Bidding for Pierzynski

Catcher A.J. Pierzynski will enter his free agent walk year in 2010 as one of the Top 10 catchers in fantasy baseball. The soon-to-be 33-year-old backstop had a solid offensive season in ’09 by hitting .300/.331/.425 in 504 at-bats. One of the nice things about Pierzynski is his reliability, which is something you do not often get from catchers in fantasy baseball. He’s appeared in 130+ games in seven of the last eight seasons and he’s hit at least 11 homers in each season during that time frame, save for 2002 when he managed just six. He also made contact 8% more often than the league average last season.

On the negative side of Pierzynski, he does not drive in many runs with fewer than 70 RBIs in each of the past five seasons, bottoming out at just 49 in ’09. As well, he won’t help you if your league rewards players for walks (24 in ’09) or on-base percentage (He’s been below .320 in two of the past three seasons).

The biggest threat to Pierzynski is not injury; it is Tyler Flowers. The youngster is one of the club’s top prospects and he just happens to be a catcher. Like Pierzynski, Flowers is an offensive-minded catcher, who hit .286/.364/.438 in 105 triple-A at-bats before receiving a cup of coffee in the Majors with 16 big-league at-bats. Earlier in the season, Flowers hit .302/.445/.548 in 248 at-bats. His 18.7% walk rate and .246 ISO were encouraging numbers and neither was out of line with what he’s produced in the past. Flowers, who was obtained from Atlanta in the Javier Vazquez deal, needs to trim his strikeout rates (30.6% in double-A) if he’s going to hit for average in the Majors.

Is probably safe to assume Pierzynski will be gone from Chicago in 2011, if he wants a guaranteed full-time job. Flowers is one of those prospects that you make room for… surely even Kenny Williams can realize that. For 2010, Pierzynski should continue to gain plenty of playing time with Cole Armstrong as the only other catcher currently on the 40-man roster. Flowers should see significant time behind the dish in triple-A unless Pierzynski is injured or the White Sox tank and the veteran is flipped at the trading deadline.

It’s an interesting situation in Chicago because Pierzynski should remain a solid fantasy player in 2010, while Flowers is one of best fantasy catching prospects in the game. If you have a keeper league squad, snap him up for 2011. If you’re looking for a solid, reliable offensive catcher for 2010 in regular leagues, and don’t want to waste a premium pick on a catcher, consider Pierzynski.