The Diamondbacks will probably split the playing time again between Chris Snyder and Miguel Montero at catcher again in 2008. Snyder will probably play more again this season as he’s the better defender. Snyder played in 110 games last season for the Diamondbacks and he was 82 for 326 (.252 avg, .775 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 13 homers and 47 RBIs. Snyder threw out 26% of the runners that tried to steal on him last season and D-Backs pitchers had a 3.73 ERA with him behind the plate.

24-year old lefty swinging Miguel Montero is the Diamondbacks likely catcher of the future as he has shown good power at every step of his minor league development. He played in 84 games last season for the Diamondbacks and he was 48 for 214 (.224 avg, .689 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 10 homers and 37 RBIs. Montero threw out 20% of the runners that tried to steal on him last season and D-Backs pitchers had a 4.81 ERA with him behind the plate.

31-year old Robby Hammock is around for another season. He played in 34 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 11 for 45 (.244 avg, .595 OPS) with 5 runs scored. He played well behind the plate for the Diamondbacks as he threw out 3 of 4 runners that tried to steal on him and D-Backs pitchers had a 4.62 ERA when throwing to him.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C