2012 June Catcher Tiers Update

Even though the positional rankings aren;t being updated monthly, the tiers are, so let’s take a look at some of the movement amongst the catchers.  We saw a few things happen with the May tiers but I held back any extreme movement because of sample sizes and questions surrounding performance sustainability.  This month, guys are moving…

U.S. Prime

Buster Posey

Mike Napoli

Carlos Santana

So no movement in and out of the tier, but Posey gets the nod as the top guy this time around.  None of the three had a particularly strong month of May, but Posey gets the call for the better overall totals.  Truth be told, Santana is wearing on me a little.  I know he had the concussion concerns, but it seems like his walk-rate is his best asset and that shouldn’t be enough for top billing.  His potential and his upside keep him here, barely hanging on by a thread.

U.S. Choice

Matt Wieters

Jesus Montero

Brian McCann

Joe Mauer

No movement in and out of this tier yet either, but just like last month, there was temptation to just lump the top two tiers together.  Seems like everyone is struggling a bit, particularly in the batting average department, so we’ll just leave these boys as they are.

U.S. Select

Miguel Montero

Yadier Molina

Carlos Ruiz

A.J. Pierzynski

OK all you Ruiz lovers, here you go!  Another strong month from Chooch gets him a two-tier bump.  I still have concerns about him sustaining this for most of the year, especially when they start playing with the lineup once Ryan Howard and Chase Utley work their way back, but not enough to keep this man down.  Same with Pierzynski.  A real strong May backs up a fantastic April.  He’s getting older and should obviously wear down easier, but perhaps this is a last gasp for greatness…?

U.S. Standard

Russell Martin

J.P. Arencibia

Ryan Doumit

Alex Avila

Jarrod Saltalamacchia

A.J. Ellis

Good news or bad news first?  OK, the bad news…I don’t see Avila getting much better this season.  Last year was great and all, but he’s under-produced this season and the strikeouts are killing an impressive 11.8% walk rate.  Add on a DL stint and we’ve got our first drop here.  The good news is that Avila’s drop is countered with jumps from Salty and Ellis, both of who have enjoyed strong months of production in May, and look to be worthy of a bump in class.

U.S. Commerical

Geovany Soto

Kurt Suzuki

Jonathan Lucroy

Ramon Hernandez

Injuries drop both Soto and Lucroy here, and while I don’t usually like to drop tiers due to injury unless it’s season-ending, Soto has been slow to recover (and a disappointment the last few seasons) and I don’t see Lucroy’s production having much of an impact upon his eventual return.

U.S. Utility

Josh Thole

Devin Mesoraco

Nick Hundley

Chris Iannetta

No movement in and out of this tier, but with Iannetta’s injury, he drops to the bottom of the tier.  Mesoraco gets to stay based on potential and upside although Dusty is absolutely killing his fantasy value.  He’s not doing much to help his own cause, but without consistent playing time it’s tough to see what he can really do.

**Last minute addition — Forgot to add Jesus Flores after removing Wilson Ramos from the list.  I would put Ramos right there, probably just behind Thole for the time being.

U.S. Cutter

Salvador Perez

John Buck

Ryan Hanigan

Tyler Flowers

Rod Barajas

Since he hasn’t played a game yet, we’ll leave Perez here, but I expect a jump in tiers over the next month or so.  And Flowers emerges as a decent back-up option, although as long as Pierzynski continues at this level, Flowers’ playing time will stay minimal.

U.S. Canner

Yorvit Torrealba

John Jaso

Miguel Olivo

Jason Castro

And the spam…….