Bad Boys 2018: Kurt Suzuki Extended by the Braves
Bad Boys 2… Beverly Hills Cop 2… Rush Hour 2… The Braves secured a sequel to their catching duo by extending Kurt Suzuki for the 2018 season.
When the 2017 season began, the Atlanta Braves had an issue behind the dish. They had incumbent starter Tyler Flowers, who missed some time in 2016 with injuries, and pretty much nothing else.
Enter grizzled veteran Kurt Suzuki.
After spending 10 years on the force mostly with the A’s and Twins, the Braves brought Suzuki in on a one-year deal to push Flowers for playing time. The two catchers quickly formed a partnership reminiscent of the buddy cop greats like Riggs and Murtaugh or Starsky and Hutch.
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Flowers’ had blossomed into an above-average defensive catcher with a strikeout an issue. Kurt Suzuki’s defense was on the decline, but his hit ability was still going strong. The Braves hoped the combination would bring some consistency to the position that they had missed since Brian McCann left.
When the dust settled on the first half of the 2017 season, the partners had a 60-40 split behind the dish with the combination slashing .280/.371/.441 with 13 home runs. The second half has been a slightly different story with Flowers again missing time due to injury. Suzuki has done his share in the second half and that lead the Braves to extend him for the 2018 season. The combo has slashed .273/.339/.516 in the second half with 16 home runs.
Fantasy Outlook
Tyler Flowers 2017 campaign warrants the opportunity to start every day in 2018, but Kurt Suzuki will be back to push for playing time. We could see another 60-40 split in playing time which would allow Suzuki to be an extremely interesting fantasy play in standard leagues.
He has slashed a respectable .274/.345/.525 this season in 291 PA. He’s also reached a career high in home runs with 18, which as it stands is only three less than he’s hit in his last four seasons combined. Normally catchers are not expected to produce a ton outside of the top-tier and those few players who shifted positions and held on to catcher eligibility, but Suzuki serves as a relatively useful player who could get a sizeable chunk of PA without being a starter.
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With limited playing time and plenty of rest, Suzuki could produce at a similar .365 wOBA in 2018. His 17% HR/FB ratio should come back down to earth in 2018, but at least we will have another chance to see if the Braves partnership behind the plate can produce for one more year. Buddy Cop movie sequels can’t all be flops, right?