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.

10 Awesome Things That Happened This Weekend (11/22-11/24)

10. Derrick Rose Suffers a Meniscus Tear Against Portland
            The sad ballad of Derrick Rose continues, as he’s likely done for the season.

9. Green Bay And Minnesota Play Too a Draw

            Chances of this are greatly improved when Christian Ponder and Matt Flynn are the opposing quarterbacks, so this result shouldn’t of surprised anyone.

8. Cam Newton Leads Another 4^th Quarter Comeback

            Coming off an emotional home win on Monday Night Football, it would’ve been easy for the Panthers to fall asleep in Miami. They did for about 55 minutes, but Newton rallied them just in time.

7. New York Yankees Pay $85 Million For Brian McCann

            Because anytime you can fork over a ton of cash for a guy who netted 57 RBIs last year, you have to do it. I’d be all in favor of this deal if it were three fewer years and $69 million less.

6. Arizona Pummels Oregon

            For people against space-age football uniforms, they will be grateful that the Oregon Ducks are out of national championship contention.

5. Kansas City Loses Again
            The Chiefs defense was in shambles after losing top pass rushers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali to injury, and Phillip Rivers took full advantage. They could be looking at three straight losses after Denver visits Arrowhead next week.

4. Josh Gordon Goes Bonkers

            Gordon’s 14 catch, 237 yard, one TD performance wasn’t enough for Cleveland to stay close against Pittsburgh, but it was pretty awesome for all three fantasy teams owned by No Credentials. That was a 43-point day for folks playing in standard PPR leagues.

3. Cowboys Try to Choke, Eventually Defeat Giants

            The Cardiac Cowboys were at it again, but fortunately for all anti-Giants fans everywhere, they put New York’s postseason hopes on life support.
       
2. FCS Team Georgia Southern Demoralizes Florida Gators
            Florida’s season has been bad enough, but suffering their worst loss in school history will probably send Head Coach Will Muschamp to the unemployment line.

1. Muffed Punt Gives Patriots Overtime Victory Over Denver

            Sunday night’s wacky game probably had more to do with the brutal wind than anything else. New England is only a game out of the top seed in the AFC.

Accounting for Wainwright and Round 5 of the Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft

            I had Adam Wainwright ranked as the 3^rd pitcher that should be taken in standard fantasy leagues this season (and had him as the 23^rd overall pick), but sadly he has to undergo Tommy John surgery and will be lost for the season. Rather than reset the entire draft from the point of where he was originally taken, I’ve instead moved starting pitchers up one slot earlier than they were originally chosen. It’s not perfect, but it still reflects the order I think starters should be chosen. Here’s the updated list of pitchers taken in the first 4 rounds.

Roy Halladay, PHI, 1-9

Felix Hernandez, SEA, 2-20

Tim Lincecum, SF, 2-23

Clayton Kershaw, LAD, 3-25

Zack Greinke, MIL, 3-30

Cliff Lee, PHI, 3-31

Jon Lester, BOS, 3-35

C.C. Sabathia, NYY, 4-37

Ubaldo Jimenez, COL, 4-40

Josh Johnson, FLA, 4-45

Justin Verlander, DET, 4-48

            Just looking at that group, wouldn’t you be happy with any of those guys as your fantasy staff ace? It probably makes sense to wait on pitching until the middle of the 4^th round. Now, on to the 5^th round…

5-49 = Ichiro, OF-RF, Mariners – Seattle’s offense was so historically terrible that Ichiro only scored 74 runs despite posting a .315 batting average. Despite that, this is a great spot to grab a career .331 hitter who should swipe at least 35 bases.

            Team 1 Roster = Albert Pujols, Dustin Pedroia, Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander, Ichiro

5-50 = Adrian Beltre, 3B, Rangers – Beltre is a scary dude to draft. The only time he has ever hit over .300 in his career is when he is playing for a new contract (2004 with the Dodgers and 2010 with Boston). The one major factor this time around is instead of signing with a team with a gigantic park (Seattle), he’s going to play half of his games in one of the best hitter’s parks in the majors. You probably won’t see me make this pick on draft day, but due to the position he plays (and lack of talented 3B left on the board), grabbing Beltre here is justified (just don’t grab him by the head, he’ll punch you in the face).

