Rankings Update: Catcher
A little later in the day than you’re used to, but it will be worth the wait. I promise.
My Hero
Carlos Santana
That’s right. Santana has been tremendous, and while our sample size is small, I have no worries about his ability to keep it up. I’d like the K-rate to drop a couple percent, but I suppose we can live for only league average in one category. Personally, I am going to love paring him with Pujols in my keeper league.
Big Three
Joe Mauer
Victor Martinez
Brian McCann
Victor’s injury hampers his value, so he slides to number three.
Power. So Much Power
Miguel Olivo
Mike Napoli
John Buck
I’ve given up on trying to predict a batting average drop for John Buck. He had a BABIP below .300 in June, yet hit .270. Looks like he’s for real, and I’m buying in.
Happy to Have
Kurt Suzuki
Jorge Posada
Miguel Montero
Buster Posey
Geovany Soto
Montero may have a small sample, but it’s a great one. He’s hitting over 30% line drives, and has cut his K-rate while raising his BB-rate. He’s not going to hit .394 all year (.441 BABIP), but his line will be better than it was last year.
I am Jack’s Catcher
Ryan Doumit
Matt Wieters
John Jaso
Rod Barajas
Ivan Rodriguez
Ronny Paulino
Jack isn’t very picky when it comes to his catchers. Jaso was getting calls to move up, but as our sample grew we learned more and more, and my expectations didn’t really change.
The Rest of ‘Em
Bengie Molina
Russell Martin
Carlos Ruiz
Nick Hundley
Yadier Molina
Jason Kendall
A.J. Pierzynski
Bengie’s arrival in Texas should help his numbers a bit, so don’t be afraid to give him a shot. I considered Jason Castro, but I don’t see him doing much this year. He’s a better option in NL-only keeper leagues, but that’s the only place I’d give him a shot.
Zach is the creator and co-author of RotoGraphs' Roto Riteup series, and RotoGraphs' second-longest tenured writer. You can follow him on twitter.
Who do you like better in a keeper league? Matt Wieters or Buster Posey? I had Posey through his hot streak and then dropped him for Wieters about a week ago…
Still think Wieters has more overall upside. But, if giving up certain rounds draft picks (as it likely does), Posey may end up being the better value.
Pick up J.P. Arencibia for keeper leagues if you can. He’s probably coming up for september, and is absolutely raking in AAA with high power, average ans is seriously improving his OBP
I think Wieters really heats up in the second half. Just a hunch, though. He’s having much better at-bats recently. Early in the year, he looked like he was kind of just feeling for the ball, whereas now, he seems much quicker to the ball and much more authoritative with his swing. He’s also logged a heavy duty as a second-year player managing a pretty crappy pitching staff, so most of his preparation has probably gone to his catching duties, so that could be a reason for his poor numbers in the first half.
Luke, this might be true. I lost patience in my keeper league with him. Also keep in mind that the Orioles line-up is about to get worse with their usual summer house cleaning.
Now that Kelly Shoppach is healthy and platooning with Jaso, I think Jaso drops from his spot… that is, if there were any quality backstops below him. Jaso will probably only see time against righties. Jaso was probably another instance of Maddon riding a hot bat while it lasts.
Just something to consider going forward for Jaso owners (particularly those in playoff leagues.)
Wow I’d be really surprised if Montero is the 10th best fantasy catcher gong forward.
I agree. He’ll hit much better than that.
Buck higher than Montero is really just silly… and I see Montero as top 5 catcher ROS, its hard not to
Yeah IMO Montero warrants just as much love going forward as Carlos Santana. Carlos may give you a couple steals that Montero won’t, but average and power should be very close while Montero is in a better lineup so Runs and RBI’s will be easier to come by.
Any input on Lucroy? Especially in a keeper league?
In Milwaukee, we’re real excited about the possibility of having a home grown catcher that is very good defensively and league average offensively. Depending on how deep your league is, you might temper your enthusiasm.
I love Santana as your #1 pick. I had a chance at either Posey or Santana a few weeks before they were brought up and i chose wisely (santana). His numbers just looked better in the minors. And now that he is up to the majors, he has performed beyond my wildest dreams. Is there any idea what Santana may be worth in next year’s draft? If i was playing in a keeper, he would be my first keep! I traded away Napoli once Santana moved up and am very happy. Before Napoli i had that chump Russell Martin and he was killing me.
The funny thing is that i had Stanton and Santana before they were called up, and i had a feeling that Santana was going to be the jewel. I play in a league with 10 categories, so BB’s and OPS count, and that is where Santana has impressed me the most. He is very patient at the plate which is why he gets so many BB’s. But that’s obviously the reason why his K rate may be a bit higher than what we would want.
I have both of McCann and Posey in a dynasty league. I want to trade one of them for other needs. Who do you think I should trade?
Carlos Santana is my hero too. I play in a league with OBP, SLG, R, RBI, SB. I like the fact that Santana is a little older and hopefully more mature, but his minor league offensive numbers were just insane. Of course I have Smoak due to his minor league numbers and that hasn’t worked out too well.
In a league with R HR RBI SB and OBP does Santana have more keeper value than Heyward?
Yes.
In my keeper league, I traded Strasburg for Santana and Heyward right after Strasburg’s second start. I already had Felix, Lester, and Haren. I happen to think this was a great call even before one factors in the higher injury risk posed by pitchers, but I’d be interested to hear the opinion of others. Anyway, Santana’s “my hero” too, and I think he’s Maueresque with better power.
I blew the Posey-Santana choice, going with Posey, but I just turned him and Jaime “Sell High” Garcia into Joe Mauer in my league with R-HR-RBI-OBP-SB-K as the hitter categories. I’m pretty pumped about it.