We continue our string of players with big league experience and this time we head back behind the plate. This also represents our second to last day of NRI profiles!
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**Previous Posts**
* [Day 1 – RHP Kervin Castro](https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcitykitties/comments/10x0vi1/getting_to_know_the_2023_detroit_tigers_nonroster/)
* [Day 2 – RHP Brenan Hanifee](https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcitykitties/comments/10xvqgb/getting_to_know_the_2023_detroit_tigers_nonroster/)
* [Day 3 – LHP Zach Logue](https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcitykitties/comments/10yt00h/getting_to_know_the_2023_detroit_tigers_nonroster/)
* [Day 4 – LHP Chasen Shreve](https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcitykitties/comments/1118vtw/getting_to_know_the_2023_detroit_tigers_nonroster/)
* [Day 5 – RHP Trey Wingenter](https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcitykitties/comments/1126ab8/getting_to_know_the_2023_detroit_tigers_nonroster/)
* [Day 6 – OF Jonathan Davis](https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcitykitties/comments/112yndh/getting_to_know_the_2023_detroit_tigers_nonroster/)
* [Day 7 – C Mario Feliciano](https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcitykitties/comments/113r9mj/getting_to_know_the_2023_detroit_tigers_nonroster/)
* [Day 8 – 2B Cesar Hernandez](https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcitykitties/comments/114swfh/getting_to_know_the_2023_detroit_tigers_nonroster/)
* [Day 9 – 3B Andy Ibanez](https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcitykitties/comments/1177gax/getting_to_know_the_2023_detroit_tigers_nonroster/)
* [Day 10 – C Andrew Knapp](https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcitykitties/comments/118434y/getting_to_know_the_2023_detroit_tigers_nonroster/)
* [Day 11 – SS Jermaine Palacios](https://www.reddit.com/r/motorcitykitties/comments/11909db/getting_to_know_the_2023_detroit_tigers_nonroster/)
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**Michael Papierski – C**
6’3, 224
02/26/1996
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**Last Year**
|Year|Team|G|PA|AB|R|H|2B|3B|HR|RBI|SB|CS|BB|BA|OBP|SLG|
:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|
|2022|SFG/CIN|39|103|91|7|13|1|0|1|4|0|0|10|.143|.228|.187|
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**Overview**
Drafted by the Houston Astros in the 9th round of the 2017 MLB Draft, Papierski wasn’t regarded as a prospect that would turn heads. Seen as one of the better defensive catchers in his draft year, many thought that his bat would struggle at the professional level. As his professional career kicked off, that prediction seemed to be correct. Posting an average of .198 in 2017 (Low-A) and .185 (A-ball) in 2018, Papierski saw a slight uptick in 2019 while in Double-A when he hit .233.
He jumped right to AAA in 2021 after missing 2020 due to COVID and had the best year of his career at the plate, slashing .246/.379/.375 with seven homers and 46 RBI. His progression through the Astros system came to a halt in 2022 however, as he was traded to the Giants in May. He made his professional debut there before being designated for assignment and subsequently signing with the Reds, where he also made appearances in the Majors. He was claimed off waivers by the Tigers in October, was then non-tendered and later re-signed a minor league deal with the team.
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**The Good**
Regarded as a defense-first catcher, Papierski has been lauded by his pitching staffs over the course of his career for his ability as a receiver. Possessing a big frame at 6’3, 224 pounds, Papierski had the ability to make up for mistakes on the mound by using his body to prevent wild pitches/passed balls. His size has also allowed him to make spot starts at first base, where has had up and down results.
At the plate, what jumps off the page is Papierski’s eye and patience. While he has had his fair share of struggles with his bat, Papierski has been an on-base machine at nearly everywhere he’s played over the course of his career. Despite hitting just .198 in 2017, his OBP was at .377. In 2018 when he hit .185, his OBP still stood at .344. This continued on until his most recent season, where he posted a .329 OBP with three separate minor league teams.
Outside of his ability to take free passes, Papierski has shown some flashes in being able to hit line drives as he [ripped liners](https://www.mlb.com/video/noah-syndergaard-in-play-run-s-to-michael-papierski?q=Michael%20Papierski&cp=CMS\_FIRST&qt=FREETEXT&p=0) 23% of the time last year compared to a league average around 21%. He also managed to [take Corbin Burnes deep](https://www.mlb.com/video/michael-papierski-homers-1-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-field?q=Michael%20Papierski&cp=CMS\_FIRST&qt=FREETEXT&p=0) for his first Major League home run.
**The Bad**
Though the book on Papierski has changed a little bit since his college days due to his proven ability to take walks at all levels, who he is as a player has not fundamentally changed. As noted, he still struggles making contact at the plate in general, but also with making strong contact when he does manage to connect.
In his first taste of the big leagues this year, Papierski struck out over 25% of the time and has hovered around the 20% mark throughout his time in the minors. Along with that, Papierski was 11 MPH under the league average exit velocity on his hits and produced weak contact 19.4% of the time, compared to a league average of 3.8%.
His struggles with the bat have been known, but Papierski has also had some ups and downs behind the plate; which is especially concerning given his defense-first reputation. He hasn’t had an issue with calling games or passed balls, but he’s really struggled with throwing out runners on the basepaths.
Papierski’s arm is not all that strong and actually ranked amongst the bottom 12 in the league last year out of 84 qualifying catchers. In addition to that, Papierski’s pop time of 2.08 was in the third percentile of catchers. This combination led base-runners to be successful on 35 out of 40 steal attempts last season at the Major League level, while 56 out of 66 (~85%) succeeded at the minor league level.
**The Outlook**
It’s not difficult to see what the appeal of Papierski is for the Tigers front office. Being able to take walks at the level he does is a truly impressive skill and made even more impressive by the fact that he’s not all that much of a threat with his bat. With that being said, his bat is not advanced enough at this point to be able to take on a regular workload in the Majors, and his defense is not enough to make up for it.
Unless something dramatically changes with his arm strength behind the plate or his speed in getting out of his crouch, I think the upside with Papierski is relatively limited. It’s likely that he spends this season in Toledo, possibly even as a backup there.