Will Geovany Soto Be The #1 Ranked Catcher In 2009 And Other Baseball Notes

by faketeams on May 15, 2008 7:30 AM EDT in Baseball Comment 6 comments

With David Cook's bio on American Idol in the background, I checked the evening's boxscores and noted the number of HRs hit. The AL had gone deep seven times with one game yet to start. The NL had gone deep eleven times with two games yet to begin.

Despite #3 hitter Derek Jeter's 0-4 with two ks, the New York Yankees managed to eke out a 2-1 win over the 1st place Tampa Bay Rays behind an excellent pitching effort by Mike Mussina. In 6.1 innings, he allowed just five hits while striking out five and walking just one. Mussina is now 6-3 with a 3.99 ERA.

2006 MVP Ryan Howard hit his 8th HR of the season against Braves' lefty Royce Ring. Did his previous 0-3 mark the nadir of his 2008 season?

C.C. Sabathia shutout the Oakland A's on his way to completely eradicating any memory of his 2008 start. Another eleven Ks against just two walks also makes sure no memory of that start remains.

With a quarter of the season gone, Chicago Cubs' rookie catcher has left no doubt that his 2007 breakthrough seasonw as not a fluke. He his his 7th HR of the season and drove in RBIs # 27, 28 and 29. The only question is how close to Victor Martinez he comes in next season's catcher rankings.

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Geovany Soto	36	127	17	40	13	1	6	26	24	33	0	0	.315	.421	.575

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Victor Martinez	32	117	9	39	7	0	0	14	9	11	0	0	.333	.383	.393

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Brian McCann	36	132	19	40	12	1	7	21	15	11	0	0	.303	.372	.568

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Russell Martin	38	126	20	38	6	0	3	15	29	21	3	3	.302	.433	.421

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2008 - Joe Mauer	34	121	25	40	9	1	0	15	18	10	0	1	.331	.414	.421

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No Cash for Catchers

Not sure there’s a more unreliable position in fantasy sports. Current AL HR leaders at C position are Napoli (8), then Olivo and ‘Tek (4). This is why I never spend money on catchers.

by Cased on May 15, 2008 8:16 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

But

In an AL-only league, not spending on catchers leaves you with the likes of Kevin Cash and Rob bowen. it is easier to do in mixed leagues, but one could argue the depth in other positions makes selecting the good catchers early a wiser choice.

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by faketeams on May 15, 2008 9:47 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Sounds like an avenue for analysis

Has anyone tried to put numbers into an argument about catcher scarcity? Which argument prevails?

by Xavier. on May 15, 2008 10:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe, maybe not.

I think you overstate the downside when you assume someone not spending on catching will automatically have 2 little used back-ups. At the very least, anyway, these guys won’t kill your average like some other full-timers will. (I am coming at this from an Auction/Roto standpoint – points/H2H leagues with straight drafts might be different, I don’t know).

Plus, I’m not a big believer in position scarcity. $20 performance is $20 performance, no matter where in your line-up it’s coming from.

by Cased on May 16, 2008 9:24 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

True but

You must start a catcher. Look at any mixed league reserve. Alomst every player would bump a catcher in a two-catcher format.

$20 outfielders on the bench versus $5 catchers who start.

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by faketeams on May 16, 2008 10:15 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I aggree

If you have a $20 OF on your bench (assuming a typical $260 auction budget, that’s almost 10% of your total budget!) you need to trade him for an upgrade at another position. Also, in your scenario that $20 OF would also bump … wait for it … Victor Martinez (or just about any other catcher at this point).

I believe your point is position scarcity, where I don’t buy it should be a factor. Would you pay $20 for VMart to catch? Let’s say most would. Would you pay $20 for VMart to play first base? No way. That’s my point – give me a $20 1b and a$5 catcher instead of a $20 catcher and a $5 1b – I believe in almost all circumstances my overall stats for those two positions will be better than yours. To me, that matters more.

Again – position scarcity – I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree.

by Cased on May 16, 2008 2:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs