Fantasy C Analysis

Catcher

As immensely deep as the 1B position is fantasy-wise in 2011, the catching position can be found on the complete other end of the spectrum. The position is very top heavy and after your elite options the talent level takes a sizable plunge. The elite options remain Joe Mauer, Victor Martinez, and Brian McCann with the young stud Buster Posey looking to solidify his place after an incredibly surprising inaugural season. While none of them are likely to provide you elite production across the board relative to the offensive juggernauts at other positions, they all should be head and shoulders above the field amongst their peers.

Behind the elite options are some potential breakout and bounce back candidates as well as a few solid, yet unspectacular, veteran backstops. You essentially know what you are going to get by selecting Jorge Posada, John Buck, A.J. Pierzynski, and the likes as each have extensive history to draw from. None should be counted upon to provide any sort of consistent offensive production. However, if you miss on one of the top options then this is the year where you take a gamble on a guy who has flashed incredible potential yet struggled with consistency such as Geovany Soto, Kurt Suzuki, or Miguel Montero, or to go all in with the pedigreed minor-league phenoms in Carlos Santana and Matt Wieters.

When drafting a backstop in 2011, it is important to remember that even the highest ranked catcher's stats will likely pale in comparison to the top producers at other positions. Be conscious of the amount of trade off that you might forfeit statistically by selecting an elite catcher as opposed to a 2nd tier player at another position as the difference between the two could be vast when judged by a strictly statistical analysis.

Breakout:

Matt Wieters: Immense talent has never been lacking with Wieters, however, as is often the case with young up and coming talents, he was overhyped and failed to live up to incredibly lofty expectations. In his brief 3 year career he has had immense pressure placed upon him, has been smack dab in the middle of a very poor Baltimore lineup, and has struggled mightily against LH pitchers

All that being said, there are things to like about Wieters. There is little doubt that Baltimore is going to give Wieters every chance to develop at the ML level, and the Baltimore offense should be much improved with the additions of Vladimir Guerrero and Mark Reynolds. A realistic floor should be around his 2 year career averages of 10/50/.266, however, due to his pedigree the possibility is there for his light to finally come on in his 3rd season. Owners who haven't given up on Wieters should be rewarded this season with a minor breakthrough. I'm cautiously optimistic in projection a 15/65/.270 season from Wieters with a distinct possibility for much much more.

Bounce Back:

Miguel Montero: Better late than never right? Many expected that this was going to happen in 2010 after belting 16HR and posting a .832 in 2009, but unfortunately a knee injury derailed his entire season early on and he never quite managed to get on track. The good news is that his 9/43/.266 line in 331 ABs is still significantly better than the majority of other catching options and projected over the course of an entire season would easily put him in the running to be one of the top overall backstops in the league.

While there is reason for optimism, the reality is that the Diamondbacks offense is likely to be mediocre at best and that he'll get the usual amount of rest as a catcher, however, with an emerging superstar in Justin Upton and an underrated yet functional Kelly Johnson getting on base ahead of him, he should be provided with enough RBI opportunities to provide well above average at catcher. Temper your expectations, but be thrilled with a 22/80/.275 campaign in 2011.

The Champ:

Victor Martinez: If the topic were best catcher in the MLs, then Joe Mauer is without question the best all around catcher in the bigs, however, when discussing fantasy baseball there are many other factors to consider and defensive prowess isn't one of them. Victor Martinez is one of the premier offensive backstops of the past decade. A legitimate .300 hitter who is equally adept at hitting both LH and RH pitching, Martinez also offers above average power and good plate discipline from the catcher position.

Perhaps the real reason to give the crown to V-Mart in 2011 is that when he is not catching he should be in the lineup as a DH thus he'll likely play every day, which is a rarity for catchers in today's game. Moving from Boston to Detroit will likely create a slight drain on his HR totals, but he should stick rack up his fair share of doubles, and as long as he is driving runners in it shouldn't negatively affect his RBI totals. I think one could reasonably predict a 17/90/.310 season placing him at or near the top of the catcher pool.

The Chump:

John Buck: Buck had a career year in 2010 without question, reaching career highs in doubles, HRs, RBI, Batting Average, and On-Base Percentage. A player having a career year in a contract year is hardly a rare occurrence (Javy Lopez hit 43 HR in 2003... 43 HR!!!!) and Buck certainly cashed in this offseason to the tune of $18M over 3 years. However, moving from a potent Toronto offense to a Florida squad that consists of Hanley Ramirez and little else is not going to do any favors to his output.

Buck's greatest asset is that he is capable of providing above average power at the position. However, with 6 years of evidence to draw from all signs with Buck point towards a one year fluke in 2010 and a steep drop off to his career mean. Given the lack of talent at the position Buck is certainly worth owning as he will be THE man at catcher for the Marlins, but just don't base your selection off of last year's stats. Look to history and expect a .245/12/55 season.