MILVER REYES

9/3/82; NDFA '99; Venezuela
R/R; 5-11, 170

Level
BA
OBP
SA
AB
2B
3B
HR
BB
K
SB
CS
2001 A+
.103
.188
.103
29
0
0
0
2
7
0
0
2001 R
.054
.122
.081
37
1
0
0
2
5
0
0
2002 R
.159
.222
.206
107
2
0
0
6
16
0
0
2003 A
.091
.118
.182
33
0
0
1
1
9
0
0
2003 A-
.216
.252
.264
125
6
0
0
3
22
0
0
2004 A
.227
.239
.307
88
1
0
2
1
16
0
1
2004 A-
.171
.230
.219
105
2
0
1
6
19
1
2
2005 A
.188
.259
.256
133
2
2
1
12
18
0
0
2006 AA
.193
.225
.217
166
4
0
0
6
19
0
0
2006 A+
.273
.273
.273
11
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2007 AAA
.226
.351
.258
31
1
0
0
5
7
0
0
2007 AA
.230
.275
.284
74
4
0
0
5
19
0
0
2008 AA
.187
.223
.233
150
4
0
1
7
31
0
0
2009 AA
.282
.349
.410
39
5
0
0
4
9
0
0

The Pirates consider Reyes a good defensive catcher, which has earned him a steady job as an organizational player.  Unfortunately, he's shown little hitting ability and isn't keen on drawing walks.  He's backed up, or served as a fill-in due to injuries or promotions, at every level of the system over the years.  He's even played regularly for short stretches.  In 2009 he got the least playing time of his career, as he spent a lot of time on the DL.  Of course, the minor league DL is often used as a sort of "inactive list," so I'm not sure whether he was actually hurt.  Ironically, he actually put up some good hitting numbers in his very small number of at-bats.

I've started to wonder whether Reyes' defensive reputation is an example of Nichols' Law of Catcher Defense.  He threw out only 22% of potential base stealers in 2008, far below the percentage of each of the other three catchers who saw significant time with the team.  He also committed PBs at a much higher rate than the other catchers.  In 2009, opposing base stealers ran wild against him, going 20-for-20 in just fourteen games.  He'd actually been much better than that prior to 2008, so maybe he's having arm problems of some sort.  Anyway, he's already been a minor league free agent several times and has kept re-signing with the Pirates.  Keeping an adequate supply of catchers on hand, especially catchers with upper level experience, can be a challenge for an organization because they have to find guys who don't mind being shuttled around, spending lots of time in extended spring training or out with phantom injuries, and getting little playing time.  Not surprisingly, Reyes signed to return for another year.

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