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They say talent trumps experience.  That said, they also say persistence trumps talent.  They also say persistence pays off.  Sorry y’all, got lost reading motivational posters it seems.  But that’s what happens when you are trying to get people excited about Josmil Pinto for the 2015 Fantasy Baseball season.  Believe me, I know it’s a bumpy road.  I mean, haven’t we been down it before?  The Twins organization has been a confounding crew, turning 5 year aged Malbec into two buck chuck (now probably three buck chuck…curse you, inflation!) for what feels like a long time.  I mean, name the last Twins hitter you were actually excited to own?  Chuck Knoublauch?  And how have I made two references to ‘chuck’ in an opening paragraph and it’s not even about the same type of chuck?  Weird times.  All this to say, Josmil could be on the cusp of greatness…or getting traded…or being completely forgotten.  Man I love those three true outcome guys!  If you’re curious why I say these things, read on.  Here’s my red hot take on why Pinto could be an exciting get as a second catcher in deep league settings for 2015 Fantasy Baseball…

The fun thing about baseball (to me at least) is that you never know when a guy is going to ‘get it’.  Some guys are written off before they even turn 25 in this game we play.  Think about that for a second.  I mean, I’ve been written off since turning 21 but that’s just due to the beer.  These are kids with talent in a sport that ain’t easy and yet they could be considered ‘Quad-A’ guys before their career has even started.  Scary thought.  But the thing to think about with Josmil and what little he’s done at the major league level is that he plays arguably the hardest defensive position to get: catcher.  Ever notice how many times people talk up a rookie catcher and said rookie catcher disappoints for a couple of years?  At this point, ‘donning the tools of ignorance’ has taken on an entirely new meaning for me: it means you were too stupid at a young age to realize just how hard the position was and Josmil has had a rough go.  If you don’t believe me, here’s the google proof.  To put it mildly, if you can’t field your position well, you’re probably not gonna be a major league starter for long, if ever, especially at such a key position.  But here’s the funny thing, based on plenty of metrics, Kurt Suzuki isn’t exactly the greatest catcher himself.  In fact, if you look at this, he was actually worse than Pinto in 2014 by a good amount.  Of course, unless you play in an UZR league, you don’t care about defense so…how ’bout dat bat, right?  Well, Josmil has limited major league exposure to date but showed dramatic improvement in his walk rate last year which reasonably counterbalances his K% issues.  He doesn’t profile as a high average guy as of this moment but 15-17 HRs and a .260 average is possible with upside in the power department.  If Josmil proves he has made strides defensively, it’s hard to think that he won’t be given a shot for some decent at-bat numbers in 2015.  You say he’s blocked three ways (Kennys Vargas, Joe Mauer, and Kurt Suzuki) and I say there’s holes in all three of those supposedly sturdy walls.  Vargas is 6’5″ and weighs 275.  You think he’s gonna repeat a .340 BABIP while striking out 27% of the time?  Mauer is the face of the franchise, right?  Let me know how many starting first baseman that hit like they’re Yunel Escobar get many at-bats, especially when they’re injury-prone, 32 year old former catchers.  The great thing about fantasy sports is you can start a guy like Pinto in your second catcher slot and it doesn’t matter if he does much, any, or none of his damage at C: you still get the stats.  Basically, if you’re looking for this year’s potential Devin Mesoraco, kick the tires on this Pinto.

Honorable Catcher Mentions

Francisco Cervelli – The plusses: he’ll most likely handle a majority of the catching duties because of his mitt and he has a career .278 average over 785 career plate appearances. The minuses: he has only 10 HRs during those same PAs and he’s starting the majority of his games because of his mitt, not his bat. He might have some useful stretches for deep league settings but he’s not a name to get excited about drafting.

Yasmani Grandal – Simply put, he’s not gonna go deep enough to really say I’m going out on a limb to be call him a deep league post guy. He’s probably top 20 C on most boards but for good reason: the breakout potential is similar to Pinto’s but his job is a bit more established.

Nick Hundley – I know, I know, Grey ranked Rosario pretty high because of his bat but here’s me looking at the Rockies through Walt Weiss’ eyes: derp, derp, derp, derp, derp *poops own pants, plays with said poop in his pants*. What I’m trying to say is he is what they call ‘not a smart’. I sometimes wonder if John C. Reilly got his idea for Steve Brule by watching Walt manage. All this to say, I could see Weiss burning Rosario owners and Nick Hundley being the benefactor, ya dangus.