Catcher Tiers Update: September 2013
Well, here it is — the final look at the catcher tiers for the season. There really isn’t a whole lot of movement save for some injuries and changes of scenery, but let’s take a look and see…
| Trinidad Moruga Scorpion |
| Buster Posey |
| Yadier Molina |
| Joe Mauer |
Sure, Mauer is dealing with a concussion and Posey has a finger issue, but both still remain at the top of the food chain here, so to speak. Mauer is a bit of a concern given his injury history and he hasn’t played in 15 games, but he’s just begun some baseball activities and is looking to come back soon despite the Twins lack of playoff hopes. Molina has also had his fair share of dings and dents, but he’s been toughing it out in the lineup still.
| Naga Viper Pepper |
| Brian McCann |
| Jonathan Lucroy |
| Carlos Santana |
| Wilin Rosario |
While McCann may get some extra rest between now and the playoffs, everyone in this tier has remained quite consistent. Lucroy and Rosario have both been getting some starts at first base so potentially adding extra position eligibility is always a bonus.
| Red Savina Habanero |
| Matt Wieters |
| Victor Martinez |
| Salvador Perez |
| A.J. Pierzynski |
| Mike Napoli |
| Jason Castro |
Castro takes a drop within the tier due to the knee issues he’s dealing with and the cyst he has on his right knee could take a little longer to heal that fantasy owners are hoping. Napoli drops down the full tier though due to a weak month of August (he hit just .208) and the fact that he’s likely to be out of the lineup a little more often as the month progresses and the Sox want to save him for the playoffs. He also gets bumped for the lack of consistency that those in his former tier have shown.
| Scotch Bonnet |
| J.P. Arencibia |
| Russell Martin |
| Wilson Ramos |
| Carlos Ruiz |
| Miguel Montero |
| Ryan Doumit |
| Jarrod Saltalamacchia |
| Evan Gattis |
It’s the rise of Carlos Ruiz finally, as his four home runs for the month of August quadrupled his total output for the year. Everyone else , pretty much, stays the same.
| Piri Piri |
| Alex Avila |
| A.J. Ellis |
| Welington Castillo |
| Devin Mesoraco |
| Dioner Navarro |
| Nick Hundley |
| Travis d’Arnaud |
The bottom three in this tier have all been bumped up thanks to increased playing time and some improved performance. Nothing outlandish, but enough to separate themselves a little from the tier below.
| Serrano |
| Josh Phegley |
| John Buck |
| Kurt Suzuki |
| Chris Iannetta |
| Hank Conger |
| Yan Gomes |
Gomes sees a bump in tier with increase playing time as Santana has been more of a DH lately and Suzuki sees a little bump here as his level of play has increased with his return to Oakland.
| Jalapeno |
| Carlos Corporan |
| Martin Maldonado |
| Chris Herrmann |
| Mike Zunino |
| Jose Lobaton |
| Wil Nieves |
| Henry Blanco |
| Rob Brantly |
| Ryan Hanigan |
| Jose Molina |
| David Ross |
| Steve Vogt |
| Derek Norris |
| Chris Stewart |
Nothing dazzling here. Even though Herrmann has seen an increase in playing time due to the Mauer concussion, he hasn;t produced anything that makes you want to rush out and grab him for your starting lineup. Ross does see a bump in tier for the increased playing time that he’s been seeing lately. And welcome to the table, Mr. Vogt.
| Pimento |
| John Jaso |
| Jeff Mathis |
| Jordan Pacheco |
| Taylor Teagarden |
| Ryan Lavarnway |
| Josh Thole |
| Austin Romine |
A drop for Jaso due to the injury, but everyone else remains right where they were last month.
| Bell |
| Ramon Hernandez |
| Michael McKenry |
| Tyler Flowers |
| Yasmani Grandal |
| Jesus Montero |
| Kelly Shoppach |
| Francisco Cervelli |
Flowers drops down and joins the triage unit down here now that surgery is impending.
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
Yan Gomes needs to move up a couple tiers if he’s going to be continuing to get every day Ab’s.
Also Gattis is pretty high wasn’t he sent to the minors recently
no, he was injured. oblique, I believe
They sent him down to get more consistent at bats but then Schafer got hurt so they brought him right back up.
I know this is fantasy baseball, but as to this comment, We might be looking at an elite starting catcher in Yan Gomes. 2.8 WAR in 68 games. Still potential for progression as well. If he’s a 4.5 win catcher he’s fringe Posey/Mauer territory. Also no way they take him out of the lineup right now.