Fake Teams Consensus 2013 Catcher Rankings - Part 2

On Monday, I pubIished Part 1 of our 2013 Consensus Catcher Rankings, and today I bring you Part 2 of our consensus catcher rankings. For a recap of who took part in the rankings process, the writers involved in the rankings include Bret, Jason, Craig and myself. Before I get to the player profiles, here are the individual rankings, as well as the consensus catcher rankings for 2013.

Each of us were tasked with ranking our Top 25 Catchers for 2013, and while the top 7-8 catchers were ranked closely by each of us, there are some huge disparities in our rankings for certain catchers heading into 2013. Carlos Ruiz was ranked anywhere from 5^th to 16^th for 2013, and Braves catcher Brian McCann was ranked from 8^th to 18^th. I was the low guy on McCann, and I will explain my reasoning in his player profile in Part 2 of our Catcher Rankings for 2013.

Our consensus catcher rankings were calculated by assigning 25 points for a first place vote, 24 points for a second place vote and so on. There's also a 2-point bonus for appearing on a list, which gives more weight (in close scenarios) to players who appeared on more of our lists. Hence why d'Arnaud is ahead of Arencibia, despite having a lower "raw" number (d'Arnaud gets 4 additional points for appearing on all 4 lists as opposed to 2).

Now let's take a look at our individual and consensus fantasy catcher rankings for 2013:

Rank	Player	Team	Ray	Bret	Jason	Craig	Score	App
1	Buster Posey	SF	1	1	1	1	108	4
2	Yadier Molina	STL	3	4	2	2	101	4
3	Joe Mauer	MIN	5	2	6	3	96	4
4	Carlos Santana	CLE	2	3	3	8	96	4
5	Matt Wieters	BAL	4	5	4	7	92	4
6	Miguel Montero	ARZ	6	12	7	4	83	4
7	Wilin Rosario	COL	9	6	10	13	74	4
8	Victor Martinez	DET	7	7	12	12	74	4
9	Carlos Ruiz	PHI	8	13	5	16	70	4
10	Mike Napoli	TEX	16	11	9	6	70	4
11	Sal Perez	KC	14	9	11	9	69	4
12	Jonathan Lucroy	MLW	13	14	13	5	67	4
13	Jesus Montero	SEA	10	8	18	10	66	4
14	Brian McCann	ATL	18	15	8	11	60	4
15	Ryan Doumit	MIN	12	10	20	14	56	4
16	AJ Pierzynski	CHW	11	16	24	15	46	4
17	A.J. Ellis	LAD	15	20	17	17	43	4
18	Yasmani Grandal	SD	21	17	15	18	41	4
19	Russell Martin	NYY	17	24	16	21	34	4
20	Alex Avila	DET	19	19	25	20	29	4
21	Travis d'Arnaud	TOR	20	25	21	25	21	4
22	JP Arencibia	TOR	NR	NR	14	22	20	2
23	Derek Norris	OAK	25	21	NR	19	19	3
24	Wilson Ramos	WSH	NR	22	19	NR	15	2
25	Chris Iannetta	LAA	NR	18	NR	24	14	2

The Fake Teams Consensus 2013 Fantasy Catcher Rankings and Player Profiles for catchers ranked 14-25:

14. Brian McCann, ATL

McCann had offseason surgery on his right shoulder, and the Braves are "hoping" he misses just the first couple weeks of the 2013 season. Braves GM Frank Wren was recently quoted saying that "we will know more in spring training, and the doctors won't turn him loose till early April". That, to me, says that he won't see any action in April. I am pessimistic on McCann in 2013, and think that he will miss more time than the team is saying right now. His five straight seasons of 20 or more home runs will come to an end in 2013, and lost in that streak is that his extra base hits (XBH) have dropped in each of the last four years:

2008: 66 XBH

2009: 57 XBH

2010: 46 XBH

2011: 43 XBH

2012: 34 XBH

2013 Projection: I see McCann hitting .260 with 13 HRs and 45-50 RBI in 2013, as I think he will miss more time than the team is projecting right now.

15. Ryan Doumit, MIN

Doumit is a late round choice in mixed leagues and a valuable one at that. He retains catcher eligibility and will not hurt you in the batting average category like some other catchers will. Doumit hit .275-.320-.461 with 18 HRs, 56 runs and 75 RBI in 484 at bats, and will have catcher and outfield, along with DH, eligibility in 2013. He should see plenty of time at catcher in 2013 as well, as the Twins like to give Joe Mauer some time at DH or first base to keep his legs fresh.

2013 Projection: When healthy, Doumit will hit, providing fantasy owners with a .270 batting average, double digit home runs, and 60-70 RBI in 2013.

