Giants (Finally) Call On Posey
Everyone wanted it to happen except for the Giants, or at least it seemed that way. San Francisco finally called on top prospect Buster Posey today, and will start him at first base against the Diamondbacks tonight. He’s best known as a catcher and he’d provide the most value to the team from behind the plate, but for fantasy purposes, the more first base Posey plays, the better.
It’s Fantasy 101: he has catcher eligibility but will play at least part of the time at a less demanding position, which translates not only more at-bats in general, but (theoretically) better offensive production given the decreased wear and tear. It’s a win-win.
The Florida State product simply annihilated the minors during his season-plus stint there, racking up a .333/.427/.552 batting line in 750 plate appearances, almost all of them while squatting behind the plate. Baseball America ranked Posey as the 7th best prospect in the game coming into the season, calling him “a pure hitter with terrific strike-zone awareness, and his clean, unfettered swing allows him to drive pitches from pole to pole,” though they acknowledge that power isn’t his game. It’s not hyperbole to say he has the best plate approach of anyone in the organization, big leagues included.
CHONE projects a .329 wOBA in 2010, while ZiPS pegs him for .333. Both of those obliterate the .309 wOBA starting catcher Bengie Molina has put in 40 games this year, nevermind the .308 wOBA he fashioned last season. His homerun power might be minimal at the outset considering his home park and some of the parks in the NL West, but Posey should contribute solid AVG and OBP (if your league counts that) while surely chipping in a few RBI as well.
Posey is owned in just 15% of Yahoo! leagues, and right now he’s only eligible at catcher. He’ll pick up 1B eligibility in a week or so, and while it’s not terribly important, a little flexibility never hurt anyone. If your struggling to find production from the catcher’s spot – perhaps you’re stuck with an injury fill in like Francisco Cervelli – then there’s probably no better option on the waiver wire right now.
Mike writes about the Yankees at River Ave. Blues and baseball in general at CBS Sports.
Thoughts? I’ve got Napoli right now. Should I pick up Posey now, wait for Santana’s call-up, or ride out Napoli? I need RBIs. Shallow 10-team league with 4 keepers.
I’ve been trying to trade Wieters for three weeks and have had Napoli on my bench to occasionally start for Wieters and to slot in at catcher once finding a deal for a pitcher or outfielder I liked. So upon seeing Posey called up today, I immediately dropped Napoli for Posey and am still continuing to explore Wieters trade options.
If I were you, I’d try to include Napoli in a 2-for-1 trade as soon as humanly possible. If you don’t think he has any trade value OR you can’t trade him by the time someone in your league will grab Posey off the heap, then pick up Posey as soon as humanly possible. Napoli only has another three weeks at the most until Mathis is back anyways.
Wuth Morales down, Napoli is going to play first base just like they are doing with posey. napoli can hit 30 hr with regular playing time.
Woah. Good call. Time to pick him back up!
Ride out Napoli – I’ve been sittin’ on Posey all year in a 13-team deep rotisserie, but that’s only because there’s no other options. Santana won’t be any better from a fantasy perspective than Posey, but both of them won’t put up the power numbers that Napoli will – even if The Greatest Manager In The World (TM) persists with his idiotic platoon once Mathis gets off the DL.
In an obp league, is it crazy to consider dropping Quentin for him?
My worst players are likely Contreras, Quentin, Holland, and Peavy, and I need to activate Brett Anderson yet.
I dropped Quentin 3 weeks ago. Cutting a .316 OBP in an OBP league is anything but crazy; it’s probably the sanest thing you can do.
Why not try a 2 for 1 first?
Posey likely won’t provide enough power for 12-team mixed leagues. He will probably hit above .300, but his supporting cast won’t allow him to drive in or score enough runs, most likely.
I certainly wouldn’t drop Quentin or Napoli for him, though I’ve dropped Wieters for him in one league mostly because Wieters doesn’t look like he’s breaking out anytime soon and there’s no better waiver wire option.
If you can get Montero, I’d take him over Posey.
Huh? Posey is MUCH more valuable than Quentin is. Posey is C-eligible, will be playing 1B (less stress), while OF-ers are a dime-a-dozen.
I was too slow, nonetheless. I dithered and lost.
