Top 10 Catchers
My preliminary hitting projections are starting to come together now, and I have numbers done for about 95 percent of the $10+ players. Some teams are more complete than others, but I'm comfortable enough with what I have now to start presenting some rankings on the blog. Here's the very early top 10 for the catchers.
1. Victor Martinez
2. Joe Mauer
3. Russell Martin
4. Brian McCann
5. Jorge Posada
6. Kenji Johjima
7. Ivan Rodriguez
8. Ramon Hernandez
9. A.J. Pierzynski
10. Bengie Molina
I don't have much more than $1 in value separating the top three. After that is a big gap to McCann and another one almost as significant after Posada. At this point, I just can't see spending much on a catcher unless it's for one of the top five. The catchers in the 6-15 range seem like weaker bets than they have been in years. I had Pierzynski 12th last year with a projection that came out better than the one that has him ninth right now.
Comments
Ranking catchers is tough, because even the ones at the top have concerns:
- Mauer and McCann put up big numbers in 2006, but both dropped a bit in 2007 (especially from their incredible BA). Can they bounce back?
- Martin's big year was 2007, but 2006 was pretty good (with less playing time). Can he keep it up?
- Posada put up the numbers in a contract year, but he turns 37 next year. Will his age affect his play?
I'd probably rank the top half 1.Martinez 2.Martin 3.McCann 4.Posada 5.Mauer
I agree with your next group, but I think they're pretty interchangable. If I'm stuck with one of them, I'm also grabbing someone from the next tier with a little upside--Bard, Olivo, Napoli, Saltalamacchia, etc.
Posted by: Neal | December 21, 2007 05:49 PM
Where does Salty rank, I would have thought he would been top 10, maybe #8 or so in keeper leagues?
Also, when is the draft guide ETA?
Posted by: peter | December 22, 2007 06:59 PM
Since I wanted to see if the Rangers would trade Laird, I still haven't done a Salty projection. I had him penciled in at No. 13 when I did my early draft cheat sheet. If he hits ninth initially, that won't help.
In a keeper league, I could see putting him as high as sixth, with Soto not far behind. Towles would probably have to be placed in the 10-12 range.
Posted by: Matthew Pouliot | December 24, 2007 02:02 PM