, 7 AB, 5 BB, 1 SB
A+:  300/391/474, 287 AB, 16 2B, 5 3B, 8 HR, 37 BB, 64 K, 10-11 SB

The Pirates sent Fryer back to high A, where he started the season as a backup and DH due to presence of Tony Sanchez, but Sanchez’ shoulder problems got him more time behind the plate than expected.  An opportunity seemingly arose when Sanchez suffered a fractured jaw, but ironically Fryer also was hit in the face just a few days later.  Unlike Sanchez, Fryer returned before the season was over and served as the regular catcher for most of August.  He caught 52 games total and threw out 37% of base stealers.  He also had a big year offensively, despite hitting only .185 in April.  He hit for power and average, although you have to take into account the fact that he was repeating the level and, at 24, was old for it.  Unlike most of his teammates, Fryer hit better on the road than at home.

2011
AA:  345/427/549, 113 AB, 4 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 16 BB, 21 K, 1 SB
AAA:  203/333/314, 118 AB, 5 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 21 BB, 30 K, 3-3 SB
MLB:  269/345/269, 26 AB, 3 BB, 7 K, 1-2 SB

Fryer opened the season backing up Sanchez again, this time at Altoona.  He also saw time in both outfield corners and at DH.  He was hot at bat in the early going, hitting posting a .976 OPS through late May.  At that point, the Pirates were losing catchers left and right and ran short in AAA, so they promoted Fryer.  He hit well initially and, dissatisfied with Dusty Brown and Wyatt Toregas, the Pirates acquired Mike McKenry and added Fryer to the roster to serve as the backup.  He saw only limited action but held his own, going 7-for-26 with three walks.  He threw out three of ten base stealers and had no passed balls in eight games, although his inexperience showed at times.  When Ryan Doumit returned, the Pirates sent Fryer back to AAA and he struggled badly, hitting 132/281/151 in 17 games while sharing the catching with Jason Jaramillo.  He had a good walk total, but he fanned in a quarter of his ABs.  Between Altoona and Indianapolis, Fryer threw out 27% of base stealers.

The Pirates did not recall Fryer in September.  This made sense with Doumit, McKenry and Jaramillo all in the majors, although their puzzling, mid-month decision to claim the Matt Pagnozzi may indicate that the Pirates have reservations about Fryer, a possibility they reinforced by designating Fryer for assignment to make room for roster additions in preparation for the Rule 5 draft.  At this point, despite being 26, Fryer has surprisingly little experience behind the plate.  He’s caught only 225 pro games due to the moves back and forth between the plate and the outfield, the 2010 injury, the two partial seasons on the same team with Sanchez, and the time spent on the bench in Pittsburgh.  He also has an erratic track record at bat, which surfaced again when he went back to AAA.  Of course, he’s gotten only 257 ABs above class A.  It’s a little hard to say exactly what the Pirates have with Fryer, but he clearly has potential, both defensively and offensively, drastically more of the latter than the offensively hopeless Pagnozzi.  He cleared waivers and should return to Indianapolis in 2012.