Archive for Catchers

The 2013 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. This week focuses on catchers.

The players were ranked based on their 2013 production, using the evaluation system explained and updated on this site some time ago. To keep things manageable and avoid skewing the numbers, players were only considered if they amassed 400 plate appearances over the course of the year. The replacement level was also adjusted to account for players eligible at multiples positions. The valuations are built for $260 budgets and traditional 5×5 roto fantasy leagues, where only one catcher is started.

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. So, a player who missed time due to injury but put up great numbers during his time on the field would be worth less.

With all this in mind, here are your rankings. Read the rest of this entry »

Positional flexibility is always something coveted on fantasy rosters. Players such as Matt Carpenter help optimize roster construction because owners have the opportunity to utilize him where it best benefits his or her team, as Carpenter can be slotted in at first base, second base, third base or even the outfield.

That’s why I find it rather interesting that six of the top eight fantasy catchers also have first base eligibility. Guys like Jonathan Lucroy and Joe Mauer have recently gained the distinction, while Carlos Santana and Victor Martinez serve as examples of catchers who have long carried dual citizenship.

Although I immediately worked under the assumption that having catcher and first base eligibility would be highly beneficial next season, it recently occurred to me to ask whether that even matters. Would an owner willfully hold two catchers on their roster — such as Wilin Rosario and Mike Napoli — with the designs of playing both on an everyday basis while punting the first base position?

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If you’re in a league that allows daily roster adjustments, whether it’s head to head or roto, then streaming is probably what you’re all about here at the end. With four more days of games, every little bit helps and picking up the right player could mean the difference between a win and a “if only I had another week to play.” While Mike Podhorzer covers the recommended streamer candidates for pitchers over the next two days, I’ll throw you a few hitters who could give you that one final push. Some may be available, some might not, but all are swinging a hot bat right now and if you can use them…use them. Read the rest of this entry »

Heading into this season, Salvador Perez was a trendy pick for those who were diligent with their homework. He wasn’t exactly considered mainstream, but he also wasn’t considered a hidden gem or sleeper either. The now 23-year old Kansas City backstop was somewhere right in the middle. His somewhat impressive 39-game cup of coffee in 2011 helped put him on the map but a knee injury in the spring of 2012 took him right off as he missed the entire first half. But many still kept tabs on him and when he returned to the field in July of 2012, he put on a second-half display that immediately recaptured the attention of those fantasy owners still cultivating their teams. Now, during a season where some would call Perez’ overall performance a disappointment, he is finishing the year on an extremely high note and salvaging what many thought was lost. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week when I published the September Catcher Rankings, there were a few people who questioned the ranking of Colorado Rockies backstop Wilin Rosario, who was sitting fourth in the second tier. The first to question Rosario’s ranking was Cuck City who threw a little sarcasm my way and said, “Lets just ignore that Rosario outperforms tier1 in everything but AVG,” which was quickly followed up with another splash of the tongue-in-cheek from manjun who noted the catcher’s .290 batting average. And so when Check YoSelf asked, “…what’s the deal…?” I decided to actually check myself and look into Rosario a little deeper and see if these readers were right. Is Rosario the top catcher in fantasy baseball? Read the rest of this entry »

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… Read the rest of this entry »

Few players have exceeded expectations more than Jonathan Lucroy. At age-24, Lucroy was forced into a full-time role with the Milwaukee Brewers. It showed, as Lucroy’s posted a .282 wOBA. Things improved slightly in year-two, but it was starting to look like Lucroy was a stop-gap defensive catcher. But something changed in 2012. Lucroy exploded out of the gate, hitting .320/.368/.513 before a broken hand prematurely ended his season. While there were some questions about Lucroy’s ability to continue playing at that level, he’s quieted the doubters this season. He’s managed to turn himself into one of the best all-around catchers in the game.

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One of the biggest concerns at this time of year is whether or not your guy is going to play the same amount in September as he did during the previous five months of the season. Young pitchers deal with innings caps which cuts down on the number of starts while veterans on non-playoff teams run the risk of losing at-bats to the September call-ups. Given the fact that squatting behind the plate is the most physically taxing position, your catchers are no different. After five months of work behind the dish, some are, much to the chagrin of fantasy owners, in need of some time off whether they’re playoff-bound or not. Here are a few backstops who could see fewer at-bats in September… Read the rest of this entry »

Joe Mauer just hit the 7-day concussion DL, joining the likes of Alex Avila, John Jaso, Miguel Montero, and even Carlos Corporan as the list of injured catchers grows in seemingly exponential fashion. With a little more than a month to go in roto league and the playoffs coming in head to head play, you’re going to need to start filling in the blanks on your roster in order to press ahead and try to win your league. There’s probably not a whole heck of a lot left sitting on your waiver wire and what’s there probably doesn’t conjure up images of champagne corks popping and ticker-tape parades. But you need to make a move. You can’t go without a catcher even though the improvement you get might not be all that much. But at this point in time, something is better than nothing, so here are a few names to consider… Read the rest of this entry »

Ever since the Mets acquired top catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud this offseason from the Blue Jays in exchange for R.A. Dickey, fantasy owners and fans alike have been counting down the days until his arrival. That day finally came on Saturday when incumbent John Buck left the team for a couple of games on paternity leave. The question now is two-fold: does d’Arnaud stay up when Buck returns and become the regular catcher for the rest of the season, and, if so, how will he perform?

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