Evan Gattis is 28 years old, stands 6'4", weighs about 260 lbs, and launches balls into orbit with frequency. He's also got one of the most interesting stories of all-time. The highlights.


Graduated high school in 2004.
Signed letter of intent to attend Texas A&M.
Changed his mind and decided to attend Rice.
He was sent to an outpatient rehab center for three months.
He didn't attend either college.
He enrolled in Oklahoma's Seminole Junior College for one year.
He left school, dealing with depression and a injured knee.
He vowed to never play baseball again.
He worked as a cook.
He worked as a valet.
He became a ski-lift operator at Eldora Mountain Resort in Colorado.
He worked at New Mexico's Taos Ski Valley Resort as a ski-lift operator.
He worked as a housekeeper at a hostel.
I'm not making this up.
After four years away he returned to baseball. 
The Braves drafted him in the 23rd round in 2010.

And so it goes...

THE MINORS

2010: As a 23 year old he hit .288 with four homers in 60 games at Rookie Ball.

2011: Spent 88 games at the Sally League batting .322 with a .986 OPS. He socked 22 big flies and drove in 71 runs. Remember, that was in 88 games.

2012: He hit .305 with a .995 OPS over three levels in 2012 (Rookie, High-A and Double-A). He socked 18 homers with 67 RBIs over those three stops. He then went on to hit 16 homers with a .595 SLG in the Venezuelan Winter League. He picked up the nickname "El Oso Blanco," which translates to "The White Bear." 

2013: Picked up 21 at-bats with a 1.030 OPS at Triple-A.

2014: Picked up 16 at-bats with a .375 OPS at Triple-A.

TOTALS: .306/.371/.452 with 45 homers and 170 RBIs over 231 games.

THE MAJORS

2013: He hit .243 with 21 homers and 65 RBIs in just 354 at-bats. His OBP was a mere .291 but the power was on display for all to see.

2014: Improved in all three of the slash categories to .263/.317/.493. He hit 22 homers with 52 RBIs in 369 at-bats. 

2015: Dealt to the Astros for three prospects: Mike Foltynewicz, Rio Ruiz, and Andrew Thurman.

THE SKILLS

Power, glorious power.

Eleven players hit 30 homers in 2014. In 2000 there were 47 players who reached the 30 homer plateau. In the modern age of pitching power is king. When that power comes from a catcher eligible player you should stand up and take notice.

You don't get the nickname "The White Bear" because you don't fill out an XL shirt. Gattis is a huge man who wields the lumber as if it was a toothpick. Truly amazing to see.

In 2014 Gattis' average homer went a distance of 399.3 feet. That's not short. He also hit them with great frequency over his two year career. With 43 homers in 723 at-bats his per 500 at-bat career mark is 29.7 homers. Remember, only 11 guys hit 30 homers last season. 

Gattis accomplishes his success by (A) hitting lots of fly balls and (B) converting those fly balls into homers with alacrity. 

(A) Gattis had a 44.6 percent fly ball rate in 2013. In 2014 that number was virtually unchanged at 44.5 percent. The league average is about 34-35 percent so he's obviously one who should be classified as a "fly ball hitter."

(B) As a rookie he had a 17.1 HR/F ratio. In year two that number was virtually unchanged at 18.0 percent. The league average is about 9-10 percent so he should obviously be classified as a "power hitter."

With at-bats will come the homer. Period.

As one might surmise, the man is a bit of a brute. As a result it's hard shocking to see a good amount of strikeouts on his ledger. To be fair his career K-rate of 22.7 percent isn't obnoxious, and his per 500 at-bat average of 123 strikeouts is acceptable given the power trade off. 

However, walks are not his friend with totals of 21 and 22 in his two seasons. 'Grip it and rip it' is clearly a moniker that could be placed on Gattis' shoulders. The lack of discipline means he can be pitched to if pitcher's hit their spots. A further outcome of his lack of discipline is that his batting average and OBP suffer. To this point Gattis has hit .253. The league average the past two seasons is .256. His OBP in two years is .304. The league average is .320. Neither number is likely to surge given his approach. It should also be pointed out that he is more successful against portsiders. The career numbers follow.

vs. left: .295/.328/.548 with a homer every 16.6 at-bats
vs. right: .241/.297/.469 with a homer every 16.9 at-bats

Finally he hasn't attempted a steal in his career. Shocker.

PLAYING TIME CONSIDERATIONS

A poor defensive catcher, Gattis appeared behind the dish in 93 games last season while seeing no action in the outfield. However, he did see 48 games of action out there in 2013, albeit with less than ideal results. He really should be a DH, which is why the Astros acquired him (he will play LF, 1B and potentially some catcher as well). If he fills that role with the club, and produces like he has the past two seasons, 500+ at-bats and oodles of value are in his future.

CONCLUSION

Gattis won't steal bases and will be lucky to be anything other than league average in batting average and on-base percentage. But he has one elite skill - he can mash the ball deep. Add in that he qualifies at catcher, and the only thing that will hold him back from having a significant season in 2015 is if his defense limits his at-bats. 

10 team lg: An easy catcher one in this format. If you have a two catcher setup - and everyone should - he's a lock and load option, even if he's unable to reach 500 at-bats. His power is simply overwhelming for a catcher-eligible option.

12 team lg: As the leagues deepen the more valuable becomes a batter who should hit 20 homers, with 30 homer upside, who qualifies at catcher. Would be a target of mine in a league of this size, no question.

15 team lg: Gattis' power is hard to find in an environment as deep as this setup. An impressive option as an elite catcher one, his power would allow you to target a corner infielder or outfielder who makes his money doing something other than hitting the dinger.

AL-only: Gattis will likely handle all the at-bats he could possibly want. Gattis, Chris Carter and George Springer would appear to give this team a pretty formidable power trio. With the likelihood of injury diminished since he will likely be rarely asked to catch, his value is sky-high in this format.