Whether you’re exploring trade opportunities or fishing off your free agent waiver wire, it’s always good to keep an eye on the backstops. Some people have a tendency to dismiss the position for its lack of consistent production, but you can always get a leg up if you can find yourself a hot hitting catcher. Here’s a look at who’s performing up to task and who should be riding the pine in your fantasy league. Read the rest of this entry »
As we get ready to head into a new month, it’s time to update the 2011 Catchers Rankings once again. Remember, the criteria for these rankings 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) |
The arrows are used to highlight a player moving up or down in tier, but you’ll also notice some minor tweaks within the tiers as well. Some that will obviously have more impact than others. Read the rest of this entry »
With the calendar getting ready to flip to June and with updated catcher rankings on their way, there’s been a decent behind-the-scenes debate over the power and performance of 24 year old Detroit Tigers backstop Alex Avila. Currently, Avila is sporting a slash line of .279/.346/.529 with 8 home runs and 28 RBI. He’s tied for second in HR amongst catchers, leads in RBI production and according to most overall rankings based strictly on 2011 performance, he is listed as the second best catcher behind Russell Martin. There’s no doubting his current performance totals here, but the question remains…can he keep it going? Read the rest of this entry »
While productivity can be limited for backstops, they also run the greatest risk for injury and before you know it, you’ve lost your guy and find yourself staring at the waiver wire wondering which set of scraps looks the meatiest. Today we’re going to look at the latest catcher injuries and who the guys are that will get the playing time moving forward. Read the rest of this entry »
With the calendar flipping to May, it’s time to re-visit the 2011 Catcher Rankings and see who has climbed closer to the top and who’s been dropping like a stone. As you may recall, the RotoGraph writers got together before the season began and constructed a composite catcher rankings. However, after gaining some feedback from all of you, I have decided to make my adjustments to the rankings based on the following criteria:
| 1. Current performance level |
| 2. Expected performance for rest of season |
| 3. Value based on standard 5×5 categories (avg over OBP) |
The arrows are used to highlight a player moving up or down in tier, but you’ll also notice some minor tweaks within the tiers as well. Some that will obviously have more impact than others. So without further ado, you may now cue the theme song to The Jeffersons… Read the rest of this entry »
For two of the last three off seasons, Michael Young dominated the headlines with his contempt for the Texas Rangers and his demands for a trade. He was angry with the team for asking him to move from shortstop to third to make room for Elvis Andrus back in 2009 and then the whole story repeated itself this past winter when the team signed Adrian Beltre, asked him to move to DH and then traded for Mike Napoli, who was supposedly going to steal some at bats from him. The fight was getting bitter and every time you turned around, there was a new rumor popping up as to where Young was going to land. Read the rest of this entry »
In all honesty, virtually all of the legitimate talent has likely already been plucked from your league’s waiver wire by now. Everyone gets so transaction crazy early on, that it’s hard to believe there are still some stones left unturned. And yet, there always seems to be a player or two that slips through the cracks for a variety of reasons. Here’s a look at two that might interest you… Read the rest of this entry »
Beginning next week, and continuing the first Monday each month, we’ll be doing a fully updated version of the 2011 Catcher Rankings. We’ll go over the risers and the fallers and talk about who could be climbing up the rankings on a more permanent basis and who’s washing out. But while we’re heading into the first set of updates, we have a pretty big debate on our hands. Who’s the number one catcher out there? Does Joe Mauer’s slow start/DL stint/illness knock him out of the top spot? Has Brian McCann’s consistency helped move him up? Has Buster Posey proven himself enough to be the top fantasy backstop? And where does Victor Martinez fit in with all of this? These were the four names in the top tier. These were the four names, in order, from the top tier back before the season started. Now the question is whether or not that order has changed. Read the rest of this entry »
Negotiating trades in fantasy baseball can always be tough in competitive leagues. Everyone is trying to gain the upper hand and each time you ask for that better starting pitcher or that more powerful outfielder, you end up taking some kind of grief for over-valuing your own players. So why not try and get that extra boost in numbers from a low-profile spot like behind the plate? Negotiate a deal and then try to throw in your over-performing catcher for their under-performing one who you think has the potential to improve. You just might be able to squeeze some more out from their end. Looking at early season BABIP and xBABIP, here’s a look at some “throw-ins” you just might want to try out… Read the rest of this entry »
While the tiers we established in our aggregate pre-season rankings gave you a sound foundation for your draft, you knew there was going to be some movement amongst the backstops. I’m aware that we’re dealing with a small sample size of at bats, but if you’ve got a guy who’s hot, why not use him while you can? Or, if he’s cold, bench him for now and get yourself a temporary replacement. Let’s look at a few names of backstops that are both rising and falling in current value. Read the rest of this entry »