Mauer in 2013

[The Commissioner]

What kind of stats can we reasonably expect from Joe in 2013? I think we all expected him to bounce back from the injury, but I would say he far exceded expectations. How about this year? What numbers can we realistically see from him?

[filihok]

Bill James' projections have Mauer for:

142 games and 602 PA's. Hitting .407/.452 (OBP/SLG). Roughly what he hit last season.

I'd also expect the Twins to continue limiting his time behind the plate. Last season it was only 70 games. He'll play a lot of DH and 1B in an effort to keep him healthy.

[The Commissioner]

I was actually surprised to still see him behind the plate as much as he was last year. Obviously, with his history of back issues, that can be expected to decrease over time. I was very pleasantly surprised to see him leading the league in on base percentage again!

[Colorado Express]

As much as I hate to say this, Mauer is basically a heavily overpaid version of Wade Boggs. He needs to be behind the plate to warrant his salary. Now having said that, I think we should be able to expect similar numbers to last year. I'd still like to say that more power is coming with age, but at this point, who knows.

I think it's safe to say that a good to very good season from him would be:
.325 AVG
15 HR
90 R / 90 RBI
.420 OBP
.480 SLG
I'd feel like he was earning about 75% of his $23 million salary at least, with these numbers.

[Fuzzy Bear]

As much as I hate to say this, Mauer is basically a heavily overpaid version of Wade Boggs. He needs to be behind the plate to warrant his salary. Now having said that, I think we should be able to expect similar numbers to last year. I'd still like to say that more power is coming with age, but at this point, who knows.

I think it's safe to say that a good to very good season from him would be:
.325 AVG
15 HR
90 R / 90 RBI
.420 OBP
.480 SLG
I'd feel like he was earning about 75% of his $23 million salary at least, with these numbers.

Morneau is pretty much done as a star. It would be good for Mauer to move to 1B full-time, as he could handle it. The problem is that the Twins really don't have a ready solution at catcher. Butera is not a full-timer; he's barely an acceptable backup.

All things considered, I'd try to get Mauer behind the plate as much as possible. It's easier to find RH hitting catchers and first basemen to platoon than it is to replace Mauer's production at catcher.

[Ben Grimm]

All things considered, I'd try to get Mauer behind the plate as much as possible. It's easier to find RH hitting catchers and first basemen to platoon than it is to replace Mauer's production at catcher.

I honestly couldn't disagree more. Putting a guy with Mauer's skill behind the plate is a luxury for a team with a lot of money who's one or two players from winning a title. But as we've seen in the past, when a player has a great bat, teams move him from that position to get him out of busting his hands up as well as being able to play 150+ games a year. As big and durable as Piazza was, he only surpassed 140 games 6 seasons of his 16 because of the wear and tear. I put him at 1B and hope for Votto-type production and get a catcher who's solid behind the plate. With Mauer's contract, health is the biggest issue in keeping it somewhat viable, and the risks that come from catching are too great IMO.

[NJYankeeFan]

As much as I hate to say this, Mauer is basically a heavily overpaid version of Wade Boggs. He needs to be behind the plate to warrant his salary. Now having said that, I think we should be able to expect similar numbers to last year. I'd still like to say that more power is coming with age, but at this point, who knows.

I think it's safe to say that a good to very good season from him would be:
.325 AVG
15 HR
90 R / 90 RBI
.420 OBP
.480 SLG
I'd feel like he was earning about 75% of his $23 million salary at least, with these numbers.

John Olerud.

Always been my comp for Mauer.

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