Comments on: Top 20 Catchers for 2012 Fantasy Baseball

By: Spudchukar

Spudchukar — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:17:35 +0000

Yadier Molina at #19, brilliant Einstein. Last year only Alex Avila had a higher OPS+ among all catchers in MLB. Plus he is in the lineup much more often than the losers you have rated higher.

By: Scott

Scott — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:36:52 +0000

Is posey worth keeping if I have him for very cheap?

By: madx34

madx34 — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:19:21 +0000

mauer still makes me moist!!—but i probably won’t draft him

By: Hawk

Hawk — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:46:21 +0000

@Jay29

Lets say, for sake of this discussion, that Avila is an 8th round pick and Lucroy is an 18th round pick. This is how I look at it

Is Avila + 18th round value total stats >. <, or = to Lucroy + 8th round value total stats.

You're saying that there is not more than 10 R, 3 HR, 15 RBI and 20 BA points of difference in those 10 rounds? I'd say that's wrong.

By: Ned Shakeshaft

Ned Shakeshaft — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:23:14 +0000

Hey, my wife called but it started ringing at 1-800-GREY-STU. Said he don’t advertise.

I’ll take Wieters around #80-90 any day. Looks pretty durable and far more likely to take a big step forwards than back.

By: Ned Shakeshaft

Ned Shakeshaft — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:09:04 +0000

@Blue Bomb: take a catcher last. You only need one for a week or so, and you’re into the replacement level guys now anyways.

You could use backup IFs and OFs more. Any full time guys at this point, if they have multi-position eligibility, even better. Speed-only guys kinda suck in H2H, but you can’t be too picky at this stage.

By: Blue Bomb

Blue Bomb — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:44:06 +0000

Ah sorry about that. My team:
C –
1B – Albert Pujols (1)
2B – Sean Rodriguez (18)
3B – Michael Young (4)
SS – Elvis Andrus (5)
OF – Josh Hamilton (2)
OF – Nick Swisher (6)
OF – Austin Jackson (15)
UTIL – Jesus Montero (7)
UTIL – Chase Headley (14)

SP – CC Sabathia (3)
SP – Brandon Beachy (9)
RP – Ryan Madson (10)
RP – Jason Motte (11)
P – Tim Hudson (8)
P – Jaime Garcia (12)
P – Shaun Marcum (13)
P – Francisco Rodriguez (16)

BN – Jim Johnson (17)
BN – R.A. Dickey (19)
BN –
BN –
BN -

16 team mixed non-keeper H2H (5×5 but with OBP instead of AVG) with lineups set daily. I’m planning to take a catcher with my next pick, and I’ll probably take Lucroy. How do you usually allocate your bench spots? Should I go with four pitchers and a multiple-position guy to make up for offdays? I also feel like I should draft for some more SBs. I’m hoping Montero will get his eligibility within the first month so I can slide him in. Also, this is my first draft; it’s offline and snake-style, so I draft 3rd in odd rounds and 14th in even.

By: Jay29

Jay29 — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:51:17 +0000

@Hawk: According to baseballmonster.com, with 2011 stats similar to Grey's projections, Avila returned a value about 20 rounds better than Lucroy last year. Those stat differences are actually pretty significant. If you call Lucroy a replacement player or last-round draftee, Avila's numbers would easily be worth getting in like the 10th-12th round (assuming Grey's projections come true). Position scarcity is real! I'd say the only benefit to drafting Lucroy is that you could be the first person to jump on the waiver wire for this year's version of Avila. And that's far from a given.

By: sandles

sandles — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:38:09 +0000

@Hawk
if you are mocking at couchmamager.com
Alex Availa is going in the early 8th
While you can wait till after the 18th round and snag Geovany Santo

By: royce!

royce! — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:37:47 +0000

@royce!: actually, it's more like math. Dropping MATH!!!

By: royce!

royce! — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:35:07 +0000

Just noticed an interesting pattern in Joakim Soria’s peripherals:

K/9 BB/9
9.78 2.48
8.82 2.54
11.72 2.72
9.73 2.19
8.95 2.54

If I’m reading this sequence right, the next K/9 should be somewhere around 11.72. Which is the reason I will be drafting him. Dropping SCIENCE!!!

By: Hawk

Hawk — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:07:58 +0000

Why drafting catchers early is a mistake:

#6 Alex Avila projection
60/19/75/.280/3

#18 Jonathan Lucroy projection
50/13/60/.260/3

Their ADP’s will probably be 10-15 rounds apart. Is that worth 10 R, 6 HR, 15 RBI and 20 points on the BA? I do not think so. I don’t even think it’s close.

By: Grey

Grey — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:36:37 +0000

@The Talented Mr. Dope Man: Not at all. @The Talented Mr. Dope Man: Ah... Gotcha... That's fine on Ogando, he's nothing special.

By: The Talented Mr. Dope Man

The Talented Mr. Dope Man — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:30:46 +0000

@Grey: and sorry, i think you misinterpreted my post at # 30. Darvish isn't going to the bullpen, Ogando (most likely) is. Unless they trade someone. They put Ogando in the pen at the end of last year, so i think he would be the obvious candidate, and he already said that he would willingly go back.

