MWL1 Dayton Dragons

Dragons 2011 Preview, Part 1: the Catchers

Published on March 2, 2011 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Dayton Dragons News Release


New Dragons manager Delino DeShields visited Dayton for the first time on February 15 and carried an attitude of optimism throughout his time with local media. DeShields managed the Billings Mustangs, the Reds Rookie-level affiliate in the Pioneer League, in 2010 and posted a winning record with many of the players that will move to Dayton in 2011. DeShields is familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of most of the players he will be managing this season even before the start of spring training.

Rosters will not be set until approximately April 1st but here is part one of an eight-part series on the players who will potentially open the season with the Dragons at Fifth Third Field on April 7th against the Bowling Green Hot Rods.

Today we look at the catcher position.

Hands on deck: Tucker Barnhart, Chris Berset, Trey Manz

In 2010, the Dragons started the season with Kevin Coddington, a surprise returnee to Dayton from 2009, at the top of the depth chart, with Mark Fleury and Jordan Wideman also on the opening day roster. Coddington, an excellent defensive catcher and leader who came alive with the bat in '09, spent the first seven weeks in 2010 with the Dragons before earning a promotion to Lynchburg when Devin Mesoraco moved from there to Double-A Carolina. At that point, Fleury, who had been utilized as the team's primary designated hitter when Coddington was on the Dayton roster, took over as the Dragons everyday catcher and made huge improvements both offensively and defensively over the remainder of the season.

With the addition of Reds 2010 # 1 draft pick Yasmani Grandal to the organization, it is possible that Coddington and Fleury will again split time in 2011, this time with the Reds new high-A club in the California League, the Bakersfield Blaze. The Reds are very stacked at the catcher position throughout the organization with Mesoraco and big league insurance policy Corky Miller in Triple-A Louisville and Grandal apparently slated for Double-A with former Dragon Chris Denove also in the picture at Louisville or Carolina. The Reds also like Chris McMurray, a potential back-up wherever the need arises.

The catching situation in Dayton appears to be fairly well set for 2011, barring injury. Twenty year old Tucker Barnhart hit .306 for DeShields at Billings in 2010 and is penciled in as the Dayton starter in '11. Barnhart was drafted by the Reds in the 10th round in 2009 out of Brownsburg High School in suburban Indianapolis (he was the highest-drafted player in the state of Indiana). He likely would have gone much higher in the draft if not for the fact that Barnhart had signed a national letter of intent to play at Georgia Tech and expectations were that he would pass up the opportunity to turn professional. But the Reds were able to get a deal done and bring Barnhart into the system.

Barnhart earned the 2009 Indiana Mr. Baseball award as the state's top player. Like both Fleury and Coddington, Barnhart is known as a tremendous leader. His high school coach at Brownsburg referred to him as "like having another coach on the field." Barnhart was rated by PG Crosschecker as the top high school player in Indiana entering his senior year in 2009 and the fifth best high school catcher in the country. Baseball America listed Barnhart as the "Best Defensive Catcher" at the East Coast Showcase in 2008.

Barnhart stayed above the .300 mark for virtually all of the 2010 season. He is a switch-hitter, a very valuable quality for a catcher. He has not yet shown any power with no career home runs in pro ball (159 at-bats), though he did hit more than 30 home runs as a four-year starter in high school. Defensively, Barnhart threw out an outstanding 51 percent of attempted base stealers in 2010, a number that would have easily led the Pioneer League if he had not finished three games short of the minimum to qualify. He did lead all P.L. catchers in assists.

Chris Berset was a college teammate of former Dragons outfielder Ryan LaMarre at the University of Michigan and was Barnhart's teammate at Billings after he signed with the Reds as a 2010 20th round draft pick. Like Barnhart, Berset is a switch-hitter.

At Michigan, Berset was a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench award as the nation's top college catcher (one of 16 semifinalists) as a college senior in 2010. Like Barnhart, Berset is said to be an outstanding leader. He was Michigan's co-captain, won the Big Ten Sportsmanship award, and took home the UM Athletic Academic Achievement award. He was a 2nd Team All-Big Ten selection in 2010, starting all 57 games. He batted .373 with seven home runs and 50 runs batted in.

After turning pro, Berset split time with Barnhart at Billings and batted .244 with one home run and nine runs batted in. Ironically, he hit .300 when batting left-handed but was 0 for 16 batting right-handed to drag down his average. As he did in college, Berset was effective in shutting down the running game, nailing 41 percent of would-be base stealers.

Trey Manz was the designated hitter and third catcher at Billings in 2010 and actually accumulated more at-bats (137) than either Barnhart (111) or Berset (86). When in the lineup, Manz often batted in the cleanup spot in the Billings batting order. However, after a strong professional debut season in 2009, he slumped to .241 in 2010, adding three home runs and 16 RBI. He struggled to make contact, striking out 40 times over those 137 at-bats.

Manz was the Reds 26th round draft pick in 2009 out of the University of South Florida. After signing in '09, he hit a combined .310 with 5 HR and 11 RBI in 87 at-bats while posting a .552 slugging percentage in 28 games between Billings and the Gulf Coast League Reds. Manz hit .293 in the spring of 2009 at South Florida as the 2nd Team All-Big East catcher, adding six home runs in 46 games. In 2007, Manz played on the junior college national championship team with Chipola College and drilled a home run in the title game. Manz is a left-handed hitter.

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