[ayaghmour2]

The catcher of the future, Fred Barrell, won't be starting Opening Day, however the 23-year-old is knocking on the door. The two guys in front of him will have their work cut out if they want to stay in the majors:

C Barney Green: A former 10th Round Pick back in the 1923 draft, the switch hitter Barney Green will be the Opening Day starter for a second season in a row. As a rookie, he had a solid season, batting .265/.339/.344 (85 OPS+) with 6 homers and 57 RBI's. He isn't the best defender out there, but he had a solid caught stealing percentage around 40%. This season he will be playing for his roster spot, as once Barrell is comfortable (his Spring was not very good) in his first season in AAA, one of the two catchers on the roster will find themselves where Barrell is currently.

C Slick Hostetter: A minor league signing back in 1920, the lefty looked like he could be the catcher of the future. 1926 seemed to be a breakout, and he hit .340/.414/.399 (117 OPS+) with 3 homers and 61 RBI's. The only problem is he is a terrible defender. His CERA is over 5.00 and his caught stealing percentage has slowly gone down each season. He's a bat first catcher, as even in limited playing time he's been productive, but manager Hank Sims does not like to pencil him in the lineup.

Sent down to AAA was also Tony Stewart, a Rule-5 pick back in 1926 from the Detroit organization. He was decent in 1927 (85 OPS+) and he isn't too bad of a defender. He had a rough September with the big league club, but hit .341/.387/.408 with Milwaukee last season. It's tough for him as we have a lot of depth at catcher and he deserves a spot on a big league roster.

On to the infielders!