2014 End of Season Rankings: Catchers
The 2014 fantasy baseball season has come to a close, so it is time to look back at the season past and determine which players were the most valuable at each position. As we have in the past, we’re starting out with catchers.
The players were ranked based on their 2014 production, using the evaluation system explained and updated on this site some time ago. The valuations are built for $260 budgets and standard 5×5 roto fantasy leagues, where only one catcher is started. Players are listed only at their primary positions from 2014.
One important thing to note is the premium (or lack thereof) placed on the position a player occupies in your lineup. For example, while a first baseman may be able to accumulate superior overall numbers, the availability of such production lower in the rankings severely dampers the amount the player was worth. These rankings are meant to reflect a player’s value should he have occupied this spot in your lineup for the entire year. A player who missed time due to injury but put up great numbers during his time on the field would be worth less.
This year, I’ve added in RotoGraphs’ preseason consensus rankings so you can see what we thought of each player coming into the year. This ranking can be found in the “Pre” column. “EOS” of course stands for End Of Season, and the rest should be self explanatory.
With all this in mind, here are your rankings.
| EOS | Pre | Name | pos | G | PA | AB | HR | R | RBI | SB | AVG | $$$ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Buster Posey | C | 147 | 605 | 547 | 22 | 72 | 89 | 0 | 0.311 | 22.26 |
| 2 | 6 | Jonathan Lucroy | C | 153 | 655 | 585 | 13 | 73 | 69 | 4 | 0.301 | 16.15 |
| 3 | 18 | Devin Mesoraco | C | 114 | 440 | 384 | 25 | 54 | 80 | 1 | 0.273 | 13.95 |
| 4 | 14 | Yan Gomes | C | 135 | 518 | 485 | 21 | 61 | 74 | 0 | 0.278 | 13.24 |
| 5 | 8 | Salvador Perez | C | 150 | 606 | 578 | 17 | 57 | 70 | 1 | 0.260 | 8.56 |
| 6 | 3 | Brian McCann | C | 140 | 538 | 495 | 23 | 57 | 75 | 0 | 0.232 | 8.32 |
| 7 | 20 | Russell Martin | C | 111 | 460 | 379 | 11 | 45 | 67 | 4 | 0.290 | 7.35 |
| 8 | 29 | Dioner Navarro | C | 139 | 520 | 481 | 12 | 40 | 69 | 3 | 0.274 | 5.60 |
| 9 | 10 | Evan Gattis | C | 108 | 401 | 369 | 22 | 41 | 52 | 0 | 0.263 | 4.78 |
| 10 | 2 | Wilin Rosario | C | 106 | 410 | 382 | 13 | 46 | 54 | 1 | 0.267 | 3.38 |
| 11 | 31 | Derek Norris | C | 127 | 442 | 385 | 10 | 46 | 55 | 2 | 0.270 | 2.99 |
| 12 | 13 | Miguel Montero | C | 136 | 560 | 489 | 13 | 40 | 72 | 0 | 0.243 | 2.23 |
| 13 | 27 | Mike Zunino | C | 131 | 476 | 438 | 22 | 51 | 60 | 0 | 0.199 | 1.64 |
| 14 | 37 | Kurt Suzuki | C | 131 | 503 | 452 | 3 | 37 | 61 | 0 | 0.288 | 1.00 |
| 15 | 23 | Yasmani Grandal | C | 128 | 443 | 377 | 15 | 47 | 49 | 3 | 0.225 | 0.53 |
| 16 | Tyler Flowers | C | 127 | 442 | 407 | 15 | 42 | 50 | 0 | 0.241 | 0.07 | |
| 17 | 15 | Travis d’Arnaud | C | 108 | 421 | 385 | 13 | 48 | 41 | 1 | 0.242 | -0.47 |
| 18 | 26 | John Jaso | C | 99 | 344 | 307 | 9 | 42 | 40 | 2 | 0.264 | -0.99 |
| 19 | 7 | Yadier Molina | C | 110 | 445 | 404 | 7 | 40 | 38 | 1 | 0.282 | -1.15 |
| 20 | 9 | Jason Castro | C | 126 | 512 | 465 | 14 | 43 | 56 | 1 | 0.222 | -1.17 |
| 21 | 12 | Wilson Ramos | C | 88 | 361 | 341 | 11 | 32 | 47 | 0 | 0.267 | -1.39 |
| 22 | 34 | Chris Iannetta | C | 108 | 373 | 306 | 7 | 41 | 43 | 3 | 0.252 | -1.96 |
| 23 | Robinson Chirinos | C | 93 | 338 | 306 | 13 | 36 | 40 | 0 | 0.239 | -2.94 | |
| 24 | 19 | Alex Avila | C | 124 | 457 | 390 | 11 | 44 | 47 | 0 | 0.218 | -3.39 |
| 25 | 22 | Jarrod Saltalamacchia | C | 114 | 435 | 373 | 11 | 43 | 44 | 0 | 0.220 | -3.71 |
| 26 | Rene Rivera | C | 103 | 329 | 294 | 11 | 27 | 44 | 0 | 0.252 | -3.80 | |
| 27 | 25 | Carlos Ruiz | C | 110 | 445 | 381 | 6 | 43 | 31 | 4 | 0.252 | -3.85 |
| 28 | 17 | Welington Castillo | C | 110 | 417 | 380 | 13 | 28 | 46 | 0 | 0.237 | -4.13 |
| 29 | Michael McKenry | C | 57 | 192 | 168 | 8 | 23 | 22 | 0 | 0.315 | -6.38 | |
| 30 | 16 | A.J. Pierzynski | C | 102 | 362 | 338 | 5 | 25 | 37 | 0 | 0.251 | -7.71 |
| 31 | Brayan Pena | C | 115 | 372 | 348 | 5 | 23 | 26 | 2 | 0.253 | -9.17 | |
| 32 | 33 | J.P. Arencibia | C | 63 | 222 | 203 | 10 | 20 | 35 | 0 | 0.177 | -10.01 |
