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BUSTER POSEY, C SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
3/27/1987| Year | Team | G | AB | H | 1B | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
| 2008 | Giants (R) | 7 | 26 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0.385 |
| 2008 | Giants (A-) | 3 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.273 |
| 2009 | Giants (A+) | 80 | 291 | 95 | 59 | 23 | 0 | 13 | 63 | 58 | 45 | 45 | 6 | 0.326 |
| 2009 | Giants (AAA) | 35 | 131 | 42 | 28 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 21 | 22 | 17 | 23 | 0 | 0.321 |
| 2009 | Giants | 7 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.118 |
| Year | Team | BB% | K% | BB/K | OBP | SLG | OPS | ISOP | BABIP | GB% | LD% | wOBA |
| 2008 | SF(R) | 16.1 | 15.4 | 1.25 | 0.484 | 0.692 | 1.176 | 0.308 | 0.429 | 35% | 30% | 0.518 |
| 2008 | SF(A-) | 21.4 | 0.0 | 3 | 0.429 | 0.455 | 0.883 | 0.182 | 0.273 | 36% | 9% | 0.423 |
| 2009 | SF(A+) | 13.0 | 15.5 | 1 | 0.428 | 0.54 | 0.967 | 0.213 | 0.349 | 52% | 17% | 0.433 |
| 2009 | SF(AAA) | 11.3 | 17.6 | 0.74 | 0.391 | 0.511 | 0.902 | 0.191 | 0.349 | 56% | 18% | 0.39 |
| 2009 | Giants | 0.0 | 23.5 | 0 | 0.118 | 0.118 | 0.235 | 0 | 0.154 | 55% | 18% | 0.105 |
His major league debut was a short one and adjustments will need to be made, but his compact stroke and patience should allow for a smooth transition in 2010.
Let’s take a look at Posey’s swing:
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SETUP
Posey sets up with his feet wider than shoulder width, good balance and bent at the knees. The bat rests on his shoulders with a wag until the pitchers comes to his wind up where Posey comes set with a high elbow. Once set he has good balance and is in solid load position.
HEAD MOVEMENT
Posey’s head is set solid from wag to set which allows him to better follow the pitch plane and adjust to off-speed pitches.
LOWER HALF
Posey’s lower half is pretty quiet with a limited stride. He has a load step and drop although it doesn’t add a lot of torque to his swing and is more of a timing mechanism than a load phase.
STRIDE
Posey has a limited stride and uses a lift and drop load to time his swing. He’ll be able to hit from pole to pole because he doesn’t have a lot of excess movement to limit his bat control.
EXTENSION
This is an area where Posey is only average but it suits his hitting style. He doesn’t get full extension on every swing which is why he won’t hit for as much power as his raw power tool could allow. However, his limited extension will allow him to use the whole field and hit an above league average most seasons.
OUR INSTINCT
He’s ripped through every stop in the minors, reaching San Francisco at the end of 2009. The Giants are going to have to start his clock this year because the fans are calling for it and Posey is ready. Benji Molina is back for 2010, but you can bet that by mid-season he’ll be more of a mentor to Posey than Posey will be his backup. Posey is going to hit for average from pole to pole with average power and average speed. His defense starts with his intelligence and ends with his plus arm. Perennial All-Star in the making. The Molina signing is a smart move and will give Posey a solid mentor who seems willing to teach. Posey should have a full season to get acclimated and adjust to the next level. By 2011 the keys to a shiny new pitching staff will be handed to him and the projection says he’ll be an excellent all around catcher.
Special thanks to Aaron Bentley for his Instinct on this breakdown.
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