As we settle in here for the mid-summer classic, it’s a good time to take a look back at some of the biggest surprises of the first half with respect to the catching position and what you might expect moving forward. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s time again to re-visit the catcher tiers as the calendar flips to July. I’ve taken both current and expected performance into account, some thoughts and expectations of my own and a few comments from you, my very own Peanut Gallery. Things are looking a little different than they did back in June, so without further ado… Read the rest of this entry »
Even though the positional rankings aren;t being updated monthly, the tiers are, so let’s take a look at some of the movement amongst the catchers. We saw a few things happen with the May tiers but I held back any extreme movement because of sample sizes and questions surrounding performance sustainability. This month, guys are moving… Read the rest of this entry »
The release of the monthly positional rankings and subsequent position tiers always spurs a lot of discussion here on the site. Some people like them, some people hate them and some people just have questions as to why they are the way they are. So while Eno and the boys get ready to compile the rankings for the month of June, I figured I’d open up the catchers discussion early and see if we can’t help influence some of the decisions. Read the rest of this entry »
Back in early April, we took a look at a few catcher prospects that you should have had on your radar, both as long-term keeper prospects and potential 2012 call-ups in case something went awry on the major league level. We’re a little more than a month past that first look and while none of them have set foot in the big leagues just yet, different aspects of their situations have changed and a re-visit seemed like a good idea. Are they any closer to a shot in the majors, and if so, how long before we see them? Read the rest of this entry »
In contrast to what we did last season, this year we’re doing monthly updates for our positional rankings as laid out by Eno Sarris and his minions. In addition to that, we’re doing our monthly positional tier updates as well which should aid you in your waiver pick-ups and trade negotiations when you’re comparing values. The rankings can be found over here and below is how I see them by tier… Read the rest of this entry »
With just about 10 games into the season and no one amassing more than 40 plate appearances, the Small Sample Size Police are in full force right now. Hot starts, cold starts, nothing matters to these brazen fantasy owners who dismiss such meaningless statistics at this time of year. But that doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t have a little fun and appreciate the good fortune bestowed upon us by the fantasy gods as our catchers come flying out of the gate, white-hot, and throw us some always helpful power stats. I mean, would you rather be sitting there lamenting Russell Martin’s ice cold start and wonder if his batting average will actually be worse than 2011’s .237 mark or give in to your child-like giddiness over the fact that Alex Avila has picked right up where he left off last season? Yeah, that’s what I thought… Read the rest of this entry »
As beloved editor/writer Eno Sarris continues to roll out the RotoGraphs Consensus Positional Rankings, those of us not included in the Fab Four (with the handsome mugshots) but that cover a specific position were asked to chime in with our thoughts after the rankings were released. You can find my personal rankings either on FantasyPros or on my site, but for now, let’s just talk backstops and the consensus rankings. Also, don’t forget that next week we will be rolling out the position tiers as we did last season.
Time to re-visit those monthly rankings, again. As always, the criteria used for these is as follows:
1. Current performance level
2. Expected performance for rest of season
3. Value based on standard 5×5 categories (avg over OBP)
One note, despite the fact that it is late in the season, we are not accounting for keeper value right now. We are staying within the parameters of this season alone. Injured players remain on the list at the bottom so we can just see who was up there from start to finish. That being said, here’s how the catching position looks right now…. Read the rest of this entry »
There are certain catchers out there — Joe Mauer, Victor Martinez, Brian McCann, Miguel Montero, just to name a few — that are automatic starts for you. They get left in your lineup, through good starts and bad, because you know, for the most part, the level of overall production you’re going to get. But for those that don’t own a top-rated backstop, sometimes you have to play the waiver wire and go with the hot hand. With that, we’ll leave the top guys out and talk about some risers and fallers at the catcher position that you may want to put in, or take out, from your lineup. Read the rest of this entry »