| 33 | Caleb Joseph | C | 82 | 275 | 246 | 9 | 22 | 28 | 0 | 0.207 | -10.34 | |
| 34 | 35 | Ryan Hanigan | C | 84 | 263 | 225 | 5 | 18 | 34 | 1 | 0.218 | -10.47 |
| 35 | 21 | Josmil Pinto | C | 57 | 197 | 169 | 7 | 25 | 18 | 0 | 0.219 | -10.62 |
| 36 | 39 | Nick Hundley | C | 83 | 233 | 218 | 6 | 18 | 22 | 1 | 0.243 | -10.74 |
| 37 | Carlos Corporan | C | 55 | 190 | 170 | 6 | 22 | 19 | 0 | 0.235 | -10.79 | |
| 38 | 11 | Matt Wieters | C | 26 | 112 | 104 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 0 | 0.308 | -10.85 |
| 39 | Anthony Recker | C | 58 | 189 | 174 | 7 | 18 | 27 | 1 | 0.201 | -10.96 | |
| 40 | 32 | Hank Conger | C | 80 | 260 | 231 | 4 | 24 | 25 | 0 | 0.221 | -11.34 |
| 41 | Francisco Cervelli | C | 49 | 162 | 146 | 2 | 18 | 13 | 1 | 0.301 | -11.36 | |
| 42 | Andrew Susac | C | 35 | 95 | 88 | 3 | 13 | 19 | 0 | 0.273 | -12.24 | |
| 43 | 38 | Martin Maldonado | C | 52 | 126 | 111 | 4 | 14 | 16 | 0 | 0.234 | -13.11 |
| 44 | Christian Vazquez | C | 55 | 201 | 175 | 1 | 15 | 20 | 0 | 0.240 | -13.61 | |
| 45 | David Ross | C | 50 | 171 | 152 | 7 | 16 | 15 | 0 | 0.184 | -13.80 | |
| 46 | Erik Kratz | C | 47 | 115 | 110 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 0.218 | -13.99 | |
| 47 | Hector Sanchez | C | 66 | 177 | 163 | 3 | 8 | 28 | 0 | 0.196 | -14.45 | |
| 48 | Jose Lobaton | C | 66 | 230 | 214 | 2 | 18 | 12 | 0 | 0.234 | -14.49 | |
| 49 | 24 | A.J. Ellis | C | 93 | 347 | 283 | 3 | 21 | 25 | 0 | 0.191 | -14.70 |
| 50 | Chris Stewart | C | 49 | 154 | 136 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 0.294 | -14.84 | |
| 51 | Bryan Holaday | C | 62 | 171 | 156 | 0 | 14 | 15 | 1 | 0.231 | -14.88 | |
| 52 | Jordan Pacheco | C | 69 | 165 | 153 | 0 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 0.255 | -14.92 | |
| 53 | Chris Gimenez | C | 42 | 128 | 116 | 0 | 13 | 11 | 0 | 0.241 | -15.41 | |
| 54 | JR Murphy | C | 32 | 85 | 81 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0.284 | -15.52 | |
| 55 | Tony Sanchez | C | 26 | 80 | 75 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0.267 | -15.58 | |
| 56 | Drew Butera | C | 61 | 192 | 170 | 3 | 16 | 14 | 0 | 0.188 | -15.60 | |
| 57 | 30 | Geovany Soto | C | 24 | 87 | 80 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 0.250 | -15.62 |
| 58 | Tony Cruz | C | 50 | 150 | 135 | 1 | 11 | 17 | 0 | 0.200 | -15.81 | |
| 59 | Wil Nieves | C | 36 | 128 | 122 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0.254 | -15.85 | |
| 60 | Roberto Perez | C | 29 | 95 | 85 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0.271 | -15.99 | |
| 61 | Josh Thole | C | 57 | 150 | 133 | 0 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 0.248 | -16.33 | |
| 62 | Adrian Nieto | C | 48 | 118 | 106 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0.236 | -16.33 | |
| 63 | Eric Fryer | C | 28 | 81 | 75 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0.213 | -16.34 | |
| 64 | Christian Bethancourt | C | 31 | 117 | 113 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 0.248 | -16.39 | |
| 65 | 28 | Josh Phegley | C | 11 | 38 | 37 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0.216 | -16.41 |
| 66 | 40 | George Kottaras | C | 18 | 38 | 30 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0.233 | -16.53 |
| 67 | Tomas Telis | C | 18 | 71 | 68 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 0.250 | -16.61 | |
| 68 | Jeff Mathis | C | 64 | 195 | 175 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0.200 | -16.66 | |
| 69 | John Buck | C | 32 | 97 | 89 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0.225 | -16.77 | |
| 70 | J.T. Realmuto | C | 11 | 30 | 29 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0.241 | -16.92 | |
| 71 | Steve Clevenger | C | 35 | 97 | 89 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0.225 | -17.00 | |
| 72 | Gerald Laird | C | 53 | 167 | 152 | 0 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 0.204 | -17.23 | |
| 73 | Tuffy Gosewisch | C | 41 | 132 | 129 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0.225 | -17.55 | |
| 74 | Max Stassi | C | 7 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0.350 | -17.56 | |
