Murphy could be one of 'best values' at catcher
NBC Sports EDGE's Drew Silva highlights Oakland A's catcher Sean Murphy, explaining why the 26-year-old backstop could wind up being one of the top values at a weak catcher position.
Video Transcript
DREW SILVA: A's catcher Sean Murphy suffered a collapsed lung before the official start of spring training, but he began doing hitting and catching work in the early part of camp and made his Cactus League debut without issue on March 18. With that injury now in the rearview, he has a chance to emerge as one of the best values at fantasy baseball's shallowest position.
Since his arrival in the majors in mid-2019, Murphy has produced an .846 OPS with 11 home runs in 63 games. And in his short time spent at the AAA level, he had a .305 batting average, .996 OPS, 10 home runs, and 30 RBIs in only 34 games.
The batted ball data backs up those numbers too. Murphy ranked in the 90th percentile among all MLB hitters last year in exit velocity, and he was in the 91st percentile in hard-hit rate. Not many catchers can say the same and offer that kind of offensive upside.
If his health cooperates, Murphy should play a lot. And if he plays a lot, the counting stats should come flowing in as the projected number five hitter for the reigning American League West champs.