Mailbag: Pablo Position and Fantasy Keepers
Santa is not the only one with an overflowing mailbag this time of year. Let’s answer two questions in this version.
Question #1: JMB asks:
Do you see Pablo Sandoval gaining catcher eligibility if the Giants go with Buster Posey behind the plate? I’m in a keeper league where I traded away Sandoval last season, but I’d love to have him back if I can exploit that angle. Posey obviously can’t catch 162 games. Will the Giants go to another backup trying to protect Sandoval’s elbow, or do you see him calling some games? Thanks for your help!
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Thanks for the thoughts Mr. Joura. Our league does have some pretty low eligibility requirements (5starts or 10 appearances), but I will not be expecting Pablo to reach that.
Given the fact that last year Pablo WAS NOT the backup catcher to molina, only the emergency catcher, what in the world would make anyone think that he would play catcher in ’10 or beyond?
The thoughts was that if in fact the Giants went into the season with Posey as their catcher, those “emergency” situations might be frequent enough for Pablo to gain eligibility in certain leagues. As intriguing a play as Eli Whiteside may be, I figured the Giants might want someone with a little more upside swinging the stick. Thanks for your constructive reply though.
I know this is a late reply and don’t think anyone will read this, but I have had some thoughts about those “emergency catcher” types you talk of. I often think about those players who were a catcher at one point but now play other positions. If you had a few of these guys, and a dependable catcher (135+ games behing the plate), could you get away with having some of these emergency types on the team and not have a backup? A thought I had was if you have AJ Pierzynski, do you need a true backup, or could you have two players like Brandon Inge, Pablo Sandoval, and Josh Willingham on the roster who play elsewhere but could fill in behind the plate when needed? Just a thought.