RYAN DOUMIT

4/3/81; '99 2nd; Moses Lake, WA (HS)
S/R; 6-0, 180

Level
BA
OBP
SA
AB
2B
3B
HR
BB
K
SB
CS
1999 R
.282
.410
.376
85
5
0
1
15
14
4
2
2000 A-
.313
.371
.439
246
15
5
2
23
33
2
2
2001 AA
.250
.400
.250
4
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
2001 A
.270
.333
.351
148
6
0
2
10
32
2
1
2001 R
.235
.316
.353
17
2
0
0
2
0
0
0
2002 A
.322
.377
.453
258
14
1
6
18
40
3
5
2003 A+
.275
.351
.434
458
38
1
11
45
79
4
0
2004 AA
.262
.343
.489
221
20
0
10
21
49
0
1
2005 NL
.255
.324
.398
231
13
1
6
11
48
2
1
2005 AAA
.345
.415
.630
165
11
0
12
16
36
1
3
2006 NL
.208
.322
.389
149
9
0
6
15
42
0
0
2006 AAA
.318
.375
.455
22
1
1
0
2
4
0
0
2006 AA
.333
.412
.533
15
3
0
0
0
1
0
0
2006 R
.000
.125
.000
14
0
0
0
1
4
0
0
2007 NL
.274
.341
.472
252
19
2
9
22
59
1
2
2007 AAA
.415
.493
.717
53
4
0
4
8
12
3
2

Doumit has been plagued by injuries throughout his career. After seeing his minor league development stalled, he went into 2006 expected to be the team's regular catcher. Instead, his season was undermined by a combination of capricious decisions by the Pirates, Ron Paulino's breakout, and still more injuries. In 2007, he seemingly established himself as a productive part-time player only to miss the final month and a half with still more injuries.

Doumit established himself early as a good prospect, but the injuries started just as early. After he had a strong season in 2000, his 2001 season was largely wiped out by back problems. He was bothered by knee problems in early 2002, then missed the second half with a broken finger. The Pirates nevertheless added him to the 40-man roster to avoid losing him in the Rule 5 draft. He managed to stay healthy in 2003 and had a good season, but the bug returned in 2004. He missed the first week of the season due to mono, then developed tendonitis in his throwing elbow. He was limited for much of the season to DH and PH duties and, when the elbow didn't improve, he was shut down. He ended up catching only 25 games.

In 2005, however, Doumit stayed healthy and got off to an outstanding start in AAA. His timing for once was good, because it was his last option year. The Pirates called him up in early June. It wasn't entirely clear whether they did so because they thought he was ready—at that stage he still had very limited experience above class A—or because they simply were desperate for somebody who could hit the ball. Doumit quickly became yet another example of the Pirates' paranoid-schizophrenic approach to young players. He started off well, but slumped after about a week. The Pirates' response, rather than either putting up with the struggles or sending him back to the minors, was to bench him in the apparent hope that he'd start to hit while not playing. He came out of the slump in August, although Lloyd McClendon was still reluctant to use him regularly—at one point he went 7-for-12 over five games, then sat out three of the next four. It's hard to understate how foolish their handling of Doumit was, given that they were wasting much-needed development time with a player who might not have been able to get it back due to the lack of options. As it became more and more apparent that the team was headed for 90+ losses, however, Doumit gradually became the primary catcher. He had a very good August (364/425/515) and respectable September (262/304/415).

In 2006, Doumit appeared likely to be the regular catcher, especially after Cota's second half collapse in 2005. Manager Jim Tracy, however, took a strong dislike to Doumit's defense. He more or less platooned the two at the beginning of the season, then announced that Doumit's ability to set a target was too poor for him to catch in the majors. The fact that Zach Duke and Paul Maholm had been very successful with Doumit catching late in the previous season apparently didn't register on Tracy. The issue was mooted, however, by a groin pull shortly afterward. The Pirates put Doumit on the DL, but brought him back before the injury was fully healed. Sure enough, he aggravated it and missed nearly half the season. When he returned, he got semi-regular playing time at 1B, but didn't catch any more. He didn't help his own cause by struggling at the plate.

In 2007, the Pirates, having acquired an extra option for him, sent Doumit to the minors after a few PH appearances in early April. They preferred to keep Cota, who was out of options. Doumit tore up the International League until the team, desperate for offense, called him back up. For once, Doumit got hot at the right time and was arguably the team's best hitter for much of the first half. His playing time, though, remained sporadic as Tracy still hesitated to let him catch despite Paulino's horrific first-half slump and deteriorating defense. Doumit eventually started seeing time in RF due to Xavier Nady's occasional injuries. Doumit played respectably there, showing a very good arm. Unfortunately, Doumit hurt his wrist in mid-August and went on the DL. When he came back in early September, he sprained his ankle badly in his very first game and missed the rest of the year.

Doumit is an example of the Pirates' inability, under Dave Littlefield, to evaluate and make use of their own talent. After dubiously concluding that he lacked the ability to catch, they hesitated to use him at 1B or RF while he was still in the minors. Once he reached the majors, they were afraid to have him catch but didn't want to use him at 1B or in RF because he lacked experience at those positions. He eventually got a chance solely out of necessity due to the team's pitiful offense. There's little reason to credit the Pirates' concerns about his defense. He throws well enough—for his career he's caught 31% of opposing base stealers. He doesn't block pitches well, but he's certainly no worse than Paulino, who's awful at it. He's also error-prone, but so is Paulino, who has far more experience—many people seem unable to grasp the fact that Doumit has caught the equivalent of about one season above class A. The concern about his ability to set a target seems overstated, as pitchers have been successful pitching to him throughout much of his career, during which he's caught many of the team's best pitching prospects.

Offensively, Doumit is potentially very valuable to a team that's starved not only for power, but specifically for LH power. Hitting left-handed, he's a dead pull hitter, which makes him perfect for PNC Park. In 2007, all of his HRs came from the left side and all but two came at home, where he slugged .541. He's a much better hitter from the left side—his OPS was .865 LH and .633 RH in 2007—and Tracy used him more as a LH hitter. His plate discipline could be better, but it's improved steadily as he's gotten playing time in the majors.

Doumit went into spring training with an uncertain role.  The Pirates have always preferred to carry a non-hitting backup catcher based on the notion that they can't use the backup catcher elsewhere in the field or to pinch hit. In other words, they've preferred to play with a 24-man roster based on the one-in-ten-thousand chance that one catcher will get hurt after the other is out of the game. There have been periods, though, in which both Doumit and Craig Wilson have served as the backup catcher while also playing elsewhere and pinch hitting frequently, and no disaster has occurred.  Doumit showed up to camp in better shape than he'd ever been in and the new regime seemed to grow more comfortable with the idea of him catching.  The specter of Paulino's 2007 struggles probably made itself felt as well.  By late March the team had decided to carry only Paulino and Doumit to catch.  It also appeared likely that Doumit would take away some of Paulino's playing time, assuming he stayed healthy.

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