I’m Tier’ing up…Catchers
March 2nd, 2010
Unclecharlie@fantasybaseballgeeks.com
Miguel Montero - Icon SMI
Tiers based on Head-to-Head Points – CBS Scoring
1B – 1 Point
2B – 2 Points
3B – 3 Points
HR – 4 Points
RBI – 1 Point
R – 1 Point
K – (1 Point)
BB – 1 Point
| Tier 1 | What’s up with that? | |
| 1. Joe Mauer | Mauer is in a league of his own at C; his positive BB:K ratio slots him right behind Pujols as one of the leagues best. | |
| 2. Victor Martinez | 550+ Abs is not out of the question for Vic this year with the sox – another guy with great career BB:K splits. | |
| Tier 2 | What’s up with that? |
| 3. Brian McCann | The bat isn’t the question. A 4 year average of 21 HR & 91 RBI justifies his ADP, but you can’t hit what you can’t see. Hopefully the laser eye surgery worked. |
| 4. Russell Martin | Tailed off in the second half of 08′ and disappeared last season, but with his selective approach and his ability use the opposite field you have to expect a bounce-back season for the two time all-star. A 15 HR-15 SB isn’t out of the question. |
| 5. Miguel Montero | Montero’s quick hands led to a .478 slugging percentage that ranked only behind McCann among NL catchers in 2009. I’m expecting big things in his first full season and he comes with a great discount compared to the other big names. |
| 6. Kurt Suzuki | Suzuki made a rare 132 starts at catcher last season, it led to 570 AB’s. The extra at bats will only increase his value – especially in Points leagues. His 15 HR in 09′ doubled his previous high. Lets not forget Suzuki is only 26 so there is no reason to think he can’t improve on those numbers this season. A great guy to target after the big name guys are off the board. |
| 7. Geovany Soto | He still frequently chases the ball up and out of the zone with two strikes and he needs to make the necessary adjustments now that the league has adjusted to him. I’m still writing his .218 average in 2008 off to a sophmore slump, a great high risk/high reward guy to target, but his 20+ HR potential might come with a high price tag. |
| Tier 3 | What’s up with that? |
| 8. Matt Wieters | I bought into the hype of Wieters last season – who didn’t? I was intrigued by his unordinary BB:K splits in the minors, but the length of his swing didn’t translate well to major league pitching. He should hit the ground running this season, but the risk is still too high for me to invest the high pick his name will surely bring. |
| 9. Yadier Molina | I wish he could develop more power, but the consistent .AVG and the fact his on-base % has increased each of the past four seasons makes him a steal in leagues that award points for BB. I would not be upset if I landed Molina past round 15 as my starting catcher. |
| 10. Ryan Doumit | Another great buy-low candidate if he can stay healthy. A wrist injury is one of the toughest injuries to bounce back from as a hitter, but he began looking like himself in September hitting .329 with 12 RBI’s. Let’s not forget Doumit hit .318 with 15 HR in only 431 AB in 2008 – a 20 HR season could happen for Doumit. |
| 11. Carlos Ruiz | Ruiz is better than his .246 career batting average suggests, he walks more than he strikes out and his .824 OPS last season is nothing to laugh at. If only he could see more than the 110-120 games the Phillies give him he could be a solid top 12 catcher. |
| 12. Bengie Molina | Bengie would be a lot higher on my list if he ended up signing with the Mets, but he didn’t. The future in SF belongs to Buster Posey, who could take the everyday role at any point this season. That risk makes Molina a late round flier because he does have the potential to post another 90 RBI season hitting clean-up for the Giants if he gets the at-bats. |
Other guys to keep an eye on: A.J. Pierzynski, Buster Posey, Chris Ianneta, Carlos Santana, Jorge Posada (Needs AB), Jeff Clement.
You can e-mail your Fantasy Baseball questions to unclecharlie@fantasybaseballgeeks.com
Gotta give it to you. You have Wieters ranked lower than any source I’ve seen. Way to stand up for your beliefs! I have to disagree with him being 8th though. Number 4 all the way for me.