Archive for John Jaso

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.

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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.

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All too often on draft day we find ourselves settling for a certain player at a certain position rather than walk away with someone we covet.  In auctions, sometimes the bidding just doesn’t go the way you expect and you have to bow out rather than overspend and in snake drafts, a run can come too early and before you know it, the top guys on your depth chart have been taken off the board.  When that happens, some people tend to overreact and just grab a guy to fill the spot before they find themselves scraping the bottom of the barrel.  It’s a panic move.  Unfortunately though, that usually leads to grabbing a guy too early at the expense of a better overall player or overspending on someone who should have gone for a cheaper price.  And in almost every case, the player is flawed and you end up having to convince yourself that you still made the right move.

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While there seems to be a bit of a lull on fantasy relevant player movement right now — Eno jumped on the Twins/Willingham potential deal and sorry, but .180-hitting Kelly Shoppach to the BoSox is barely relevant in my eyes — we can continue to focus on the mock drafts that we’ve all been covering lately.  As I was going over the catcher ADP, one of the more noticeable oversights found in the FanGraphs dynasty league mock draft was Royals catcher Salvador Perez.  Granted, it was just a 12-team, one catcher league, but with so many youngsters going so early, it’s hard to imagine that out of 27 rounds and 324 players selected, there was no love for the Royals 21-year old backstop.

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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 »

As the season moves on, things are really settling in with the catcher rankings.  Not a whole lot of movement from tier to tier (almost none), but some movement within.  Remember, the criteria used for the 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)

Here’s how it looks heading into July. 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:

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 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:

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 »

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 »

Last week I told you to keep an eye on Washington backup Wilson Ramos.  He may have been listed as the backup on the team’s depth chart, but it has been widely speculated that he will receive the lion’s share of the work behind the dish for the Nationals this season as they slowly phase out a declining Pudge Rodriguez.  Platoons can be a tenuous situation for fantasy leaguers, so avoiding them is usually one’s priority come draft day.  But if you’re playing in a deep league or a league that calls for two catchers, you are sometimes forced to take a chance and hope you grab the better half of a split situation.  Here’s a couple of notable interest… Read the rest of this entry »