Cubs Had No Internal Options to Barrett
One of the reasons the Cubs were willing to give Michael Barrett a three-year contract had to have been that there are no catchers in the Cubs’ minor league system even close to being a major league starter. Part of the problem is the slow developments of the 2003 draft pick catchers—Jake Fox (3rd round) and Tony Richie (4th).
Both catchers were called up to low-A Lansing in their first years of professional ball. Fox, 22, repeated at Lansing last year, hitting a solid but unspectacular .287/.331/.470. He should be the catcher at high-A Dayton or possibly AA West Tennessee next year, but he likely won’t be knocking on the door of a big league job until Barrett’s third year, if at all.
Richie, 22, went down to short season Boise last year and hit .314/.373/.389. He’s hit just 1 home run in 227 minor league at-bats after hitting 13 his final year at Florida State.