Catcher Rankings

One of the most important things to remember when drafting is to know when value for a certain position drops off dramatically.  If you go into the draft with a strategy of targeting specific players and doing the prep to know when you need to draft your favorite players so they can be on your team, you're likely going to end up losing value.  I like to know when I can get comparable value at a position multiple rounds later and when waiting a round or two could cost me significant value.  So for the next two weeks, I will be studying positional tiers for 6x6 scoring and posting my findings here.  Today we start with the catcher.

First we start with what they did last year.  Green indicates a player's value has increased from the standard player rater,  red indicates a player's value has decreased from the standard player rater, and italics indicates a player missed a significant portion of the season.

1. Buster Posey (12.43)
2. Yadier Molina (9.60)
3. Joe Mauer (9.07)
4. Carlos Ruiz (7.43)
5. A.J. Pierzynski (6.30)
6. Wilin Rosario (6.24)
7. Miguel Montero (5.76)
8. Jonathan Lucroy (4.95)
9. Matt Wieters (4.21)
10. Carlos Santana (4.12)
11. Ryan Doumit (4.07)
12. John Jaso (2.71)
13. Mike Napoli (2.51)
14. A.J. Ellis (2.10)
15. Salvador Perez (1.90)
16. Jarrod Saltalamacchia (1.56)
17. Yasmani Grandal (0.94)
18. Brian McCann (0.90)
19. Jesus Montero (0.87)
20. J.P. Arencibia (0.68)

Now onto our tiers.  Northrop and I are in agreement for the most part on who's in what tier, but the order varies significantly.

Tier 1 - Buster Posey
   Posey had a great season last year and he's clearly the best option but the argument is how early he should be taken.  I'll pass on him as a top 20 pick and as a result I won't be owning him in any leagues which is just fine.  

Tier 2 - Joe Mauer, Carlos Santana, Yadier Molina, Matt Wieters

   Both Molina and Mauer had great seasons.  I expect some regression from Molina as he ages but he still belongs in this class.  Santana and Wieters struggled a little last season but still had strong numbers and have both a higher ceiling and higher floor than the other names that outperformed them last year.  Victor Martinez can be at the end of this tier if he's catcher eligible in your league and you believe he can bounce-back.  Otherwise, he belongs somewhere in tier 3 depending on how much doubt you have.

Tier 3 - Miguel Montero, Mike Napoli, Jesus Montero, Wilin Rosario, Salvador Perez, Brian McCann

   This is where things get interesting.  My top two catchers in this tier are Rosario and Perez, who Northrop doesn't even have in this tier.  All of these players have top five potential but plenty of risk whether they're old and fragile or young and inexperienced.  

   

Tier 4 - A.J. Pierzynski, John Jaso, Carlos Ruiz, Alex Avila, Jonathan Lucroy, Russel Martin, Ryan Doumit, J.P. Arencibia, Yasmani Grandal, Wilson Ramos

   So here we have catchers splitting time, missing time, with huge question marks or with limited upside.  I'll be doing my best to grab one of the top 11 or 12 catchers and avoid this tier.  But if you can't I'll point to what Lucroy did despite missing two months last year.  Northrop believes Jaso can turn a decent season in a platoon situation into being a top 10 catcher, which seems very unlikely to me.

I'll welcome any criticism to my rankings as long as you back up your argument.  Look for my first-base preview to be posted early Tuesday.

~Antal