Colorado Rockies: Underrated Move Provides Catching Depth

Catchers for the Colorado Rockies will be a topic of conversation throughout spring training and into the early part of the 2017 campaign. We talked earlier in this article about the battle looming between Tom Murphy and Tony Wolters for not only playing time but who will be the Opening Day starter in Milwaukee.

While there will be a lot of focus on those two players, there is an interesting battle lurking at Triple-A Albuquerque behind the dish as well.

Dustin Garneau has appeared in 46 games for the Rockies over the last two seasons, posting a .196 average with three homers and 14 RBI. He’s appeared in Denver when injuries have necessitated his presence and, unless something happens to Murphy or Wolters before the April 3 opener at the Brewers, Garneau will open the season in Triple-A.

A new member of the Rockies organization is also one of the franchise’s more interesting acquisitions of the offseason. Anthony Bemboom was selected in the Rule 5 draft during the closing hours of the recent winter meetings. Picked from the Los Angeles Angels organization, Bemboom is a 26-year-old catcher who worked his way to Triple-A Salt Lake City with the Angels.

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He hit .261 at Triple-A last season in 47 games. He also threw out 16 of 35 potential baserunners, continuing an upward trend where he has been tough on those trying to steal a base. In his career, he’s thrown out 118 of 351 runners (33.6 percent). However, last season that number jumped to 23-of-56 (41 percent).

Originally drafted in the 22nd round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of Creighton University, Bemboom has batted .233 (277-for-1,188) with 142 runs, 42 doubles, nine triples, 22 home runs and 148 RBI across five Minor League levels in five seasons.

Bemboom’s former manager at Double-A Arkansas, Mark Parent, logged 13 Major League seasons as a catcher with seven different teams. He knows what it takes to catch at all levels of professional baseball.

“He works extremely hard,” Parent said of Bemboom in this article. “He’s a hard-nosed player. He knows how to catch. He knows how to call a game, knows how to throw.”

Next: The 5 Best Catchers in Colorado History

While Bemboom’s pickup in the Rule 5 draft may not have received much fanfare, it has provided depth at a position where the Rockies needed it. It could also set up an interesting battle for playing time at catcher at Colorado’s highest two levels of play.