As Eno said in his Stat Grabs piece the other day, there’s no time and probably no chance to grab a well-rounded player off your waiver wire.  We are officially at the midway point here in the final month of the season and those fighting for the title in their roto leagues or are battling in a late championship week in their head to head league are probably looking for specific category help.   Catchers aren’t usually the biggest contributors in the game, but for fantasy purposes, there are probably enough out there that are finishing strongly and can kick in a little assistance here and there.

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Only two weeks left in the regular season, this is nearly your last chance to go diving into the free agent pool and attempt to uncover some treasures.

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Let’s take a look at a pair of two young AL East players that can provide a quick boost for your team down the stretch…

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Time to re-visit those monthly rankings, again.  As always, the criteria used for these is as follows:

1.  Current performance level
2.  Expected performance for rest of season
3.  Value based on standard 5×5 categories (avg over OBP)

One note, despite the fact that it is late in the season, we are not accounting for keeper value right now.  We are staying within the parameters of this season alone.  Keeper league rankings will be done at season’s end.  Injured players remain on the list at the bottom so we can just see who was up there from start to finish.  That being said, here’s how the catching position looks right now….

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Starting this week, I’ll be looking ahead to the 2012 fantasy baseball season by highlighting the potential impact rookies at each position. Why? Because it’s never too early to begin thinking about next year, even if you’re still trying to win your league right now. And for those of you in keeper leagues, particularly deeper ones, these primers will be especially helpful, because you’ll find out which young players may be worth snatching up now — before other owners get a clue — so you can hang onto them next season, when their value kicks in. Think of it like an investment requiring only a little up-front cost that could pay off big in the near future.

Much like my Mining the Minors columns on this site, which focus on current-season impact more than long-term upside, these 2012 rookie primers are meant for players who will fulfill or are expected to fulfill their rookiedom next year. Also much like my MTM work, the point here is to find the right mix of opportunity and talent, so that you’re picking up a player who can contribute, either in a starting role or as a reserve, from Day 1 or soon thereafter. Chances are, I’ll hit on many of these same players in depth at some point in future Mining the Minors columns, but for now, it’s good to get ahead of the curve with a snapshot of the young talent at each position.

To give you a brief idea of just how this sort of thing can be worthwhile, I’m in two deep keeper leagues, one AL-only and one NL-only, and around this time last year, I picked up Mark Trumbo, Jordan Walden and Brandon Beachy. Worked out pretty well, if I do say so myself.

First up? Catchers.

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Back around the end of May, after a torrid start to the season, I posed the simple question about Tigers catcher Alex Avila — is he for real?  At the time of the piece, we looked at his .333 BABIP, his 30.0 K%, his gaudy 17.4% HR/FB and not only wondered if his .250 ISO was the real deal, but if these numbers were indicating an over-achiever who was headed for a significant drop.  Well, after watching him the rest of the way and looking at his current .304-17-65, it might finally be safe to say that he is, in fact, for real.  Now the question is, what do we do with him next season?

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Whether it’s beefing up for your head to head playoffs or just looking to boost yourself in a particular category as your roto season winds down, there are still guys out there on your waiver wire that can be of service to you if you dig deep enough.  We usually differentiate here between regular waiver wire pieces and deep league waiver wire pieces based on ownership percentages, but at this stage of the game, the depth of your league shouldn’t matter much.  If a guy can help, he can help.  Here’s two to consider…

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Last week, we were looking at catchers who were having great months in August and had the potential to help fantasy teams, if even just for a short time.  One of the names mentioned was White Sox backstop A.J. Pierzynski who was  hitting .410 for the month with one home run and six RBI.  Unfortunately though, the timing could not have been worse as Pierzynski was hit on the wrist and missed a few games before the team placed him on the 15-day DL.  His owners, and those that were about to take a chance on him, were left to sift through the waiver bin, hoping to land someone that could carry them through.  But why search other teams hoping that their starters were somehow still available, when you could just as easily fix the problem “in-house”?  It’s time for Tyler Flowers. Read the rest of this entry »

The Red Sox are already one of the three best teams in baseball and arguably have the best offense in the land. They possess the highest team batting WAR and the second highest wOBA in baseball. Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and Adrian Gonzalez are all MVP candidates. David Ortiz and his team leading .404 wOBA is almost an afterthought. So is always exceptional Kevin Youkilis. Well, Ortiz and Youkilis are injured, leaving a void in the lineup. What do the Red Sox do to fill it? They call up one of the hottest hitters in all of the minor leagues, naturally.

Much has been made of the season Ryan Lavarnway is having. He hit well in Double-A putting up an .869 OPS in 239 plate appearances, but he’s really shined in his stint in Triple-A. With Pawtucket he’s put up a line of .301/.385/.608 with 16 home runs and a .306 ISO in 239 plate appearances. He’s always hit for power, smacking 21 homers in 2009 and 25 in 2010. Lavarnway’s numbers are even more impressive when you consider that Pawtucket is in the International League, which isn’t the hitter’s haven the Pacfic Coast League is. League average in the IL is .260/.330/.401, which pity in comparison to Lavarnway.

The biggest struggle for him has been getting comfortable at catcher. He played more games at DH than catcher at Double-A, but has reverted back to his backstop ways at Triple-A, presumably so the Red Sox can get him ready for 2012 if Jason Varitek isn’t retained. He won’t play much, if any, catcher while up with the big league club, sticking to DH duties while Ortiz is out. There’s no exact time table for Ortiz’s return from right heel bursitis but it seems likely he’ll be out at least a week, maybe two, which gives Lavarnway time to showcase his talents for a possible place on the postseason roster. Rosters expand in the next few weeks so it’s likely that Lavarnway remains with the Red Sox for the rest of the season, though his at bats will be limited if Ortiz comes back healthy.

He started last night’s game and batted seventh. He’s bound to receive many opportunities to pick up RBI no matter where he bats in the Red Sox order. He’s a solid pickup in deep A.L. only leagues and is a good candidate to stash away in keeper leagues due to his power from the feeble catcher position.

At this point in the season, roto players are scratching and clawing through their categories looking primarily at the ones that have some shred of movement possibilities.  Head to head owners are gearing up for their fantasy playoffs as their regular season is almost at a close.  Whichever style league you find yourself in, it’s time to start focusing on the hitters that are swinging a hot bat right now, despite their overall value.  The catching position is perfect for this.  If you’re not sitting on one of the top five backstops out there, then chances are, the players you are using are relatively interchangeable with those that are sitting out on your waiver wire.  So why not use the one with the hottest stick right now?  If he starts to cool, you can probably find an easy replacement who is on the upswing for the final month then.  Here’s a look at some of August’s hot bats behind the plate that may be useful at the moment. Read the rest of this entry »