Andrew Knapp

Andrew Michael Knapp (born November 9, 1991) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Texas Rangers organization.

He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants.

He played college baseball for the University of California, Berkeley.

After a successful high school career, Knapp was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 41st round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft, but he did not sign.

Instead, he attended the University of California, Berkeley, to play college baseball in the Pac-12 Conference.

After struggling throughout his first two seasons, Knapp began to break through during his junior year, when he became a full-time catcher.

That season, Knapp was third in the conference with a .350 batting average, tied for third with a .544 slugging percentage, ranked fourth with a .434 on-base percentage, and hit eight home runs.

Over three seasons, he hit .294, with 14 home runs, and 82 runs batted in (RBIs) for the California Golden Bears baseball team.

In 2012, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star.

He was drafted by the Phillies in the second round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft and ascended through the Phillies' minor league system in four seasons, winning the organization's award for best minor league player in 2015.

Entering the 2013 MLB Draft, Knapp was viewed as "headlin[ing] the second tier of catchers in this year's class", with scout Mike Rosenbaum projecting that he could be a slightly above-average hitter and defender with average power and an above-average throwing arm.

Knapp was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the second round of the 2013 MLB draft and signed with the Phillies for a $1,033,100 signing bonus.

He made his professional debut with the Williamsport Crosscutters where he posted a .253 batting average with 20 doubles (tied for the league lead), four home runs, and 23 RBIs in 62 games.

He spent 2014 with both the Lakewood BlueClaws and Clearwater Threshers, hitting a combined .260/.324/.385 with six home runs and 32 RBIs in 98 games and was named an MiLB.com Organization All Star.

Knapp started 2015 with Clearwater where he was a mid-season FSL All Star, and was promoted to the Reading Fightin Phils during the season.

He hit a combined .308/.385/.491 with 13 home runs and 84 RBIs in 118 total games between the two teams.

For his performance in 2015, he won the Paul Owens Award, which the Phillies' organization awards to its best minor league player each season.

Knapp spent 2016 with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, and his offensive performance "tapered off".

Knapp did, however, take strides defensively, which at the time was viewed as an area of relative weakness that he would need to improve to have a chance at the major league level.

He ended the season with a .266 batting average, eight home runs, and 46 RBIs in 107 games.

He was named an International League mid-season All Star.

After the season, he played in the Dominican Winter League.

The Phillies added Knapp to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season, and he ultimately made the Phillies' 2017 Opening Day roster, spending the whole season at the major league level as a backup catcher to Cameron Rupp as the Phillies awaited the arrival of higher-regarded prospect Jorge Alfaro.

As the year went on, his playing time increased and his role evolved into more of a timeshare with Rupp.

For the season, he batted .257/.368/.368 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 56 games (171 at bats).

He threw out 20 percent of attempted base stealers.

During the offseason, after the death of former Phillies Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Roy Halladay, Knapp changed his number from Halladay's former 34 to 15, the number Knapp had worn in college, to honor Halladay.

A switch hitter, Knapp made his big league debut in 2017 and served as the team's primary backup catcher for five seasons.

Known for his defensive skills and ability to handle the pitching staff, he has been called one of the best backup catchers in baseball.

Knapp was born in Roseville, California, and attended Granite Bay High School in Granite Bay, California.

During his childhood, he followed his father Mike, a minor league catcher, across the country, visiting 38 states by the time he was five years old and living in at least six of them.

Though Mike never pushed his sons towards baseball, both played and excelled.

Mike, who never made the major leagues, was a right-handed hitter, which he attributes as part of the reason he never broke in at the big-league level.

Andrew started hitting left-handed—and eventually as a switch hitter—at the suggestion of his mother, who wanted her son to avoid her husband's fate.

Knapp again battled for the backup catcher position entering 2018 and, again, made the opening day roster, this time as a backup to Alfaro.

Knapp did, however, make his first career opening day start.

On July 1, 2018, Knapp hit the team’s first walk-off home run since 2016, a 13th inning blast against the Washington Nationals.

Despite his paltry overall hitting performance—a .198 batting average with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 187 at bats—the team began to value Knapp's defensive and game management skills along with his ability to get on base.

During the offseason prior to the Phillies' 2019 campaign, they acquired J. T. Realmuto in exchange for a package of prospects that included Alfaro, again opening a clear path for Knapp to start the season as the team's backup catcher.

He did, once again spending the season as the team's primary backup catcher.