Update: 1/30/09
I switched around my top 4 rankings here. I'm still a fan of a .320+ Joe Mauer but I think Brian McCann at 24 years old has a lot more upside and the power while still having the ability to hit .300. So it now goes......
2009 Mixed League Catchers Rankings
Brian McCann, ATL - He's only 24!!! .300/25/100 projected and could realistically be your #1 catcher in 2009
Russell Martin, LAD - He could have 3B eligibility which is awesome, expecting .290/20-25/90/10 with a bit more upside
Joe Mauer, MIN - Mauer could be #1 for the .300+BA/100R potential, I don't think Mauer will produce the big power we want
Geovany Soto, CHC - 25+HR power and a .280+BA would be sweet from Soto in 2009 with potential for more
Victor Martinez, CLE - Should bounce back to .300/20/100 type numbers after an injury-plagued 2008
Ryan Doumit, PIT - Nice break out in '08 but lineup stinks, still better than most on the board anyway with .300/20+ upside
Bengie Molina, SF - SF making an effort to sign some players but molina ia a lock for .280/20
Matt Wieters, BAL - Tore up the minors last year, could be a .300/20+/100 type eventually, grab as a keeper
Chris Ianetta, COL - Nice young player with .300/20+ potential in Coors, still unproven though
Kelly Shoppach, CLE - If V-Mart moves top 1B, Shoppach has 25+HR upside
Yadier Molina, STL - An injury risk but can hit .300+ and never strikes out!
Jorge Posada, NYY - May only get about 100-125 games behind the plate, so who knows how many AB's, expect at least 400
Dioner Navarro, TB - The jury is still out as to whether or not Navarro is for real or not, not much power but .280+ BA potential
Kurt Suzuki, OAK - See Dioner Navarro but with OBP skills and more upside
Jeff Clement, SEA - Could easily be a star, 20+HR power but K's way too much
Mike Napoli, LAA - 20+HR power but low BA
Taylor Teagarden, TEX - Penciled in as the starter, has .300+ potential with some power, grab as a keeper
Max Ramirez, TEX - Tore up AAA last season, has .300/20+ potential, he's reminds me of a Geovany Soto type
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, TEX - Same as Clement but we're still waiting, an injury risk
A.J. Pierzynski, CWS - a solid AL only option or #2 in mixed leagues, always ends up on the wire at some point though
Ramon Hernandez, BAL - Matt Weiters looks for real in BAL so Hernandez could be elsewhere in 2009, waiver wire material
Gerald Laird, DET - Now with a full-time job in Detroit, if healthy, could be a .280/15/70 hitter
Ivan Rodriguez, FA - Depends where he ends up but he could be a .280/10/60 guy and a solid second catcher
Chris Snyder, ARI - D-Backs trying to trade Montero, so more AB's for Snyder means 20+HR potential but w/a low BA
Jesus Flores, WAS - Might be able to sustain a .280+ BA
Carlos Ruiz, PHI - Not much of a hitter but could slightly increase numbers in 2009, there is upside here as a 2nd catcher
J.R. Towles, HOU - Has BA & OBP potential if he can get himself back on track, still young with upside
Angel Salome, MIL - Top minor league hitting catcher could push Jason kendall by mid-season.
Brandon Inge, DET - Has 15+HR power but an even lower BA potential than Napoli
Jason Varitek, BOS - Could bounce back a bit after a horrible season, so .275/15/75 is possible
John Baker, FLA - Not proven, sported a low BA in 2008, leave for NL Only or the waiver wire
Lou Palmisano, HOU - If Towles doesn't get it done, he'll open the door for this guy who has 15+ HR power
Jason Kendall, MIL - Good real life player but un-useful in fantasy
Jeff Mathis, LAA - Has some potential in AL Only if Napoli gets hurt
Miguel Montero, ARI - If the D-Backs trade him, could be a starter somewhere with .280/15+ potential
John Buck, KC - Has 15+HR power
Jose Molina, NYY - Not much o a hitter but will start 40-60 games so he might be a low end AL only guy
The rest of this list is reserved for AL or NL Only leagues and none hold any real fantasy value at this point
Miguel Olivo
Gregg Zaun
Ramon Castro
Yorvit Torrealba
Paul Lo Duca
Paul Bako
Kenji Johjima
Rod Barajas
Mike Rivera
Brian Schneider
Javier Valentin
Josh Bard
Nick Hundley
Luke Carlin
Mike Redmond
Jason LaRue
11 comments:
Thanks for putting out your catcher rankings for next season. I would reconsider Victor Martinez and Russell Martin for next year, personally. Would love for you to check out my site's rankings for 2009 fantasy baseball catchers. Click my link and feel free to critique. Thanks Fantasy Man.
Yeah, I'm not going to reconsider but you can make a case that those top 5 can be somewhat interchangeable. It all depends on your taste I guess. If VMart doesn't get hurt this year, you get .300/20/100, none of these other guys are doing that. Mauer has the .330+ potential but no power. McCann has 25HR power but he's not consistent in the BA deptartment and his team around him stinks. Martin can put up the best overall numbers if he can get that .300+ BA and Soto obviously has the power but you might be looking at .270. So it all depends what you want. I personally would rather get .300+ with 100+runs with Mauer and any extra HR/RBI/SB I get over the norm is gravy. Otherwise, I like VMart because he's proven and consistent in a good hitting lineup!
..... Jus' sayin'!
I would be careful with Y Molina. He did hit .300 last year, but his career rate is still .262 and his K% has been very erratic.
True. But, he's only 26, has one of the best arms for the position in the game, and can spray the ball all over the field. Plus, his BA has gone up in each of the last 3 seasons. Best part is, he's available at the end of your draft or for a buck or two in the auction! I'll pay $2 for that type of player any day!
By the way, I have been doing some thinking and I changed around the catcher rankings with the top 4. So it now goes McCann (because he's only 24), Martin (because he contributes to all cats), Mauer (because I value high BA), and then VMart (to account for the injury risk). Soto is definitely my #5 but you can justify taking him above VMart at this point!
Where is Pablo Sandoval??
Pablo Sandoval doesn't qualify at Catcher in leagues with the normal 20 game qualifiers. I believe I have Sandoval posted in the 1B or 3B rankings. Sandoval will be the Giants 3rd baseman this season.
In a popular site for fantasy baseball Sandoval does qualify as a catcher, with that in mind where would you rank him?
Thats a tough one because he's so unproven but if it were me personally, I'd jump on him sometime after Doumit but before Molina with Wieters.....maybe 12-14th round material in this case. 12 might be a stretch but you also will get 3B and 1B eligibility too.
Thanks for all your rankings. Which one of these catchers do you think has the most upside and value for a keeper league? John Baker (FLA), Nick Hundley (SD), Kurt Suzuki (SEA) and Chris Snyder (AZ). Thanks for your imput.
Sol, this is tough becuas enone of those guys pop off the page at me. I like Suzuki because he is the most versatile of the bunch meaning he can hit for average, post a solid OBP, score runs, hit a few dingers and even steal a base or two or 5. He's a Billy Beane guy so he could posted better OBP than most catchers on that list. Snyder has 20HR pop but the cost is a .250 ish BA. I'd pass up the other two no problem.
Post a Comment