By: The Talented Mr. Dope Man

The Talented Mr. Dope Man — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:23:43 +0000

@Grey: Did Napoli's "lingering" ankle injury affect your ranking of him at all? just curious.

By: Grey

Grey — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:46:02 +0000

@Steve: Wow, that's huge (for all hitters facing him).

By: Grey

Grey — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:45:41 +0000

@Blue Bomb: I say in the post what I think of his eligibility issue. I can't look at teams with links. If you want to post the team in the comments or forum, I'll look at it. If I start looking at everyone's team with a link, I'll spend all day clicking back and forth.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:40:53 +0000

Moyer signs with Rockies. Apparently the thin air at Coors makes his fastball seem more like 82 than 72.

By: Blue Bomb

Blue Bomb — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:40:28 +0000

I’m in the 19th round of a 16-team mixed H2H non-keeper OBP league. I took Jesus Montero a while back but I need a guy who I know will catch (speaking of him what do you think of his eligibility issue now that he’s a Mariner?).

The only ones left are picks 14-20 on your list minus Martin and Montero. I’m feeling Lucroy or Doumit would be the best choice, but what do you think? Both of ‘em give me similar output in HR/SB with the Brewers getting me more R/RBI from the former. Doumit edges out in OBP but he’s probably only going to end up with 400-ish PA.

This is my team so far: http://pastebin.com/vEVKAM4d
I’m pretty happy with it considering it’s my first ever draft.

By: Grey

Grey — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:38:29 +0000

@Awesomus Maximus: Agreed, and I don't think she has the time which is part of the issue. She looks like she's getting a 15 minute prep from the producers before, "Okay, Kenley's using pink again, ask her why? Scarlet is known for couture ask if there's added pressure." And she's out the door 15 minutes later.

By: Awesomus Maximus

Awesomus Maximus — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:34:57 +0000

@Grey: I don't think Coles is there to be a mentor. These are supposedly established talents, not fresh-faced newbies. I'm really not sure what her role is... and I don't think she is sure, either. What puzzles is me is how the Editor-in-Chief of a major publication has the time to do anything else.

By: Grey

Grey — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:20:20 +0000

@Jay29: Hehe... Yeah, I like him, but he's just too overpriced this year. Not at $8 obviously. @Steve: YTMND! @KP: Thanks so much for the kind words!

By: KP

KP — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:50:57 +0000

I have to finally admit (long-time listener, first time caller) that your ability to analyze is matched only by your wits. If I were to use “dim” as a reference, this would be a back-handed compliment, but I’m not per se because I fear “stache” backlash. No, but seriously you should be getting paid for this-that’s how skilled you are. Grey is more knowledgeable, more entertaining, and far more likable than any analyst in sports. There, I said it. And that’s right, I said: “in sports”. The statement wasn’t fantasy specific. Keep up the good work my man. Very rarely do I look forward to anything (“Breaking Bad” maybe), but your posts are that thrilling. It reminds me of my “90210″ phase. Sure, I was young and immature, but quality is still quality. In other words, your mustache is to fantasy sports what Luke Perry’s sideburns were to teenage girls everywhere. If I could sign your yearbook right now, that’s what I would write. That’ll do pig, that’ll do.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:35:28 +0000

@Grey: BTW and IMHO I agree, FWIW.

By: Jay29

Jay29 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:34:11 +0000

@Grey: Love your take on things, but I'm surprised you're down (compared to most) on Napoli this year. You end up giving him basically the same projections as you did last year. Barring a new acquisition (read: Prince), he gets ABs basically every day at either C, 1B, or DH, because Ron W likes him. Napoli has, by all accounts, shaken the "offense only" tag as a catcher, too. So with that lineup and regular ABs, even batting 7th he should have no problem approaching 70 R, 85 RBI. Obviously his BA is gonna drop, but probably only into the realm of 80% of the other catchers. Of course I'm keeping him at $8 so I'm biased. Also, this was too funny to resist: "his move to the Rangers ups his power a bit, but he’s not suddenly going to hit for .300." That's me quoting you!

By: Grey

Grey — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:33:44 +0000

@Grey: It’s almost as touching as abbreviating thanks with thx. So…many…letters…can’t…type…them…all…

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:23:30 +0000

@Grey: Yeah, that's pretty touching. Like someone was running past their computer and they didn't have time to type anything else.

By: Grey

Grey — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:15:57 +0000

@Steve: Those Astros just became the favorite for the World Series. Gotta love when people put on Facebook "HBD," very heartfelt when you have to abbreviate it.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:10:47 +0000

Cust playin’.

He signed with the Astros.

By: Grey

Grey — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:00:52 +0000

@Awesomus Maximus: I'm the process of forgetting everything Wake Up said. Not to mention, Coles has no personality or is afraid to show it. Probably the latter since she strikes me as a b**ch. Not exactly someone you look at for a mentor.