Catcher Tier Rankings Update — August 2012
Not sure if the other writers are updating the tiers for their positions, but there seems to be enough significant movement among the catchers, that I though a post with an updated set of tiers was worthwhile. Taking into consideration past performance, ROS expectations and even a bit of keeper value, here’s a look at how the catching tiers look for the month of August and possibly even the remainder of the season.
| U.S. Prime |
| Buster Posey |
If there was any doubt about ranking Posey up here by himself last month, the fact that he’s batting .458 with seven home runs and 27 RBI since the All Star break should put that to rest, right?
| U.S. Choice |
| Yadier Molina |
| Joe Mauer |
| Miguel Montero |
| Brian McCann |
| A.J. Pierzynski |
| Jarrod Saltalamacchia |
| Carlos Santana |
The fact that Pierzynski hasn’t faded here in the second half is extremely impressive, especially for a 35-year old backstop with so much mileage on him. He’s definitely earned the right to be up in this tier for the 2012 season. Santana moves up because he’s turning it up here at the end just as he did last year when his 12 home runs over the final two months turned so many heads.
| U.S. Select |
| Mike Napoli |
| Matt Wieters |
| Jesus Montero |
| Carlos Ruiz |
Napoli drops another tier as his average remains under .230, but the power, walk rate and OBP keep him from falling too far. Wieters also drops as his overall performance remains stagnant rather than improves. And, of course, Ruiz drops with the plantar fascitis and the uncertainty of his ability to come back at all this season.
| U.S. Standard |
| Ryan Doumit |
| Salvador Perez |
| Jonathan Lucroy |
| Wilin Rosario |
| A.J. Ellis |
Lucroy makes a jump into this tier based mostly on his expected performance the rest of the way while the rest stay in the same tier as last month, but they shuffle around based on performance.
| U.S. Commerical |
| Yasmani Grandal |
| Alex Avila |
| Kurt Suzuki |
| J.P. Arencibia |
Suzuki makes the jump with the trade to Washington and some expected increased plying time. Avila drops due to a lackluster performance while Grandal stays right where he’s at until we see how he comes back from the oblique injury. Arencibia drops with the rest of his season in doubt.
| U.S. Utility |
| Josh Thole |
| Steve Clevenger |
| John Buck |
| Michael McKenry |
| Russell Martin |
| Tyler Flowers |
| Geovany Soto |
| Jesus Flores |
| Chris Iannetta |
Clevenger and McKenry debut here with the potential to move up a tier next month, while Soto and Flores drop with playing time questions moving forward.
| U.S. Cutter |
| Ryan Hanigan |
| Miguel Olivo |
| John Jaso |
| Wellington Castillo |
| Rod Barajas |
| Chris Snyder |
| Jeff Mathis |
| Ramon Hernandez |
| Devin Mesoraco |
Some overall disappointments here and barely worth the start in a deep two-catcher league even. Castillo has potential to move up if the Cubs are committed to him long term, but we won;t know about that until later on down the road.
| U.S. Canner |
| Yorvit Torrealba |
| Nick Hundley |
| Wilson Ramos |
Ewww!
Howard Bender has been covering fantasy sports for over 10 years on a variety of websites. In addition to his work here, you can also find him at his site, RotobuzzGuy.com, Fantasy Alarm, RotoWire and Mock Draft Central. Follow him on Twitter at @rotobuzzguy or for more direct questions or comments, email him at rotobuzzguy@gmail.com
Doumit continues to be undervalued.
Agreed, especially since his health concerns should be alleviated by his primary role as a DH.
He should be tier 2, IMO. 7th or 8th best catcher in fantasy this season.
Keeper value is the only reason I could see him dropping a bit.
Since Doumit is one of the worst defensively, I can understand his placement at…wait…U.S. Standard? And you say he’s undervalued? You think he’s one of the top five catchers in the game? Stop baseballin’ for your own good.
Um, defense is not really applicable in fantasy rankings… and who claimed he was a top 5? Anyone? He’s ranked 9th here. You see, in math, there’s a few numbers between 9th and 5th. And since I’m running away with my fantasy league this season, I think I’ll continue to keep “baseballin’ for my own good,” thanks.
Napoli is 9th, Doumit is 13th. Tier 2 has him ranked between 2nd and 8th best. Doumit doesn’t really have the upside/proven history of anyone in that tier.