t the catcher position in 2018 Mickey Mantle Jersey , but Austin Wynns got a good chunk of playing time as the season wore on."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Commentary & AnalysisOrioles ProspectsOrioles Game RecapsOrioles News and RumorsCamdencastCommentary & AnalysisAustin Wynns worked into the Orioles catching platoon this year and maybe beyondNew,1commentThe Orioles mixed and matched a lot at the catcher position in 2018, but Austin Wynns got a good chunk of playing time as the season wore on.ByHarrison JozwiakOct8, 2018,9:00am EDTShareTweetShareShareAustin Wynns worked into the Orioles catching platoon this year and maybe beyondWendell Cruz-USA TODAY SportsOriginally drafted by the Orioles in the 10th round of the 2013 MLB Draft, catcher Austin Wynns has spent the past five plus years in the minor leagues. He made his major league debut this year at age 27. When he was called up, Wynns was ranked as the Orioles’ 22nd best prospect on MLB Pipeline, as detailed in Tyler Young’s in-season article on the young catcher. Wynns started 2018 in the minor leagues with the Norfolk Tides, batting .230/.288/.345 with four home runs and 16 RBI in 139 at-bats.For a short time, it seemed as though Wynns would pair with veteran Caleb Joseph to start the year as a catching platoon. The right-handed hitting catcher had a good spring training behind the plate and did alright at the plate, but just narrowly missed making the club at the end of March. He hit .222/.391/.556 with a pair of home runs while prepping for the season in Sarasota.But the Orioles went with the more highly touted catching prospect at the time, Chance Sisco, and put him in a platoon with Joseph to start the year. That only lasted about two months into the season. On May 17, the underperforming Joseph was sent down to Norfolk. For whatever reason, Sisco was not given much of a chance http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-giancarlo-stanton-jersey , either. He was optioned to Triple-A on June 17. The Orioles didn’t seem to know what to do at the catcher position, opting to shuffle guys around quite frequently. No one at the catcher position was hitting for the team early in the season, and by calling up Wynns, the Orioles placed a priority on defense. A semi-regular on the Norfolk shuttle this year, Wynns was recalled from Triple-A on June 5 and spent 23 days with the big league club before being optioned back to Norfolk on June 28. He was recalled to the O’s again on July 14, this time for good.For the last two months of the season, Wynns played nearly half of the time — 29 out of 56 games. With Sisco toiling away in the minors or mostly on the bench when he was in the majors, Wynns paired with Joseph to handle the majority of the catching duties.In 41 games, Wynns threw out 7-of-22 base stealers, good for a 32% caught stealing percentage. For comparison, Joseph had a 33% CS in 79 games and Sisco had a 31% CS in 51 games.Wynns ended the season with 110 major league at-bats, during which time he slashed .255/.287/.382 with four home runs and 11 RBI. His career minor league batting line is .266/.332/.367.His season slash line still leaves something to be desired, but that is not Wynns’ profile. He is more known as a game manager and defensive catcher. And he seemed to gain the trust of fellow players and coaches alike as the season went on. Wynns really solidified himself as a dependable player this year. He drew some high praise from a starting pitcher and his now former manager, shown in this Pressbox Online article from late August. Buck Showalter had the following to say about Wynns in the aforementioned article:Starting pitcher Alex Cobb said the following about Wynns in the same article:Wynns seems like the kind of guy who has earned a spot going forward on this rebuilding club. He has shown the ability to work well with pitchers and handle the little things behind the plate that matter most at the position. He may not hit that much, but that comes secondary to the skills just mentioned.He may be a bit exposed as the sole full-time catcher Roger Maris Jersey , but the Orioles could pair him again with Joseph or Sisco and have another platoon at the position. It will be ever so important in these times to have a steady hand behind the plate to bring along the next crop of young pitchers who will the pace the Orioles for the coming years. The Cubs head to the west Valley for a matchup against a divisional rival."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Chicago Cubs recapsChicago Cubs minor leaguesChicago Cubs essaysChicago Cubs game threadsWrigley Field renovationsFull archiveLibrary Bleed Cubbie Blue Community GuidelinesCurrent time in ChicagoBCB Specials & Site InfoWinter 2019 music threadsCubs StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Cubs newsYahoo Cubs team pageYahoo Cubs reportYahoo Cubs depth chartYahoo Cubs transactionsYahoo Cubs photosOdds Shop About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub 鉁旵hicago Cubs spring trainingChicago Cubs game previewsCubs vs. Reds at Goodyear preview, Monday 3/4, 2:05 CTNew,19commentsThe Cubs head to the west Valley for a matchup against a divisional rival.CSTShareTweetShareShareCubs vs. Reds at Goodyear preview, Monday 3/4, 2:05 CTJoe Camporeale-USA TODAY SportsA few notes from spring training so far:The Cubs’ 68 runs scored are third-most in the Cactus League behind the Angels (82) and Royals (76).Cristhian Adames leads the Cactus League with a .471 batting average (8-for-17), tied for the lead in hits (8) and fourth in OPS (1.180) 鈥?Mark Zagunis is tied for the Cactus League lead with nine RBI. Trent Giambrone’s 15 total bases are tied for seventh in the Cactus League. Kyle Schwarber’s eight walks lead the Cactus League while Jacob Hannemann’s five walks are tied for fifth.Just as the Cubs don’t really care for the long ride to Goodyear (and Cole Hamels, whose turn it is today, won’t be making it), I don’t either. I’m skipping this one and will listen to the webcast along with all of you.Here are today’s particulars.Cubs lineup:Reds lineup:Alec Mills will start for the Cubs. Cubs relievers this afternoon (in alphabetical order): Craig Brooks, Oscar De La Cruz, Brian Duensing, George Kontos, Randy Rosario and Allen Webster.Tony Santillan is today’s Reds starting pitcher. Other Reds scheduled this afternoon: Michael Lorenzen, Zach Duke http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-giancarlo-stanton-jersey , David Hernandez, Jared Hughes, Raisel Iglesias, Amir Garrett and Jackson Stephens. The Reds are a split squad today.Today’s game is on cubs.com. No TV today.MLB.com GamedayPlease note that during spring training, Gameday doesn’t usually go pitch-by-pitch as it does during the regular season -- usually, it will update after each at-bat.Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.Please visit our SB Nation Reds site Red Reporter. If you do go there to interact with Reds fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.For spring-training games, we’ll have a first-pitch thread at five minutes to game time and one overflow thread, 90 minutes after game time (because I know how you all like overflow threads!). For today, that will be 2 p.m. CT and 3:30 p.m. CT.These threads will not post individually onto the front page; instead, you can find links to them in the box marked ”Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page. There will also be a StoryStream on the front page with all the game thread links, as well as the recap after the game is over. The pitcher boxes and regular-season stats will return on Opening Day.Discuss amongst yourselves.