September Catchers: Finishing Strong

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.

One note of mention here is that we’re trying to offer up names that are likely to still be available on your waiver wire and getting decent playing time.  Mike Napoli is having an outstanding finish to the season, but it’s highly doubtful that you’ll be able to add him to your roster.

Batting Average

Nick Hundley, SD — The Padres backstop continues to rake and yet he is still only owned in 11.5% of ESPN leagues (17% in Yahoo).  He’s obviously playing over his head here in September with a .447 average that is being supported by a .538 BABIP.  Of course it will regress but with two weeks to go, you’re still getting substantial help right now.

Wilson Ramos, WAS — He’s been on most peoples “watch list” throughout the season, but is owned in just 1.8% of ESPN leagues (7% in Yahoo).  Currently hitting .353 with a .450 OBP supported by a .462 BABIP.  Feel free to ride this wave until the season breaks.

Salvador Perez, KC — The new kid on the block is batting .342 with a .359 OBP.  The Royals are loving him here at the end of the season and so should you.  Owned in 2% of yahoo leagues and even less in ESPN ones.

Ryan Doumit, PIT — Owned in just 2.6% of ESPN (12% Yahoo) and batting .455 in September, supported by a .538 BABIP.  He’ll also bring you a little bit of power as well.  Sharing some time with Mike McKenry and Jason Jaramillo but has the lion’s share of the playing time.

HR and RBI

Jarrod Saltalamacchia, BOS — Owned in just 8.4% of ESPN leagues and 19% in Yahoo, Salty is continuing to hit the ball with nice power.  He’s got 3 HR and 9 RBI here in September and while a .343 ISO is impossible for him to maintain, he still has a couple of weeks to try for you.

J.P. Arencibia, TOR — He’s been hitting for power all season long, but his batting average has scared enough people off that he’s still owned in less than 50% of leagues on both ESPN and Yahoo.  If you can afford the average drop over the next two weeks, JPA should add to his 3 HR, 12 RBI September total.

Willin Rosario, COL — He’s splitting some of the time with Jordan Pacheco down the stretch, but if you need a little bit of juice, then Rosario could be a solid option, not just for now, but for 2012 too if he can claim the job.  He’s got a pair of home runs in 6 games here in September and should continue to perform well down the stretch.

Honorable Mention to Hundley here as he’s got 3 HR and 5 RBI this month.

Runs

Yadier Molina, STL — The Cards are making a strong push for the wild card and are posting some quality run totals while doing so.  Molina has 9 runs scored here in September alone and he’ll be getting almost all of the work behind the plate.  While his September average is nothing special, he’s usually a strong BA guy and should carry you well to the finish line.

Throw an honorable mention to Arencibia again here with his 12 runs scored.  Gotta love the way those Blue Jays plate runs.

You’re almost at the finish line, folks.  Just have to hang on a little longer…