Below is my fantasy baseball preview for the catcher position. This is a mere supplement to the fantasy guide, which will have in-depth player capsules for each player ranked. The fantasy guide will be released on March 1. If you’re looking for player projections for the 2014 season, please go to the fantasy guides page.
The catching position has six top tier players with the next ten or 11 all about the same. After the top 17-18 you’re grabbing at straws, but there are some players with nice upside. My strategy for this position depends on the type of league you’re in. Specifically, if the league requires one or two catchers. If it’s a 10-team mixer with one catcher league I’ll be most likely be the last owner drafting a catcher. If it’s a 12-team mixer with one catcher I’m going to try to acquire a tier one catcher, but if I don’t get one then I’m waiting. If it’s a two catcher league (regardless of size) I want at least one catcher in the first three tiers. Then I don’t mind waiting for my second catcher especially if I got a tier one catcher. It’s very important to note replacement level at catcher is extremely shallow and if you don’t grab one you’re going to have to start guys like Jose Lobaton like I did in one league last year.
Tier 1
- Joe Mauer
- Buster Posey
Joe Mauer is my number one rated catcher because the switch to first base should result an increase in 10-15 percent of plate appearances assuming he’s healthy. It’s a mistake to automatically assume he’ll stay healthy all year because of the position change, but you have to make a call and I’m betting he comes close to 600 at-bats. Combine that with a .323 lifetime batting average. Buster Posey quietly had a bad second half of the year (.244/.333/.310 slash line), which again proves he’s not as good as his 2012 numbers indicate.
Tier 2
- Yadier Molina
- Jonathan Lucroy
- Wilin Rosario
- Carlos Santana
If Carlos Santana plays the majority of games not as a catcher then he’s my favorite out of this group because he’s a far better hitter when he’s not catching. Yadier Molina appears to be the safest player, but he’s turning 32 in July and there’s a lot of mileage on his body. Eventually he’s going to slow down, but he hasn’t shown signs yet. If Jonathan Lucroy played a full season in 2012 he would have finished the year with 20 home runs and 7 stolen bases. Last year he had 18 home runs and nine stolen bases. He legitimately has 20/10 upside.
Tier 3
- Salvador Perez
- Miguel Montero
- Matt Wieters
- Brian McCann
I wouldn’t be surprised if any of these players finish the year in the second tier because of each of them has the upside. Miguel Montero will bat fourth in a good lineup, but was the 2013 season the start of the decline? Brian McCann has hit 20-plus home runs since 2008, but will he hold up for a full year and will he sellout for power at the expense of the batting average? Will Matt Wieters finally stop switch hitting and finally start hitting righties? Salvador Perez finally played a full year, but he didn’t build upon the promise of the 2012 season as his extra base hit percentage dropped almost one percentage point.
Tier 4
- A.J. Pierzynski
- Josmil Pinto
- Yan Gomes
- Evan Gattis
- Yasmani Grandal
- Wilson Ramos
- Jason Castro
Based on how Jason Castro performed last year it may be strange I have him this low, but he has injury concerns and I doubt he’ll maintain a .351 BABIP and a 26.5 percent strikeout rate again. If Yan Gomes somehow gets the lion share of the catching duties he would be a tier three catcher because I believe in his bat. Despite his massive raw power, I’m not going to own Evan Gattis this year because the scouting report suggests he’ll have a hard time making consistent contact. I’m not buying Wilson Ramos as a power threat because his 50-plus percent ground ball is extremely high for any power looking to hit 20-plus home runs.
Tier 5
- Derek Norris
- John Jaso
- Ryan Doumit
- Carlos Ruiz
- Jesus Montero
- Devin Mesoraco
- Welington Castillo
- Travis d’Arnaud
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia
- Russell Martin
- Stephen Vogt
- Mike Zunino
- J. P. Arencibia
- Hank Conger
If I have to pick one of these players for my fantasy team then I must have done something wrong in my draft. If I had to pick one these players I want Devin Mesoraco. He plays in a great hitter’s ballpark, finally has the starting catcher job and has the raw tools to be a tier two catcher (Kevin Goldstein rated him as a five-star prospect and was rated as the 24th best prospect in the majors back in 2012). Before the 2013 season one of my bold predictions was Welington Castillo would hit 20 home runs. Obviously that didn’t happen, but he did six of his eight home runs after the all-star break.
