Surviving the V-Mart Injury

by
June 29, 2010

As if the Red Sox didn’t have enough injury issues with Josh Beckett, Dustin Pedroia, and basically their entire outfield on the disabled list, they lost Victor Martinez to a fractured thumb over the weekend. A top tier fantasy catcher is impossible to replace, so hopefully he’ll be back after the required 15 days and all you V-Mart owners won’t have to suffer too long.

In the meantime, here’s a few backstops you can find on the waiver wire to help keep your head above water, starting with Martinez’s replacement…

Jason Varitek | Red Sox | 6% owned

Varitek has a very strange stat line this season. He has only 23 hits in 98 PA (.258 AVG), but he’s got seven homers and a .303 ISO. Those seven bombs come with only 14 RBI too. Yeah, it’s just small sample size noise, but it’s still kinda funny. (R) ZiPS projects a .227 AVG with a .178 ISO, and realistically that’s about the best you can hope for out of Varitek for the next two weeks or so.

Ronny Paulino | Marlins | 16%

Very quietly, Paulino has posted a respectable .343 wOBA this season, though he’s hit .322/.373/.435 in his last 126 plate appearances. He’s an absolute horse behind the dish, perhaps to the point that you have to worry about him turning into a pumpkin in the second half. Paulino’s started the team’s last 19 (!!!) games, though he did have the benefit of three off days during that stretch. (R) ZiPS sees a regression back to .274/.332/.397 the rest of the way, but at least he won’t kill you in AVG during V-Mart’s absence.

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John Jaso | Rays | 6%

Tampa has been platooning Jaso with Kelly Shoppach ever since they decided to send Dioner Navarro to the minors, and six of Tampa’s next seven games come against righthanded pitchers. Jaso is a must own in OBP leagues (.398 OBP), but his .271 AVG and 25 RBI still have value elsewhere. I’m a sucker for guys who walk more than they strikeout, though (R) ZiPS seems him falling to .269/.354/.368 the rest of the way.

Ownership rates based on Yahoo! leagues.





 

Mike writes about the Yankees at River Ave. Blues and baseball in general at CBS Sports.

8 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
MikeM
16 years ago

Thanks for the advice. How about “Surviving the Troy Tulowitski Injury” next? Yes, I have both of them on my team. Teixeira, Tulo, V-Mart were my first 3 picks. Needless to say, I am not loving life right now.

-1
Mike AxisaMember since 2020
16 years ago
Reply to  MikeM

Already covered that, but it’s over a week old…

http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/index.php/the-tulowitzki-injury/

0
Sean
16 years ago

I never understood why writers/experts never suggest to grab the platoon guy as well as his real life caddy. Sure, Jaso and his .303/.425/.429 line are nice, but you are only getting that line about 70% of the time. What happens when a righty is on the mound? You get nothing whether Jaso is in the lineup or not (.541 OPS career vs lefties). Why not grab Shoppach too? Maddon has stuck pretty close to a strict platoon so it’s easy to know which one will start. Combine them and on paper you get roughly a .296/.408/.468 line. Not too shabby, and all it will cost you is an extra roster spot.

0
ddriver80
16 years ago
Reply to  Sean

Actually, its quite commonly mentioned. Its called grabbing a handcuff.

Happens mostly with power position players though, RF, 3B, 1B

0
Sean
16 years ago
Reply to  Sean

“What happens when a righty is on the mound. You get nothing whether Jaso is in the lineup or not.”

I meant lefty.

0
Avi
16 years ago

Of course if Carlos Santana is available…. 😀

1
jay
16 years ago

Would any of you trade andrew bailey for carlos santana in a 5X5 roto league???

my keepers are braun, arod, utley, lincecum, halladay and hanley…
(ya i know… i have built up these guys over the last several years)

we have 5 rp and p spots and i have valverde, wilson, axford, gregg, and bailey

would you make this deal if your currrent backstop is paulino?

0
Marc
16 years ago

Advice needed. Buster Posey or Carlos Santana? Running with a standard scoring system.

0