Please, save yourself the trouble and don’t put too much time into your dynasty league catcher. You’ll definitely fall into one of two groups: the haves, and the have-nots. If you’re lucky enough to get Brian McCann, Matt Wieters, or Russell Martin, you’re set for the foreseeable future.
If you don’t get one of the big guys, don’t even bother with the catcher position and pick up the highest rated catcher in single-year leagues. Bengie Molina isn’t a pretty option, but he’ll get the job done. It makes a lot more sense to draft Ramon Hernandez every year, than it does to keep someone like Kurt Suzuki, just in case he breaks out.
Matt Wieters, the number one prospect in baseball, is obviously in the player pool but none of the other young-impact catchers make the list. There’s no Buster Posey, Carlos Santana, or Jesus Montero. Your best bet for grabbing a youngin’ probably comes from the catching stable in Texas, both Max Ramirez and Taylor Teagarden are solid prospects.
The first group of catchers are all about 26 years old, excluding Wieters, so you really can’t go wrong.
C- 1B – 2B – SS – 3B – OF - SP – RP
1. Brian McCann – ATL Braves – The only one of the bunch without a noticeable flaw.
2. Joe Mauer – MIN Twins - Flaw: Bad Back
3. Geovany Soto – CHI Cubs - Flaw: Only One Year Under His Belt
4. Russell Martin – LA Dodgers - Flaw: Speed will abandon him
You could make an argument for those 4 going in any order you’d like. I think McCann’s power will persevere unlike Martin’s stolen base numbers. Joe Mauer at second is risky business considering his back is in awful shape, but while Mauer’s GP won’t be consistent, his batting average should be. Depending on how the young Twins shape up, Mauer should improve with age.
5. Matt Wieters – BAL Orioles - Wieters doesn’t even have a job yet, but when you consider very few catchers will get kept you might as well take a risk. Weiter is also a great draft + trade candidate, as his value will only go up once he reaches the big leagues.
6. Chris Iannetta – COL Rockies – Finally, a Colorado catcher that can hit. Ianetta’s young enough to improve for the next 3 or 4 years, and maintain steady output into his 30′s.
7. Dioner Navarro – TB Rays – Bit of a risky pick here as Navarro is anything but predictable. The only thing keeping him ahead of Doumit and Martinez is position eligibility.
8. Victor Martinez – CLE Indians – At some point, he’ll be an everyday first basemen or dh.
9. Ryan Doumit – PIT Pirates - Doumit’s already played his fair share of games in the outfield, and I wouldn’t bank on him having catcher eligibility for more than a couple years.
10. Mike Napoli – LA Angels - Limited at-bats, Lots of power.
11. Jarrod Saltalamacchia – TEX Rangers - Don’t write him off yet.
12. Jeff Clement – SEA Mariners - Ditto.
13. Max Ramirez – TEX Rangers - If you do write off Salty..
14. Taylor Teagarden – TEX Rangers – Minors numbers aren’t as pretty as you’d expect. Solid defender and he plays in Arlington, though.
15. Kelly Shoppach – CLE Indians – Ditto Napoli.
16. Chris Snyder – ARI Diamondbacks
17. Angel Salome – MIL Brewers
18. Bengie Molina – SF Giants
19. Ramon Hernandez – CIN Reds
20. J.R. Towles – HOU Astros
21. Jesus Flores – WAS Nationals
22. A.J. Pierzynski – CHI White Sox
23. John Baker – FLA Marlins
24. Jorge Posada – NY Yankees
25. Ronny Paulino – FLA Marlins
26. Miguel Olivo – KC Royals
27. Nick Hundley – SD Padres
28. Kurt Suzuki – OAK Athletics
29. Jeff Mathis – LA Angels
30. Miguel Montero – ARI Diamondbacks
While I’ve listed these down to 30, I really don’t see any point in wasting a keeper spot on a mediocre catcher just because he’s under 25. Obviously, when a Matt Wieters or Buster Posey comes along, you should pounce but the amount of FAIL that keeper-league catchers bring to the table is ungodly.
Furthermore, most of these catchers aren’t going to come into their own until their mid-twenties.
