Fake Teams Hits the Fantasy Baseball Links

Here are your catcher-heavy fantasy baseball links for today, September 27:

Alex Avila: Can He Repeat 2011? | FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball

In 2012, I see Alex’s overall will be nearly the same. The categories where he has value looks to shift from AVG to more counting stats (HRs, Runs and RBIs).

McCann's Slower Bat | Baseball Analytics

McCann can't handle high pitches, where a hitters bat needs to be quicker, and he also has problems with the outside half of the strike zone. He may not get his timing back until he has time to heal fully this off-season.

Outlook for Jesus Montero in 2012 | FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball

Right now, the team is using Montero as their primary DH and he will make the post-season roster as such. But moving forward, there is going to have to be a lot of work on defense over the winter. Hopefully, there’s some private work with a veteran backstop in the plans. He’s only got two games behind the plate under his belt and unless the team commits to him as their catcher, he may only qualify as a DH in most fantasy leagues, thus limiting his value tremendously. Nothing worse for your roster flexibility than to have players who can only fit in your utility slot.

Follow the jump for more of the latest fantasy baseball news and analysis from around the web.

xBABIP Spreadsheet | FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball
Another xBABIP tool, which can be very useful. If FanGraphs sees the need for something like this, then why can't they just put this stat on their player pages?

Preliminary 2012 Rankings: Top 10 Catchers | Rotoprofessor

What Catcher Framing Means For Fantasy Catchers | Roto Hardball

So when you see that Alex Avila was best in baseball at framing pitches, maybe you give Max Scherzer a little tick up next year. The magic didn't quite work for him this year, but it might next year.

Early 2012 Outlook: Top 20 OF | Fantasy Baseball 365
Remember all the way back in 2010 when Kemp was a bust? Wonder who is going to have a Kemp-like bounceback next year.

Potential 2012 K/9 Decliners | FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball

Stauffer has displayed a solid mix of skills, possessing good control, decent strikeout ability and an excellent ground ball rate. All in all, his ERA matches his SIERA and xFIP almost identically. But that strikeout rate may not last, unfortunately.

Collateral Damage: Crunch Time | Baseball Prospectus

Prospect of the Day: Kelvin Herrera, RHP, Kansas City Royals | Minor League Ball

Age 21, Herrera is small for a right-hander at 5-10, 190. There is nothing small about his arm strength however. He worked in the 90-94 range as a starter, but in relief this year he boosted his velocity into the mid-90s. The fastball has unusually good movement low in the strike zone, resulting in a high ground ball rate. His slider was rated below average until this year, but now rates as above average. He already had a good changeup, so the development of his breaking ball and more consistent peak velocity readings made him truly dominating in the pen. He can throw strikes with all three pitches.

THT’s top 100 prospects, part 1 | The Hardball Times
From a fantasy perspective

THT’s top 100 prospects, part 2 | The Hardball Times

AL Rookie Review: Position Players | Roto Hardball

[Jennings] has the ceiling to be a special fantasy player, likely capable of the same kind of production we can expect from Jacoby Ellsbury going forward, with .280-.290 averages, 20-plus homers, and loads of steals. Chances are good he is going to go early or for high price at auction thanks to his partial rookie campaign.

The BP Wayback Machine: Props for the Ozzeroo | Baseball Prospectus

You may have heard that Ozzie Guillen was traded to the Marlins, a move he had practically been begging for for several months now.  BP reran a 2005 article about Ozzie that has a very worthy rant against the White Sox in the first couple of paragraphs.