Ryan Lavarnway

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

2008
A-:  211/317/366, 71 AB, 5 2B, 2 HR, 8 BB, 18 K

Lavarnway didn’t hit well in his debut, although he showed some power and had a decent walk rate.

2009
A:  285/367/540, 404 AB, 36 2B, 2 3B, 21 HR, 50 BB, 113 K, 1-3 SB

In low A, Lavarnway had a big year, hitting for a lot of power.  Oddly, Baseball America didn’t rank him among the Red Sox’ top 30 prospects after the season, possibly because he was a college draftee playing at the lowest level of full season ball.  Doubts about his defense were probably another reason.

2010
A+:  289/392/487, 304 AB, 18 2B, 14 HR, 44 BB, 62 K, 1-1 SB
AA:  285/395/494, 158 AB, 9 2B, 8 HR, 26 BB, 42 K

Lavarnway continued to hit for good power in high A and hit slightly better in a late-season promotion to AA.  He also improved his plate discipline.  BA rated him the Sox’ 16th best prospect after the season, noting that he’d worked hard to improve his defense but needed to continue doing so.

2011
AA:  284/360/510, 208 AB, 5 2B, 14 HR, 25 BB, 47 K
AAA:  295/390/612, 227 AB, 18 2B, 18 HR, 32 BB, 60 K, 1-2 SB
MLB:  231/302/436, 39 AB, 2 2B, 2 HR, 4 BB, 10 K

The Red Sox sent Lavarnway back to AA and he continued to hit well, so in June they promoted him to AAA.  He hammered the pitching there and, in August, got called up to the majors.  He went back to AAA briefly late in the month, then returned to the Red Sox in September.  BA rated him the Sox’ 9th best prospect after the season, as well as the top power prospect in the International League.

2012
AAA:  295/376/439, 319 AB, 22 2B, 8 HR, 40 BB, 62 K, 1-1 SB
MLB:  157/211/248, 153 AB, 8 2B, 2 HR, 11 BB, 41 K

Lavarnway went back to AAA for the first four months of the year.  He continued to hit well, with good plate discipline, but much less power than the previous several years.  He got called up at the beginning of August and played semi-regularly the rest of the year, but struggled to hit.

2013
AAA:  250/346/350, 180 AB, 9 2B, 3 HR, 25 BB, 25 K
MLB:  299/329/429, 77 AB, 7 2B, 1 HR, 2 BB, 17 K

The Sox sent Lavarnway back to AAA again.  He got several callups, but played sparingly in Boston.  In AAA, his power largely disappeared.

2014
R:  400/500/600, 5 AB, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K
AA:  273/333/545, 11 AB, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 K
AAA:  283/389/370, 219 AB, 20 2B, 3 HR, 33 BB, 45 K
MLB:  000/000/000, 10 AB, 3 K

Lavarnway again opened the season in AAA and continued to hit much like the previous year, with limited power.  He got called up in late May, but a few days later he suffered a fractured left wrist and missed two and a half months.  He returned in July and got called up in September.  By this time Lavarnway was out of options and the Red Sox put him on waivers after the season.  He was claimed, designated for assignment, and claimed again three times in short succession, ending up with the Orioles.

2015
AAA (Atl):  268/388/463, 41 AB, 2 2B, 2 HR, 8 BB, 7 K
MLB (Balt):  107/219/143, 28 AB, 1 2B, 4 BB, 7 K
MLB (Atl):  227/311/394, 66 AB, 5 2B, 2 HR, 8 BB, 21 K

Baltimore outrighted Lavarnway to AAA in January, then called him up in April.  The Orioles eventually designated him for assignment in May and he became a free agent, signing a minor league deal with Atlanta.  The Braves called him up two weeks later and he spent the rest of the season with them, playing very sparingly.  The Braves outrighted him after the season and he accepted assignment to AAA.

2016
AA (Tor):  262/357/395, 233 AB, 13 2B, 6 HR, 34 BB, 47 K, 1-1 SB
AAA (Atl):  276/336/357, 98 AB, 8 2B, 8 BB, 18 K, 0-1 SB

The Braves sent Lavarnway to AAA and his power loss continued.  Atlanta released him in May and he signed with Toronto, which sent him down to AA.

2017
AAA:  239/327/341, 264 AB, 9 2B, 6 HR, 31 BB, 65 K, 0-2 SB
MLB:  273/385/364, 11 AB, 1 2B, 1 BB, 3 K

Lavarnway signed with Oakland and spent most of the season with the Athletics’ AAA affiliate.  He did get a couple of brief callups, after which he was designated for assignment each time.  His hitting continued to decline.

2018
AAA:  288/375/485, 264 AB, 23 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 29 BB, 57 K
MLB:  667/667/833, 6 AB, 1 2B, 1 K

Lavarnway spent the season at Indianapolis, sharing the catching duties with Jacob Stallings.  He didn’t play much initially, but the Pirates got him to view old video of himself and he made some adjustments at the plate.  In June he got hot and hit extremely well the rest of the season.  He also threw out 44% of base stealers.  The Pirates added him to the roster and called him up for September.  He went 4-for-6 as a pinch hitter, but didn’t see any time behind the plate.

Lavarnway made a remarkable comeback in 2018, but with no options it’s hard to see how he has a future in Pittsburgh.  He’s got three other catchers ahead of him.  It’s possible the Pirates will retain him for a while, maybe into the spring, in case of unforeseen developments.