The Tampa Bay Rays have never been known to do things in a traditional way. Bat a rookie catcher lead off? Sure. Platoon your shortstop based on the opposing pitcher’s GB/FB tendencies? Absolutely. Seemingly use a different lineup every night? Why not? They thrive in the unorthodox and relish in the abnormal. For a team in contention for another division title, having such a question mark at a cornerstone position like firstbase is anything but normal.

This isn’t a position battle in the true meaning of the phrase. Those usually leave one player either released or relegated to giving teammates hotfoot while on bench duty. As currently constituted, Dan Johnson is the Rays starting firstbasemen, though he could have competition.. The last time Johnson played a full season in the big leagues was 2007 with Oakland. He then spent 2008 in the Rays organization at AAA Durham, and all of the 2009 season in Japan. Most of Johnson’s 2010 season was once again spent in Durham where he hit well enough to earn himself 140 plate appearances with the Rays later in the year. Despite a .198 average in those 140 appearances, Johnson slugged seven home runs and walked 25 times.

The Rays feel good about Johnson, but 140 appearances is a small sample size. Many projection systems are high on Johnson this season, but Marcels is a bit more pessimistic, giving Johnson only 270 plate appearances and a .233/.327/.414 slash line. If he can maintain something close to his .339 wOBA from last season, and hit decently enough against left handed pitching, he’ll likely keep his job all season and be a viable fantasy asset. If not, there is someone waiting to take those at bats. His name is Ben Zobrist.

Fantasy wise, Zobrist is most valuable at second base due to his combination of speed and power.  He’s likely to get starts all over the diamond, but could gain first base eligibility rather quickly if Johnson slips. The Rays have two very capable players in Sean Rodriguez and Matt Joyce who play Zobrist’s two fantasy positions, second base and the outfield. The Rays’ ability to man those positions ably without Zobrist would make the transition to firstbase a rather easy one. The 2010 season wasn’t a kind one to Zobrist, but while his power numbers were way down he still maintained some value by swiping 24 bags. He’s likely never going to hit 27 home runs again as he did in 2009, but nearly every projection has him back into the 15-20 homer range. The increased power coupled with tri-positional flexibility gives Zobrist back much of the value he lost last season.

The 2011 season (and fantasy drafts) are rapidly approaching, so we here at RotoGraphs put our slide rules down long enough to come up some aggregate positional rankings. Today I present to you first basemen, and I’ll be your guy at the position all season…

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Some of my earliest childhood memories stem from baseball games with my grandfather.  The cheapest seats possible, junk food galore, and baseball chatter like you’ve never heard.  It was from him that I learned the two most important facts in baseball:  every guy out on the field was a bum and free agency killed the game.  The first was the obvious frustration from a curmudgeonly old man, but the second still rings true in a lot of ways.  I could write pages on free agency, but that’s not why I’m here today.  I’m here today to discuss a few familiar faces from behind the dish, and what their new addresses bring to the fantasy table. Read the rest of this entry »

Erik already introduced you to a pair of $1 catcher options yesterday, but let’s take a look at two more…

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Yesterday I debuted our aggregate pre-season Catcher Rankings, so today I just wanted to throw out a few names of players whom I think will steadily rise through the ranks as the season progresses. Sorry to all you Carlos Santana fluffers, but I don’t feel the need to perpetuate the hype. His play will do enough of that this season. But here are a few to keep in mind: Read the rest of this entry »

You may have heard that FanGraphs got a fantasy game. It’s hard to contain my excitement, but let’s start with some pithy slogans!

No People Herding!
This auction dynasty is open year-round, so commissioners don’t have to email everyone to remind them to get their keepers in, and what were their players’ prices again, and what did they want to do with those two hurt guys again and what happened to Charlie and did Jim change his email or is he just on his annual three-week trek to the Harry Baals Community Center for that Baccarat Tournament?

No, the game is there waiting. It’s always there.

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It’s backstop day at the RG, as we debuted our rankings and then profiled the top five targets and some deep sleepers. Now it’s time to look at the middle of the rankings, identify some guys that are falling in this year’s drafts, and decide if they merit more love.

Matt Wieters
Once projected to be a superstar in his rookie season, the shine has seemingly come off of Wieters, and he’s all the way down to near-double digits in our rankings. Here’s a thing I discovered while researching this piece about Carlos Santana, however: it does seem that catchers take a little longer to develop their offense. Whether it’s because they focus on defense and game calling first, or because they are one of the worst offensive positions overall, it takes a few years. Switch-hitting catchers from Victor Martinez to Jason Varitek and Jorge Posada all took until 25 or later to bust out. Wieters is 24 and that, as well as his minor league record, is probably the best statistic in his favor. With incremental improvements in his walk rate, strikeout rate, swinging strike rate, and ISO, there are other statistics that back up the idea that perhaps Wieters shouldn’t be sliding this far. Consider taking him slightly ahead of his ADPs (130.04 at MDC, 111.2 at Yahoo) in order to snag his upside.

