2015 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Catchers

            What better way to start our position reviews than a look at the least valuable position in fantasy baseball? We might as well start small and build up to something important. Or in other words, get catcher out of the way.

            Catchers are worthless for a multitude of reasons, but they all stem from the fact they get more days off than any other offensive player due to the wear and tear of the position. This leads to lower counting stats across the board. If you take the top total by a catcher in each of the standard fantasy scoring categories in 2014, here’s what you’d come up with…

BA = .311 (Buster Posey)

HR = 27 (Carlos Santana, and in leagues with stricter position eligibility rules he isn’t even a catcher this year)

RBI – 89 (Posey)

R = 73 (Jonathan Lucroy)

SB = 5 (Santana)

            We’ll touch on why this is important when we discuss our first tier, which happens to be a one-player tier.

Tier I – Buster Posey

B.Posey, SF 1B

            Posey has been the most reliable fantasy catcher for three years running, and was the only catcher to be ranked in the top 100 in overall value a year go, but I’m not taking him in any re-draft league at his current average cost of 28.4 (we’re referencing Yahoo for our average draft stats). With the weak offensive talent around him in San Francisco, his ceiling is too low to justify taking him ahead of a stud outfielder or potential staff ace in the third round. For auction players, his average going rate of $23 is much more reasonable.

Tier II – Best Catchers Not Named Buster Posey

J.Lucroy, MIL 1B

C.Santana, CLE 1B-3B

D.Mesoraco, CIN

Y.Gomes, CLE

            Carlos Santana’s inclusion in this group may not apply to your league, as his catcher eligibility hinges on what your league’s position eligibility requirements are. Keep that fact in mind if you’re drafting or bidding in a keeper league, as it’s unlikely he makes any starts at catcher in 2015.

            Of these four, Lucroy has the lowest floor, Santana has the greatest all-around upside (although increased production after moving away from catcher has proven to be a myth in the past), Mesoraco has the most power, and Gomes is the cheapest. Gomes is picked on average in the middle of the eleventh round, so he would be the only guy in this tier I’d consider targeting. The rest of the group will be picked in the seventies and eighties, which is an area I’d rather spend on my outfield or pitching.

Tier III – Best Values

E.Gattis, HOU

S.Perez, KC

B.McCann, NYY 1B

Y.Molina, STL

M.Wieters, BAL

W.Rosario, COL

R.Martin, TOR

            If one of these guys is your starting catcher, that should mean your first 10 or 11 picks were spent on players who would’ve delivered more value than taking a catcher earlier (that’s a weird sentence, but it makes sense in my head). Of this group, Brian McCann and Matt Wieters are my two favorites, as they possess the highest power ceilings.

Tier IV – Sleepers

Y.Grandal, LAD

W.Ramos, WAS

T.d'Arnaurd, NYM

            Ramos and d’Arnaurd are often injured, but are a worth a late round flyer for the chance they put together a healthy campaign. Grandal is very interesting now that he escapes spacious Petco Park. Dodger Stadium isn’t the easiest place to hit a home run, but anything is an improvement over playing 81 games in San Diego. Add in a loaded Dodgers lineup, and it would be no shock to see Grandal put up top-5 value at the catcher position.

Tier V – You Shouldn’t Waste a Draft Pick on These Guys

M.Montero, CHC

M.Zunino, SEA

J.Castro, HOU

D.Norris, SD

J.Jaso, TB

C.Ruiz, PHI

            Keep an eye on them just in case your catcher gets hurt, but there is really no point in employing a back-up catcher.