| 75 | John Baker | C | 68 | 208 | 182 | 0 | 9 | 15 | 0 | 0.192 | -17.90 | |
| 76 | Jackson Williams | C | 7 | 16 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0.214 | -18.08 | |
| 77 | Miguel Olivo | C | 8 | 25 | 23 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0.217 | -18.13 | |
| 78 | Jesus Sucre | C | 21 | 64 | 61 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0.213 | -18.13 | |
| 79 | Curt Casali | C | 30 | 84 | 72 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0.167 | -18.19 | |
| 80 | James McCann | C | 9 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.250 | -18.34 | |
| 81 | Cameron Rupp | C | 18 | 64 | 60 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0.183 | -18.36 | |
| 82 | Taylor Teagarden | C | 9 | 30 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0.143 | -18.37 | |
| 83 | Sandy Leon | C | 20 | 70 | 64 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.156 | -18.37 | |
| 84 | Austin Romine | C | 7 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.231 | -18.52 | |
| 85 | Koyie Hill | C | 10 | 22 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.238 | -18.55 | |
| 86 | Daniel Butler | C | 7 | 20 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.211 | -18.68 | |
| 87 | Adam Moore | C | 9 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.200 | -18.75 | |
| 88 | Tucker Barnhart | C | 21 | 60 | 54 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.185 | -18.85 | |
| 89 | Juan Centeno | C | 10 | 33 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.200 | -18.89 | |
| 90 | Humberto Quintero | C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | -18.91 | |
| 91 | Matt Pagnozzi | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | -18.95 | |
| 92 | Francisco Pena | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | -18.95 | |
| 93 | Bobby Wilson | C | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.250 | -18.97 | |
| 94 | Rafael Lopez | C | 7 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.182 | -19.00 | |
| 95 | Guillermo Quiroz | C | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | -19.13 | |
| 96 | Ali Solis | C | 8 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | -19.15 | |
| 97 | Eli Whiteside | C | 8 | 26 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.120 | -19.17 | |
| 98 | Brett Hayes | C | 27 | 53 | 52 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0.135 | -19.24 | |
| 99 | Tim Federowicz | C | 23 | 78 | 71 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0.113 | -19.85 | |
| 100 | Jose Molina | C | 80 | 247 | 225 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 0.178 | -20.23 |
Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.
Seems pretty normal, with two of the only four double-digit earners coming out of the double-digit pre-season round picks, and and only six of the top 18 EOS earners coming from the top-10 pre-season picks. Catchers, even in two-C leagues, are a lottery with a limited payout, to boot. (Note, this is not at all slamming on FG’s pre-season picks… this happens everywhere, including for sure myself when I thought I could know which catchers were actually worth big bucks.)
I just don’t get, even in 2C leagues, paying big for them, as you just never know who will make it worth it given all the extra issues attached to those playing that position (time off, injury risk, lineup position, etc.).
In 1 catcher the leagues the pool is deep enough where you can wait longer on a catcher, but there will always be that point where the reward outweighs the risk.
For two catchers leagues I like to compare them to running backs in football. Almost everyone drafts running backs before quarterbacks, but running backs are so much more risky and score less points than quarterbacks. Not a perfect comparison but close enough.
The biggest difference (IMO) is running backs tend to have a much bigger reward than a catcher. Though one could argue RBs also have bigger risk than a catcher. (Part of why RBs are drafted so high is that going all late is very risky due to skill dropoff + injuries, while QBs past the first round ones can be much more easily replaced)