Jorge Posada
If age is the reason to be up-beat about Matt Wieters, then it’s the reason that Jorge Posada is falling in drafts and rankings this year. And of course we have to temper any expectations that we might have for him because of his age. The record for at-bats for a catcher over 39 is Carlton Fisk with 454 (second is Fisk at 452, third is Bob Boone at 405, and those are the only seasons over 400). Fisk is also the only person to ever hit more than double-digit home runs after 39, as he hit 23 at 39, 19 at 40, 13 at 41 and 18 at 42. So, if you’re taking Posada, you’re basically hoping he’ll be the best or second- best old catcher ever. Of course, that’s possible, because Posada’s 22 home runs in 2009 were the third-best number ever by a catcher over 37. He’s done it before. Oh, and he’s going to DH this year, which will have to be counted as a positive even if he hasn’t done so well in that role before. It should, at the very least, help him get more ABs.

Miguel Montero
Montero is young-ish (27), and once hit .294 with 16 home runs, and yet he’s falling in drafts this year (125.6 ADP in MDC, 158.2 in Yahoo). The ADPs might be reasonable, but is he worth picking after the tenth round is completed? Maybe (hah). A full, healthy season from Montero could produce a home run total in the mid-teens and a decent batting average for a catcher, judging from his career .267 number in the category. Can he stay healthy? He’s only officially hit the DL twice in his carer – for right knee surgery in 2010 (62 days missed) and for a fractured finger in 2008 (31 days missed) – and yet he’s averaged only 313 PAs since 2007. It looks like Montero is best drafted as part of a quantity, not quality approach late in your drafts. Pick him and Posada late in the game and you’ll probably have a decent catcher this year, one way or the other.

Here are two catchers who should be available for $1 in most leagues that have a good chance to outproduce that price due to their power.

Last year, a Rangers’ catcher with a baseball bat was kind of like a mule with a spinning wheel; nobody knows how he got it and danged if he knows how to use it*. Ok, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but the sentiment remains. Other than the Mariners’ backstops, you could make a strong case that Texas catchers combined to have the worst offensive season in baseball. They hit .214/.288/.320 while muscling just 13 balls over the fence despite playing in hitter-friendly Arlington. 2011 should prove to be a different story as the Rangers traded for Mike Napoli and signed Yorvit Torrealba to don the tools of ignorance – instantly upgrading production at the position.

Napoli qualifies as a catcher, but will likely end up being more of a rover; receiving more starts at first base and designated hitter, leaving a majority of the catching atbats to Torrealba. As a Padre last season Torrealba had arguably the best season of his career, hitting .271/.343/.378 with seven home runs and seven steals – incredibly hitting .312/.394/.429 at pitcher-friendly Petco Park. While the home numbers are inflated by an unsustainable .396 BABiP, he is moving to the hitter friendly confines of Arlington. Marcel projections, which don’t take parks into effect, project Torrealba for eight home runs in 2011. Given what a good hitter’s park Arlington is, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him pass that number this season.

*Any chance I get to weave in a Simpsons’ quote, I’m going to take it

Most of the attention garnered by Tampa Bay Rays’ catchers last season was centered around John Jaso. That kind of thing happens when you hit .263/.378 (AVG/OBP) with five home runs, and four steals in 404 plate appearances as a rookie. Kelly Shoppach went unnoticed as a result – and with good reason. He missed more than a month due to injury and hit just .196/.308/.342 with five home runs and 17 RBI in 187 PA’s.

The Rays are going to platoon the two backstops, leaving the right handed Shoppach to do what he does best – mash left handed pitching. He has a career .949 OPS against southpaws, compared to just .679 against RHP. While 2010 was a down year overall Shoppach still showed he had a little pop, posting a .193 ISO against LHP. That number is good, but a far cry from his absurd 2008 and 2009 totals of .272 and .321. If healthy, and properly platooned – 2010 was the first time in three years he had more PA’s vs LHP than RHP – there is an excellent chance he could find his power stroke once again and cross the 10 home run barrier.

A side note: If I’m wrong and he falls flat on his face, look for newly acquired Robinson Chirinos to get a shot at the right handed platoon role.

Earlier today Howard debuted our preseason catcher rankings, and three familiar names sat at or near of top. Joining them were a pair of players that started last season in the minors but excelled in (somewhat) limited big league action and grabbed a premium ranking in what is traditionally fantasy’s thinnest position.

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The 2011 baseball season is almost upon us, so we here at RotoGraphs put our collective heads together to come up with some aggregate positional rankings.  I’ll be taking the lead all year with the catchers, but as a group, here’s what we came up with for now:

Despite last year’s power decline, we know the potential is there so Mauer gets the nod for the top spot.  Welcome to the big time, Buster!

Happy to have any one of these guys on my roster.  Santana is on the rise, but this could be the last chance for Wieters in the fantasy trust department.

Stable group of guys who can just tow the line for your backstop position.  Martin could be a nice sleeper in hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium.

No major investment needs to be made here.  Some will rise, some will fall.  Arencibia’s power potential puts him at the top of the sleeper list.

Maybe a pair of diamonds in the rough in Lucroy and Snyder, but I wouldn’t want to invest more than a buck on the rest of the lot.

You’ve got to be pretty desperate to be living with these guys on your roster.

We’ll all be chiming in throughout the week with more detailed thoughts on some of the backstops and the overall rankings will be updated on a monthly basis, so stay tuned for more!