I dropped Peavy to activate BA, Quentin to get Carlos Santana.
I don’t understand why you’d drop Wieters for Posey, but you won’t drop Quentin. Wieters is putting up better rate stats at a premium position. Posey seems like the better option, considering they play the same position, but Quentin has been dropable for almost a month now. The only thing he’s doing right is he’s walking a lot and he’s limited his k’s.
But he’s not hitting for average or power, and 14% of his battled balls have been popped up in the infield. And if you actually watch him hit, his results are even less encouraging. He seems completely lost at the plate and is incapable of hitting a breaking ball (-4.4 wSL, -0.9 wCT, 0.2 wCB) . The guy is just not worth a roster spot at this point in the season. ZiPS seems to agree with me: his updated line of .238/.335/.427 with 18 homers, 76 RBI, and 73 runs won’t help you in any format.
Who will produce more runs and rbis? Posey or Carlos Santana? I have to believe it is Posey, as SF is middle of the pack for ballpark factors and CLE is at the bottom. Plus the Indians are far worse than the Giants’ lineup. Someone needs to just put the Indians out of their misery. What prospects did they get from Cliff Lee and Sabathia trades? Is their GM incompetent?
The trades that Cleveland has made over the last couple of years have produced a top 5 farm system. Some of the prospects will work out and some won’t. But overall Cleveland is set to rebound in the next year or two as some of the following become good MLB’ers: Santana, Laporta, Knapp, Carrasco, Hagadone, Masterson, Brantley and probably a few others that I can’t remember. Hardly imcompetent imo.
I think Santana is the better keeper, by far.
“If your struggling to find production from…”
It’s “you’re.”
I drop Quentin for Posey as fast as I possibly could. Buster is one of those types where the power will come in time. His 3 hits last night all knocked in runs although they were of the “find the holes ” type singles.
I think we might see him batting second before too long, and within time he will prove to be the real deal. As with any rookie, it is imperative to temper expectations. But he could add plenty for you right now. He’s simply a natural. The days of facing Jiminez, Carpenter, Halliday, Santana will come and he’ll more than likely look bad. He’s simply a natural.
But at least he doesn’t have to face the Giant staff. That’s certainly a big plus.
Think I should drop Rod Barajas for Posey in a 10 team keeper?
In a keeper, I’d do that twice just to be safe.
You think Posey could be have Mauer-lite production? Or were his offensive numbers too inflated by the PCL?
I dropped Doumit for him, hopefully to raise my average. Posey is already 3/4 in his first game and 2/2 today.
Is there a legitimate concern that Posey gets sent back down once Renteria is off the DL? It’s hard to make sense of the roster shuffling in SF, and there’s this whole thing with Posey’s arbitration clock. He was called up a few weeks early based on that. Is being sent back down, then recalled again in the summer a possible way for SF to account for bringing him up a few weeks early against his arb clock?
I don’t exactly understand how that all works, but know that it has something to do with his time in the majors relative to other players at his position. And between Renteria coming back, Sanchez being healthy, and Burrell being signed, you have to wonder if the playing time will be there. Of course if Posey continues to rake, it has to, right?
Sabean has said in a radio interview that Posey is up ONLY because Renteria went on the DL. That makes me think, along with the Burrell signing (he homered today btw), that he won’t be up for too long.
Of course, if he’s still raking after a couple of weeks I don’t see how Sabean can send him back down. Wait… yes I can. It’s Sabean.
Desperately needed a catcher (had drafted Iannetta, oops), and was licking my chops until Posey or Santana got called up. Then I happened upon this article and my day was made. Thanks Rotographs!
PS- I’d like to echo the complaints about Quentin in an OBP league. Yuck. I still haven’t cut bait.
struggling with the decision of dropping kurt suzuki to pick up posey. both need to be owned and i want em both
I’d pick up Posey – their value should be pretty close and he’s the much sexier name of the two, so you may be able to scoop him and trade him, then go back and reclaim Suzuki off waivers afterwards. Just a thought.
I made the same call and departed with Suzuki. Hasn’t looked right for the majority of the year.
We’ll see if Posey plays against Ubaldo today. If he does, I’ll me be most curious to see if he can at least look respectable…..an 0-4 wouldn’t bother me at all