Making the Grade: Ranking Catchers in the AL Central

No. 4: Tyler Flowers, Chicago White Sox

Sep 22, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Chicago White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers (21) throws out Detroit Tigers center fielder Ezequiel Carrera (not pictured) on an attempted butt in the seventh inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

A strong second-half showing has earned Tyler Flowers another crack at solidifying his role as the White Sox everyday catcher in 2015.

Once a top-100 prospect with the Atlanta Braves, Flowers has never been particularly effective from an offensive standpoint. He has a career strikeout rate of about 35 percent and a career batting average hovering around .218.

He did, however, put together a nice post-All-Star break stretch, batting .280 with 10 homeruns and 24 RBIs. That led to the most successful offensive season of his careers, hitting .241 over 127 games. Flowers hit 15 homeruns and drove in 50 runs for the Sox but, as usual, the 29-year-old backstop was plagued by strikeout issues (159 in 2014).

Where Flower excels, however, is in his ability to call a game. And with the presence of Chris Sale, along with the offseason acquisition of Jeff Samardzija, the White Sox look dead set on using their defensive/pitching prowess to capture an AL Central crown.

Next: No. 3