The 2012 Catcher keeper rankings continue here with the third tier which is filled with a little bit of hope and a whole lot of promise. How much of that promise we see…well, that’s going to be the question. In case you missed the first two tiers, here are links to Tier 1 and Tier 2 so you can see exactly where these guys here in Tier 3 rank in the grand scheme of things.
We interrupt the 2012 Catcher Keeper Rankings to answer a question from one of our readers, Buck Turgidson, who asked, “Will Jesus Montero be eligible at catcher to start next season?
Plenty of people are wondering whether or not they will get to use the New York Yankees hitting phenom at the position he played in the minor leagues or if his late season call-up that saw him DH for 14 games and work behind the plate for just 3 will lock him in as a designated hitter. For the most part, those using ESPN and Yahoo as their fantasy site will be forced to begin the season with Montero as a DH and have to wait until he logs enough games behind the dish to qualify. Those using other sites, such as CBS Sports, may have a little more flexibility depending on their Commissioner capabilities. Personally, I think ESPN and Yahoo need to loosen the reins a little and allow for exceptions such as this. I don’t see anything wrong with Montero beginning the season as a catcher and even set up something specific in the rules for just such an example.
Before we continue with the catchers today, allow me to make a correction/clarification. After much discussion behind the scenes and after some of the comments received, these rankings will be purely based on the players’ level of worth, much in the style of our regular in-season rankings. Costs to protect and relative value are up to you as there are just too many nuances and cost variations for individual leagues that we are unable to accurately factor in. That being said, please allow me to make one change to the first tier…. Read the rest of this entry »
Throughout the season, we ran a series of fantasy rankings for each position at the top of each month to help you keep track of the risers and fallers and to see who might be worth a sell high or buy-low effort. Well, this week, we are rolling out a series of Keeper Rankings for each position to help you get a leg up on the competition and begin your preparation for the 2012 season. Each author will take his assigned position and each post will be dedicated to a specific tier within that position. With that, here is the top tier for catchers in keeper leagues.
When Jonathan Lucroy singled in the 7th inning of Sunday’s NLCS to plate an insurance run for the Brewers, I couldn’t help but think about what a nice surprise he was this year and the prospects of going back after him in next year’s draft. With a .265-12-59 batting line, no one would dare protect him in a keeper league despite an obvious low cost. However, in deeper fantasy leagues or leagues that require you to start two catchers, he could end up one of those staples; a guy you quietly draft every year and get solid, not phenomenal but solid, production from without concern.
Alex Avila has been one the great surprises of 2011. Coming into 2011, his full time job as the Tiger’s catcher was in doubt after they signed Victor Martinez. Alex jumped out to a hot start and finished as one of the top catchers in the league in 2011. Looking forward to 2012, his fantasy value looks to be changing.
The catcher position, with respect to fantasy baseball has seen quite the inundation of new talent. There was a time when, if you didn’t own one of the big three — Joe Mauer, Brian McCann, Victor Martinez — it didn’t really matter who you had as your backstop. Sure, there were some that were more productive than others, but overall, there were numerous interchangeable players and whether you grabbed one in the 9th round or in the 15th round, it didn’t make much difference. Now, with blossoming stars like Carlos Santana, Buster Posey, Alex Avila, and Matt Wieters, things are looking a little different. The position is much deeper and production is on the rise. One of these rising stars, though, has an interesting future ahead of him and fantasy owners will have some tough decisions to make. What will come of Jesus Montero in 2012?
Today’s suggested Would You Rather comes via email from someone named SuicideKing and I couldn’t be happier about posting it here. Talk about throwing something right in your wheelhouse! If you’ve been reading all season, you’ll know I’ve never been shy about my dislike for drafting Joe Mauer as high as he usually goes and that I’ve been a huge Alex Avila fan all year. But this is business here, so let’s do an objective comparison and then I’ll turn it over to the rest of you for further discussion.
I’m not sure which would make for a better intro here: From Rookie of the Year, John Candy flipping out and saying how this is for all the marbles, the whole magilla, the whole enchilada, etc. or from The Waterboy, Dan Fouts adamantly repeating, “last game of the year, can’t hold anything back. Either way, I’m sure you get the gist of it. There are eight games left in the regular season and if you can grab someone now who is hotter than someone you have in your lineup, it might be time to make a change. You want to play the hot hand here and finish strong. These guys may help if you’re in an AL-only or deep mixed league… Read the rest of this entry »
As the sun begins to set on another dazzling baseball season, fantasy baseball GMs, especially keeper league owners, have been evaluating their current players in an effort to determine how right they were in drafting certain guys as well as what the prospects may be for owning them in 2012. The catcher position tends to be somewhat of an afterthought if you’re not talking about a top name like Brian McCann and Carlos Santana. But what about a guy like Mike Napoli? In case you weren’t paying attention, after a slow start to the season, Napoli put up some fantastic numbers and, frankly, commands your attention when discussing the top players at the position for this year and next.
Let’s just hit the basics, first and foremost. Fantasy baseball is a numbers game and you’re only as good as your level of production. While Napoli was used plenty as a DH this season, he played in 55 games behind the dish and therefore maintains his eligibility. Here’s a a quick look at the basic stats that are important to the fantasy game:
| 401 | PA | (19th amongst catchers) |
| .316 | AVG | (1st) |
| .411 | OBP | (1st) |
| .617 | SLG | (1st) |
| 26 | HR | (1st) |
| 68 | R | (2nd) |
| 67 | RBI | (6th) |
| 4 | SB | (T-5th) |
That’s not too shabby for a guy who was, on average taken somewhere in the 9th or 10th round of your draft. Not only do his overall numbers blow away most of the catchers in the game, but he actually outperformed numerous players at other positions that were taken ahead of him in almost every draft. If you want to talk position scarcity, then we can make a pretty good case for catchers, no? But we’ll just stick with the backstops for now.
Obviously, the thing that stands out the most is just how productive Napoli has been in the limited plate appearances he has received. It just so happened to be one of the biggest knocks on him coming into the season. Only once in his career had he topped 500 plate appearances in a season, and while he was no longer under the rule of the Jeff Mathis-loving Mike Scioscia in Anaheim, the Rangers had brought in additional help behind the plate despite trading a coveted bullpen arm for him. The playing time question was certainly an issue.
But in typical Napoli fashion, he accepted his limited playing time and still mashed the heck out of the ball, even while missing most of June with an oblique strain. It may have taken him the whole first half of the season to get things going in the batting average department, but the post-All Star break surge cannot be taken lightly, nor dismissed. While yes, his BABIP shot through the roof in the second half, you also need to take note that he also improved his walk rate dramatically while also lowering his K% to a much more respectable level. Given his BABIP totals over the last few years, you can definitely say that his .385 second half average was partially luck driven, but you can’t deny that he also worked hard to improve his plate discipline.
Napoli is arbitration eligible right now, and given what he’s done for the Rangers this season, it’s hard to believe he won’t be back in Arlington next year. Maybe they give him more work, maybe they give him the same. Either way, a backstop with a .246 career ISO mark and is capable of hitting above .270 (just to keep it low and realistic) certainly deserves consideration over some of the top, yet under-producing names out there. Yes, oft-injured Joe Mauer….I’m looking in your direction.