            Team 2 Roster = Miguel Cabrera (I’ll explain why I haven’t adjusted the draft for him later), Tim Lincecum, Jose Reyes, Brandon Phillips, Adrian Beltre

5-51 = David Price, SP, Rays – Currently in ESPN.com live drafts, Price is being chosen around the 70^th pick. I think people are very concerned about the free agent losses the Rays are going to have to deal with, as well as the overcrowded AL East. Even if the Rays are sub par, I don’t see that having a dramatic impact on Price’s stats or development. This is a guy that posted a 2.72 ERA and 1.19 WHIP while pitching a great deal of his games against the Red Sox and Yankees (for comparison’s sake, Jon Lester posted a 3.25 ERA with a 1.20 WHIP, and he went 16 picks earlier).

            Team 3 Roster = Robinson Cano, Matt Kemp, Kevin Youkilis, Jimmy Rollins, David Price

5-52 = Rickie Weeks, 2B, Brewers – Exhibit A of my theory that if you don’t get one of the top middle-infielders within the first 25 picks, you might want to wait until later in the draft to address the middle infield. Weeks put up 29 homers last season, but his 184 strikeouts show he is a candidate to have a miserable season (think .230 batting average with 200 Ks).

            Team 4 Roster = Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Zimmerman, Shin Soo Choo, Josh Johnson, Rickie Weeks

5-53 = Justin Morneau, 1B, Twins – Morneau is still feeling effects from a concussion he sustained in July, but at least he is participating in Spring Training drills. This is a great spot to take a guy who put up a 1.055 OPS while healthy in 2010.

            Team 5 Roster = Hanley Ramirez, Felix Hernandez, Ian Kinsler, Jose Bautista, Justin Morneau

5-54 = Derek Jeter, SS, Yankees – Exhibit B of why you either need to take a middle infielder early or punt until the later rounds. You know runs will be there, but do you really want to use a 5^th round pick on a guy who put up a .270-10-67 line last season?

            Team 6 Roster = Evan Longoria, Ryan Howard, Zack Greinke, Justin Upton, Derek Jeter

5-55 = Jayson Werth, OF-CF-RF, Nationals – Werth is vastly overpaid in real life, but that doesn’t mean you should shun him from your fantasy team. He should form a great 1-2 punch with Ryan Zimmerman.

            Team 7 Roster = Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Hamilton, Cliff Lee, Victor Martinez, Jayson Werth 

5-56 = Cole Hamels, SP, Phillies – Pitched great during the second half of 2010 despite very poor run support. It’s pretty amazing that three Phillies starters went in this mock by the 56^th pick.

            Team 8 Roster = Joey Votto, Carlos Gonzalez, Matt Holliday, Dan Uggla, Cole Hamels

5-57 = Brian McCann, C, Braves – If you had to bet on one catcher to hit between 20 and 25 home runs and drive in 80+ runs, this is the guy.

            Team 9 Roster = Roy Halladay, Mark Teixeira, Andrew McCutchen, Ubaldo Jimenez, Brian McCann

5-58 = Aramis Ramirez, 3B, Cubs – Ramirez was on my fantasy team last year, and let me tell you he was terrible. However, a thumb injury was largely to blame for his struggles during the first half of the season. I fully expect Ramirez to bounce back to a line of around .290-27-105, with potential for more due to his impending free agency after the season. 

            Team 10 Roster = Carl Crawford, Prince Fielder, Joe Mauer, Jason Heyward, Aramis Ramirez

5-59 = Adam Dunn, 1B, White Sox – In the post-steroids era, guys that hit 40 home runs don’t grow on trees anymore the way they used to. This makes Dunn, who has hit between 38 and 46 home runs every season since 2004, a valuable commodity despite his very high strikeout rate.

            Team 11 Roster = Ryan Braun, Alex Rodriguez, Jon Lester, Buster Posey, Adam Dunn

5-60 = Carlos Santana, C, Indians – Santana was well on his way to a stellar rookie season before a devastating leg injury at Fenway park (I’d post a video link to it, but the people running Major League Baseball are stuck in 1974 and don’t see the value of letting fans view classic highlights and moments. Because you know, that might boost fan interest. Someone tell me again why Bud Selig still runs baseball?). Santana posted a remarkable .401 OBP in 46 games, with a walk to strikeout ratio of 37-29. Patience like that for a rookie is remarkable. Santana has all the tools to become the best catcher in baseball.

            Team 12 Roster = David Wright, Chase Utley, Nelson Cruz, C.C. Sabathia, Carlos Santana

            Which of these teams is off to the best start? Let me know what you think in the comments section below this article.