If you were to ask most White Sox fans who they think will be the man behind the plate in a few years time, they would probably say Zack Collins. And they very well could be right. After all, the White Sox did make him a Top 10 pick in the 2016 MLB Draft. Coming out of Miami, Collins was a player known for his plus power and robust OBP. The main flaw that came with him was his defense, as scouts around the league seemed to agree that he would never be a catcher in the Big Leagues. Collins seemed to take those words personally, and as a result he worked on his defense and saw it vastly improve in 2017.
In 2018, Collins got off to a horrible start behind the plate (2-37…woof) but has really turned it on since then.
Zack Collins is on a 7-game hitting streak. 11-26 with 2 doubles, a triple and a homer. 6 walks and 6 strikeouts during that stretch.
This for a guy who started the year 2-37.
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) April 30, 2018
While it is nice to see Collins break out of his slump the past week, another catching prospect on the Birmingham Barons has been lighting it up from the start of the season.
His name is Seby Zavala.
Wait, who?
I thought the same thing when I first started taking notice of his season. Myself, like most White Sox fans, paid attention only to Zack Collins, as it basically seemed like a lock that he would be catching for the South Side by roughly 2019.
So here’s a little scouting report on Zavala for you.
The 5’11, 215 pound 24-year-old was drafted in the 12th round by the White Sox in 2015. Currently the 21st overall prospect in the organization, his tools haven’t gotten much love from scouts.
Hit: 45 | Power: 50 | Run: 30 | Arm: 45 | Field: 45 | Overall: 45 (according to his profile on MLB.com)
Well, Zavala doesn’t seem to care much about what scouts think of his tools. Through the first month of his season down in Birmingham, he is slashing .315/.411/.616 with a 1.028 OPS. These are the type of numbers that White Sox fans were expecting Collins to have. Now, I’m not saying Collins is a bust by any means, but Zavala has definitely emerged as legit competition for Collins.
Has this just been a hot streak to start the year for Zavala, or is he someone that has just taken a little longer to bloom? That remains to be seen. Maybe one day both Collins and Zavala will be on the South Side together as a platoon catching system. Or maybe one of them will become a DH. Another good problem for Rick Hahn and Co. to have. On a championship team, talent will only get you so far. You need to have depth as well. If Zavala can keep doing what he’s been doing, then that is just another bag of riches to add to the White Sox’s treasure trove of prospects.
