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 »
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 »
Today’s Roto Riteup will not include suggestions for who to pick today in The Game, since the day’s game will have already started by the time this goes live. When games don’t start at ungodly hours, you should expect to see suggestions for the current day’s games.
Since fantasy owners watch games with a certain slant, here are some notes on things you may want to look for during the first few games of the year.
– One thing to take note of over the first week or two of the season is Jemile Weeks’ approach at the dish. The speedy second baseman walked a good deal in the minors, but he tended to opt to put the ball in play during his stint with the A’s last season. Last season the switch-hitter averaged 3.85 pitches per plate appearance and swung 42.7% of the time, so use those numbers as a sort of benchmark going forward. If he decides to walk in the majors, his OBP could make him supremely valuable.
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.
So we’ve decided to turn this 10 Bold Predictions thing into a friendly competition amongst the RotoGraphs writers. Here are mine… Read the rest of this entry »
At the request of you, the readers, we are covering the early Average Draft Position (ADP) results by individual position Over the past week, you’ve seen results for Second Basemen and AL Starting Pitchers, so now it’s time to cover the boys behind the plate. Here are some early ADP results for the Catchers with a few thoughts added in. Read the rest of this entry »
Regardless of which side of the fence you sit on as to who got the better end of the deal, Friday’s trade between the Mariners and the Yankees — Michael Pineda and Jose Campos for Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi — was a solid baseball deal that will improve both clubs in areas in which each were lacking. The Yankees were starving for arms and the M’s were in desperate need of a legitimate impact bat for the middle of their anemic lineup. We’ve already heard from Michael Barr on the fantasy angle of Pineda’s move to pinstripes, so let’s tackle the other side for immediate impact. Say what you want about Montero’s limited number of at bats at the major league level; this guy can hit. If you believe, then welcome aboard. If not, great! That’s less of an investment we smart owners will have to make.
As we saw through last week’s series of articles, there’s been quite a lot of talk about the Fan/RotoGraphs Dynasty Mock Draft. Yes, there seemed to be a bit of confusion — two people thought it was a regular keeper draft rather than a dynasty one — but lost in the mundane and repetitive critique of that aspect was the true meaning of a mock draft. Its is a test. It is a guideline. It is a tool. You use a mock draft to gauge where particular players are going; where certain positions come off the board in a run. It certainly isn’t the gospel, but while the calendar hasn’t even flipped to January and offseason player movement has far from ceased, it’s definitely a useful piece of information from which to get started. That being said, we’re going to wrap up its coverage with a listing of the catchers that went, where they came off the board, and a few notes along the way.
As I said in yesterday’s Tier 4, I have to draw the line somewhere as to which players are worthy of keeping and which ones should be thrown back into the pool. That line has now been drawn. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a few names of some young up and comers that I think will blossom into potential keepers and, if you believe in them enough now, could warrant consideration for 2012 depending on how much they are going to cost you. Again, relative value is up to you, but here are a few guys worth mentioning.
We interrupt the 2012 Catcher Keeper Rankings to answer a question from one of our readers, Buck Turgidson, who asked, “Will Jesus Montero be eligible at catcher to start next season?
Plenty of people are wondering whether or not they will get to use the New York Yankees hitting phenom at the position he played in the minor leagues or if his late season call-up that saw him DH for 14 games and work behind the plate for just 3 will lock him in as a designated hitter. For the most part, those using ESPN and Yahoo as their fantasy site will be forced to begin the season with Montero as a DH and have to wait until he logs enough games behind the dish to qualify. Those using other sites, such as CBS Sports, may have a little more flexibility depending on their Commissioner capabilities. Personally, I think ESPN and Yahoo need to loosen the reins a little and allow for exceptions such as this. I don’t see anything wrong with Montero beginning the season as a catcher and even set up something specific in the rules for just such an example.