Thursday Roto Round Up: The Top Two Catchers In 2009

3B/C Brandon Inge, Detroit Tigers:  With his 6th HR of the season, Inge is more than half way to matching last season's total.  At .315, he is hitting much better than I thought he would be almost two weeks after his hot start and remains the top catcher and top 3B to this point.

C/1B Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians:  At .394 with 5 HRs, VMart would be selected ahead of Inge as the top catcher.  However, the 6 RBI difference this early in the season keeps Inge ranked ahead of him.  FWIW, VMart currently ranks in the Top 5 for 1B.

RP Jensen Lewis, Cleveland Indians:  Credited with the win in yesterday's come-from-behind victory over the Kansas City Royals, Lewis now has four decisions.  He is exactly the type of reliever fantasy teams need when avoiding mediocre starting pitching - a key member of a bullpen which must support a weak starting rotation on a team with a good offense.

C/1B Jamie Burke, Seattle Mariners:  Thanks to injuries to first- and second-string 1B Russell Branyan and Mike Sweeney, Burke got the start a 1B.  A Seattle Mariners' back-up catcher starting at 1B?  Yeah, that shouldn't be Jeff Clement!

SP Scott Richmond, Toronto Blue Jays:  Richmond won his 2nd game in three starts to begin the 2009 season.  With 15 Ks in 16 IP, Richmond looks like yet another no-name pitching success for the Blue Jays.  I know I have been very hard on GM J.P. Ricciardi, but he deserves credit for what he has built - a defense and pitching first team with offense a distant concern.

Too bad Ricky Romero just got hurt.  Another few good starts from him, and one could legitimately ask whether a low cost league average SP is more valuable than a low OBP SS like Troy Tulowitzki.

C Russell Martin, Los Angeles Dodgers: Following an 0-4 last night, Martin is hitting an anemic 226/349/283.  The AVG doesn't concern me so much thanks to a good OBP, but the SLG is a bigger concern.  Martin's SLG and XBH's decreased from .469 and 54 in 2007 to .396 and 38 in 2008.  Another decreases in 2009 a trends makes.  Even worse, Martin is 0-2 in SBs.

2B Chris Getz, Chicago White Sox:  Leading off the his team, Getz went 2-4 with his 3rd SB.  A slashstat line of 333/396/405 says he can stay there.  I worry about the AVG-dependent nature of his OBP, but he is showing excellent contact ability (3 Ks and 4 BBs in 46 plate appearances).  The big worry about a player of this profile is whether or not he can drive the ball enough to keep pitcher's honest.

Eighth Inning Set-Ups (Decison or # of holds):  Jensen Lewis Cleveland Indians (W), David Aardsma Seattle Mariners (4), Jesse Carlson Toronto Blue Jays (3), Shawn Camp Toronto Blue Jays (1)

Saves:  Scott Downs Toronto Blue Jays (1), Brandon Morrow Seattle Mariners (5), Jonathan Broxton Los Angeles Dodgers (5), Kerry Wood Cleveland Indians (3)