Dysty Ryan Career Tracker

09/18/2008 3:47 PM ET
Ryan maturing beyond his experience
Rookie catcher rapidly developing into promising prospect
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

So much for Dusty Ryan's life as a little-used September callup.

When he arrived in Detroit at the start of the month, he was making the trip from Triple-A Toledo as an extra catcher, to play in a game or two every so often over the final few weeks, and to learn largely by watching. It was as much a reward as an evaluation, after his solid season at Double-A Erie provided a glimmer of hope for a Tigers farm system that has been looking for young catching for years.

As manager Jim Leyland told reporters upon granting Ryan his first Major League start a couple weeks ago, "I think he has played his way to the prospect level."

Ryan's play since then has raised the question of how close to the big league level he has played himself for next season.

It would be a huge leap next year, but the fact that it's even fathomable is a statement on how Ryan has impressed over the past couple of weeks. He has suddenly grown from a young catcher whose biggest feats were more like legends of physical might -- hitting a statue on the outfield concourse at Comerica Park, accidentally hitting a pitcher who wasn't prepared for his throw on a stolen-base attempt -- to someone building a resume in real, live games.

"People take notice of him anyways," Tigers player development director Glenn Ezell said. "He's 6-foot-4, and he's got the catching gear on, and he's a solid piece of granite. But what's happening now is his confidence level and the fact that he's hitting the fastball [are] allowing people to see him in another league, too."

It might not earn him a ticket to stick in the Majors when the Tigers open next season, but it earns him a much longer look than he otherwise might've received.

"We're looking at him, obviously," Leyland said between games of last Sunday's doubleheader at Chicago, where Ryan played the entirety of both contests. "This is a little bit of a showcase for him."

The tools were evident long before he arrived. He's the biggest backstop the Tigers have had in almost a decade and earns physical comparisons to the great Lance Parrish. He's tall enough to stand over some opposing hitters before he squats down behind the plate.

Within that body frame comes a lot of power. The batting-practice homer off Charlie Gehringer's statue came in his first day with the team and flashed the swing that connected for 15 homers over 338 plate appearances at Erie. Ryan later launched a homer over the Metrodome baggie in his first Tigers start.

That power also translates into his arm. The story of hitting a pitcher with a throw is like a cautionary tale for someone who threw out 18 of 46 would-be basestealers at Double-A before catching nine out of 27 with Toledo.

"Yeah, it's happened twice in my career," Ryan said.

His arm is strong enough that the Tigers once briefly considered converting him to a pitcher before waiting to see where catching took him. Where he is now is a pretty good spot.

Ryan enters Friday having caught four of Detroit's past five games. His latest was Wednesday in the Tigers debut of Freddy Garcia, whom Ryan caught in both of Garcia's simulated games. It also allowed Brandon Inge to fill in for the injured Carlos Guillen at third base, where Inge's defense is an advantage.

To say Ryan is using the time to his benefit would be an understatement. The ample playing time has allowed his intangibles to come through.

"Coming in, it can be pretty intimidating for a guy like that," said Nate Robertson, whom Ryan caught in the left-hander's seven innings of one-run ball last week. "He's young, he's a rookie, but he's come in here and, man, he looks like he's been here for a while, the way he's swinging the bat, the way he's calling a ballgame and just his demeanor. He doesn't look like he gets rattled too easy or anything like that. He's got a quiet confidence about him."

Ezell has worked with Ryan since Detroit drafted him out of Merced (Calif.) Junior College in 2003. When Ezell read those comments, he marveled.

"Dusty has started to trust himself, have a little more confidence in himself," Ezell said. "He's not beating himself up nearly as much as he had in the past. He still does it on occasion, but he has given himself a little freedom.

"It's absolutely OK to pat yourself on the back on occasion. You don't have to whack yourself with the fungo on your shinbone all the time. He's allowing himself to relax and let his ability do what is necessary for him to get better."

The question that Tigers officials must tackle going forward is how much better Ryan can get if he makes the jump to the Majors now to catch alongside or behind Inge. This year was his first above Class A ball, and he played just 20 games at Triple-A Toledo before getting the September call.

Leyland was pointed about not getting carried away with a September performance. But his even-handed evaluation reflects the impact Ryan has made.

"If I look at what I have seen so far, I mean, you would have to educate him a little bit on calling the game and everything and learning the hitters," Leyland told reporters Wednesday afternoon. "It would be a [crash] course and all that kind of stuff. But what meets the eye right now, I'd have to say Dusty Ryan can fill in the big leagues right now. But what's he going to hit?"

