Tom Murphy makes his major league debut tonight in Seattle

Tom Murphy, No. 12 PuRP, will make his major league debut tonight in Seattle. The 24 year-old Murphy began the season in Double-A, but he earned a promotion to Triple-A Albuquerque mid-season. Across those levels, Murphy hit .256/.314/.490. He also hit 20 home runs. Those numbers aren't bad, but Murphy also sported a 28.6 percent strikeout rate and a 6.5 percent walk rate. The walk rate is fine, but that K rate won't play unless he becomes a much better hitter than he has been throughout his time in the minors.

Ultimately though, Murphy's defense will prove to be more important than his offense. I'd take a catcher who can frame, manage runners, and call a good game, but with below average offense, before I'd take an above average hitter who isn't very good at any of those other things.

It's clear that Murphy is only up with the Rockies because both Michael McKenry and Nick Hundley are out for the season. Murphy will share duties with Dustin Garneau now. Looking ahead to next season, Murphy has a good shot to make the team out of spring training. If that's the case, he'd share time with Nick Hundley.

Murphy will catch for lefty Yohan Flande, who will make his ninth start of the season for the Rockies. Flande enters the game with a 4.65 ERA. He has struck out about six batters per nine innings, and he's walked just over three per nine. Flande's 4.59 DRA and 107 DRA- suggests that he's been about as good as his ERA suggests. Considering all of the underlying factors contributing to his 4.59 DRA, Flande has essentially had the same season as Arizona's Chase Anderson, though Anderson has pitched about 80 more innings than Flande.

The Mariners respond with a lefty of their own in Roenis Elias. He'll be making his seventeenth start of the season for the Mariners. Elias comes into today's game with a 4.41 ERA, a 4.39 DRA, and a 103 DRA-. Like Flande, he's performed about as well as his ERA indicates. Elias has never faced the Rockies.