I drafted San Diego Padres left fielder Termel Sledge off his great spring training and the attendent positive reports about where he'd be hitting. Well, he's stuck at the bottom of the line-up right now. Surprisingly, and this is something fantasy players need to note, catcher Josh Bard has been batting clean-up.
Bard was a player whose 2006 could have lead many to conclude he would be a top ranked catcher entering 2007, but the fact he had been a generally non-descript back-up for parts of the four previous seasons caused hesitation even with experts who play in leagues with two catcher spots.
His pre-San Diego stats provide all the cover any fantasy prognosticator needed to justify their lack of faith.
| Year | Team | Lg | Age | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Cleveland | MLB | 24 | 24 | 90 | 9 | 20 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 0.222 | 0.255 | 0.378 |
| 2003 | Cleveland | MLB | 25 | 91 | 303 | 25 | 74 | 8 | 36 | 0 | 22 | 53 | 0.244 | 0.293 | 0.373 |
| 2004 | Cleveland | MLB | 26 | 7 | 19 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.421 | 0.478 | 0.684 |
| 2005 | Cleveland | MLB | 27 | 34 | 83 | 6 | 16 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 11 | 0.193 | 0.266 | 0.277 |
| 2006 | Boston | MLB | 28 | 7 | 18 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0.278 | 0.348 | 0.333 |
| San Diego | MLB | 28 | 93 | 231 | 28 | 78 | 9 | 40 | 1 | 27 | 39 | 0.338 | 0.409 | 0.537 | |
| Year | Team | Lg | Age | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| 2002 | Buffalo | IL | 24 | 94 | 344 | 36 | 102 | 6 | 53 | 0 | 20 | 45 | 0.297 | 0.332 | 0.436 |
| 2003 | Buffalo | IL | 25 | 35 | 115 | 14 | 38 | 5 | 21 | 1 | 14 | 17 | 0.330 | 0.408 | 0.522 |
| 2004 | Akron | East | 26 | 10 | 30 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 0.167 | 0.324 | 0.200 |
| 2004 | Buffalo | IL | 26 | 40 | 156 | 25 | 41 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 11 | 23 | 0.263 | 0.310 | 0.404 |
However, that all goes out the window given the Padres decision to bat him 4th. He can easily be the 2nd best NL catcher if his power and plate discipline from 2006 hold. The Padres couldn't have misjudged him so badly that he'd be in the clean-up spot, could they?