That was before Ryan's four-hit game against the Rangers on Wednesday. Still, given that Ryan entered this season with a .225 career average in the Minors, it remains a fair question. With the jump he has made, there are a lot of questions that follow him. But the fact that those questions are being asked now means he's getting noticed.

"He's always had good tools," Ezell said. "It's just a matter of whether he's going to let those tools work for him."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

I Ryan!

It is official... mrsrabello has a thing for catchers.....

And that is not a bad thing!

especially tall, good-looking ones!

Erm. Ok then, but hes still a monster.

gdennis59 wrote:

Erm. Ok then, but hes still a monster.

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

It is official... mrsrabello has a thing for catchers.....

And that is not a bad thing!

It's true

And their coaches!

mrsrabelo wrote:

I Ryan!

Apparently you have a THING for Catchers!!

Hey mrs, did you see that Rabelo made the top 5 defensive plays by a Catcher on ESPN this year??

Tagged the guy out, took a big hit and then SPOIKED the ball.....it was GREAT!!

Still single, too..except for Mrs. R

tigersaint wrote:

Hey mrs, did you see that Rabelo made the top 5 defensive plays by a Catcher on ESPN this year??

Tagged the guy out, took a big hit and then SPOIKED the ball.....it was GREAT!!

I saw that show, Mike was great!

tigersaint wrote:

Hey mrs, did you see that Rabelo made the top 5 defensive plays by a Catcher on ESPN this year??

Tagged the guy out, took a big hit and then SPOIKED the ball.....it was GREAT!!

I saw the play but didn't see that it made the top 5 defensive plays by a catcher. Yay Mike!

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

tigersaint wrote:

Hey mrs, did you see that Rabelo made the top 5 defensive plays by a Catcher on ESPN this year??

Tagged the guy out, took a big hit and then SPOIKED the ball.....it was GREAT!!

I saw that show, Mike was great!

Good show but I was surprised NOT to see Brandon Inge's "diving into the seats" catch at 3B at the end of the season.

It was a MUCH better and risky play than some of the plays that made the show!!

ouch just thinking about it!

It was shown in the show somewhere, just not up for an award.

oh??

I didn't see Inges play on the show.

Yep, they showed his dive into the seats to successfully catch the foul ball.

Damn!! I miss all the good stuff!!

I musta been peein'.....

Dusty Ryan Called Up

Sources close to Dusty Ryan are reporting that The Tigers have called up the young backstop from Toledo to presumably replace Dane Sardinha as the backup catcher. This is a welcome move as the Tigers have been starting Gerald Laird too much and I believe it has been affecting his offense. Laird has been excellent defensively but has played in 57 of the Tigers 66 games and his batting average has slipped to .215. The Tigers have been reluctant to use the weak hitting Sardinha who is a capable defender but has batted just .097 in 12 games.

Dusty Ryan was batting .259/.374/.442 with 7 homers in 46 games for Toledo. He has good power but has trouble making contact with 51 strikeouts in 147 at bats. Although Dusty had trouble blocking pitches in his call-up to the Tigers last September, he is generally regarded as a strong defender.

Tigers call up Dusty Ryan
BECK'S BLOG

The Tigers brought up some catching help Friday, at least for the moment, by recalling Dusty Ryan from Triple-A Toledo.

Ryan temporarily fills the roster spot that opened Thursday, when Detroit placed Dontrelle Willis on the 15-day disabled list. Alfredo Figaro will be promoted from Double-A Erie to start Saturday for the Tigers, but will have to be added to the roster before Saturday's game.

Ryan spent most of last September as the Tigers' everyday catcher, batting .318 with two homers and seven RBIs in 15 games, but went back to prospect status once Detroit traded for Gerald Laird at last December's Winter Meetings. He got off to a slow start in Spring Training and then into the season at Triple-A Toledo, batting .156 in April with 13 strikeouts in 45 at-bats. He rebounded to hit .309 in May with four homers and 12 RBIs.

For the year, the 24-year-old Ryan is hitting .259 with seven homers and 23 RBIs.

Ryan's recent performance raised speculation that he could be promoted to back up Laird in Detroit, where Dane Sardinha's hitting struggles left him out of the starting lineup while the Tigers played six Interleague road games without a designated hitter at Pittsburgh and St. Louis. For Friday, at least, they'll go with three catchers

Posted on June 19, 2009 at 2:13 PM

Ryan learning the ropes at backstop
Young Tigers catcher tapped for duty on Tuesday night

By Adam Loberstein / MLB.com

06/30/09 8:51 PM ET

OAKLAND -- It's not easy to hit against Joel Zumaya, Fernando Rodney, Justin Verlander and their high heat.

It's not easy catching them, either.

With Gerald Laird getting the night off, that's the task at hand for Dusty Ryan.

"This is a tough staff to catch," manager Jim Leyland said Tuesday as his Tigers prepared to face the Oakland A's in the second game of their three-game set. "You hear it's hard to hit them. ...Guys throwing 100, 101, 97 [mph], breaking balls, sliders -- it's hard to catch them, too."

Leyland said he had been planning on starting Ryan, who was called up from Triple-A Toledo on June 19, either Tuesday or Wednesday.

He elected to go with the young backstop in Tuesday's game with Armando Galarraga on the hill, thinking it'd be easier for Ryan to catch him than having to tame Verlander's stuff.

"If a guy is throwing 100," Leyland said, "and you don't know where the pitch is going and you need to try throwing a guy out -- that's not easy."

Leyland said Ryan still has a ways to go with learning to handle Major League pitchers. He expects good things from the 24-year-old, though.

"He's a strong guy with some power," Leyland said. "He's a good prospect. ... If he hits, he'll be a regular for a long time."

Production from Ryan would give Leyland a chance to rest Laird on a more regular basis.

With Matt Treanor (right hip) on the disabled list, Laird has started at catcher in 59 of Detroit's first 76 games. Laird is batting .235 over 196 at-bats.

This will be Ryan's fourth game with the big club this season. He batted .304 in 102 at-bats with Toledo between May and June, and had a .374 on-base percentage and .442 slugging percentage in 46 games.

Ryan had a .318 average in 15 games with the Tigers last season.

Adam Loberstein is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers promote Lambert, Avila to Majors
Ramirez, Ryan sent back to Triple-A Toldeo

By Mike Scott / Special to MLB.com

08/04/09 10:53 PM ET

DETROIT -- Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski announced after Tuesday's 8-2 loss to the Orioles that the Tigers have recalled 26-year-old pitcher Chris Lambert from Triple-A Toledo and purchased the contract of catcher Alex Avila from Double-A Erie. Both players will be available for Wednesday's game against Baltimore at Comerica Park.

To make room for Lambert and Avila, the Tigers optioned backup catcher Dusty Ryan and outfielder Wilkin Ramirez back to Toledo. Ramirez had been recalled Tuesday morning and started in left field while batting leadoff. He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout before being removed for Clete Thomas in the seventh inning.

"We knew when we made the move [with Ramirez] that this might be a day-to-day thing," Dombrowski said.

Avila was hitting .264 with 12 home runs and 55 RBIs in 93 games for the Erie SeaWolves. The 22-year-old was selected in the fifth round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of Alabama. He is the son of Tigers vice president/assistant general manager Al Avila.

Lambert was 1-2 with a 5.66 ERA in eight games and three starts for the Tigers in 2008. He was 6-7 with a 3.55 ERA in 21 starts for Toledo this season.

Mike Scott is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers send Ryan to San Diego
Detroit acquires player to be named or cash for catcher

By Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com

12/21/09 3:26 PM EST

The Tigers found a taker for catcher Dusty Ryan, who was designated for assignment last week.

Ryan has been traded to the Padres for a player to be named or cash, the Tigers announced Monday.

The 25-year-old Ryan appeared in 27 games with the Tigers over the past two years, compiling a .257 (18-for-70) average, two homers and 11 RBIs.

Ryan split the '09 season between Detroit and Triple-A Toledo. He batted .257 (52-for-202) with 10 homers and 35 RBIs in 63 games with the Mud Hens, and .154 (4-for-26) with four RBIs in 12 games with the Tigers.

Anthony Castrovince is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Minor Deals: Adams, Ryan, Bass, Santos
By Ben Nicholson-Smith [December 6 at 9:21pm CST]

We've seen our share of major moves since yesterday, but the minor deals keep streaming in, too. Here they are:

-- The Mets signed Russ Adams and Dusty Ryan to minor league contracts, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. The Blue Jays made Adams their first round pick in 2002, but he disappointed in parts of five seasons in Toronto, batting .247/.313/.372. The Blue Jays drafted Adams as a shortstop, but he has big league experience at second base and in left field. Ryan, 26, batted .199/.333/.349 for the Padres' Triple-A affiliate in 2010. He had cameos with the Tigers in 2008 and 2009.

-- Oddly enough, the Tigers signed a former Mets backstop today. MLB.com's Jason Beck reports that Detroit added Omir Santos on a minor league deal (Twitter link). The 29-year-old last appeared in the majors on the 2009 Mets.

-- The Phillies signed right-hander Brian Bass, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter). The 28-year-old has a 5.16 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 183 major league innings.