16. A.J. Pierzynski, FA

Pierzynski may be the most hated player in the game, but even at an old age, he still provides solid production across the board for fantasy owners. He will have a hard time repeating his 2012 season, the best season of his career. Pierzynski had career highs in home runs, runs and RBI at the ripe young age of 35 in 2012, but is a free agent this offseason, so there is a chance he signs with a team to be a backup, rather than a starter. He's a career .284 hitter and has hit double digit home runs in 8 of his 12 seasons in the majors.

2013 Projection: I see Pierzynski hitting .275 with 10-14 home runs and 50-55 RBI in 2013, assuming he is signed as a starting catcher.

17. A.J. Ellis, LAD

Ellis had a breakout season in 2012 at the age of 31 in his first year in the majors. Ellis hit .270-.373-.414 with 13 HRs, 44 runs and 52 RBI in 423 at bats. He is locked in as the Dodgers starting catcher job heading into 2013, but you really can't predict who the Dodgers new owners will sign/trade for this offseason, as they are spending money like crazy. They are spending enough to make the Yankees look like a mid-market team.

2013 Projection: Ellis, assuming he is the Dodgers starting catcher in 2013, and I think he will be, will hit .265 with 10-12 HRs and 50 RBI in 2013.

18. Yasmani Grandal, SD

We completed our catcher rankings before the news came out about Grandal's PED suspension. His suspension will certainly raise questions about whether his performance in 2012 was testosterone induced or not. The evidence says it was, but we will not know the answer to this question till he returns in late May 2013. Grandal had a solid debut in 2012, hitting .297-.394-.469 with 8 HRs, 28 runs and 36 RBI in 192 at bats. What's interesting is that he hit more home runs in the big leagues (8) than he did in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League (6).

2013 Projection: Projecting him based on his 2012 performance may be foolish, so I will temper my projection for him. I see him hitting .265 with 8 HRs and 45 RBI in 2013.

19. Russell Martin, FA

Martin is a free agent this offseason, but the Yankees are rumored to be interested in resigning him. Martin had a solid power showing in 2012, hitting a career high 21 home runs, but hitting a career low .211-.311-403. He once was a .280-.290 hitter, but has replaced hitting for average for hitting balls over the wall. His batting average has plummeted over the years:

2006: .282

2007: .293

2008: .280

2009: .250

2010: .248

2011: .237

2012: .211

Martin hit 54 home runs in 5 seasons with the Dodgers, but has hit 39 in two seasons with the Yankees hitting in friendly confines of Yankee Stadium.

2013 Projection: Assuming he re-signs with the Yankees, I see Martin hitting .230 with 18 HRs and 55 RBI.

20. Alex Avila, DET

Avila is a year removed from a breakout 2011 season which saw him hit .295-.389-.506 with 19 HRs, 63 runs and 82 RBI. 2012 saw him fall back to his normal output, hitting .243-.352-.384 with 9 HRs, 42 runs and 46 RBI in just 116 games. Avila battled an assortment of injuries in 2012, and saw his fly ball rate drop from 41% in 2011 to 30% in 2012, with his HR/FB rate remaining relatively the same. If he can stay healthy, we could see more pop from him in 2013, assuming he can hit a few more fly balls, and a few more land over the wall.

2013 Projection: Avila could hit a few more long balls in 2013, so I will project him for a .250 average with 13 HRs, 50 runs and 55 RBI.

21. Travis d'Arnaud, TOR

d'Arnaud is one of the top catching prospects in baseball, with the tools to hit for average and power. d'Arnaud tore up AAA pitching to the tune of .333-.380-.595 with 16 HRs, 45 runs and 52 RBI in just 67 games in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League. He will report to spring training with a chance to win the starting catcher's job from teammate J.P. Arencibia. I have a feeling he will start the season in AAA, but it won't be long before he gets the call.

2013 Projection: Assuming he gets the call up by May 2013, I see d'Arnaud hitting .245 with 13 HRs and 50 RBI.

22. J.P. Arencibia, TOR

d'Arnaud's teammate Arencibia is an all power, high strikeout catcher who may be on the trade block this offseason due to the readiness of d'Arnaud. Arencibia hit just .233-.275-.435 with 18 HRs, 45 runs and 56 RBI in 2012, with a 29% strikeout rate and a walk rate just under 5%.

2013 Projection: I see Arencibia hitting .230 with 15 HRs and 45 RBI in 2013, assuming he splits time with d'Arnaud once d'Arnaud gets the call.

23. Derek Norris, OAK

Norris struggled at the plate in his first look at major league pitching in 2012, striking out at a very high 28.4% and walking in 9.4% of his at bats. He hit just .201-.276-.349 with 7 HRs, 19 runs, 34 RBI and 5 stolen bases in just over 200 at bats. He should provide fantasy owners with decent power, with an improving eye at the plate, helping those in OBP leagues. He will have to cut his strikeouts down to help owners in the bating average category, but should provide decent power and will toss in a few stolen bases as well.

2013 Projection: I see Norris hitting .225 with 15 HRs, 50 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 2013.

24. Wilson Ramos, WAS

Ramos is returning from meniscus and ACL surgeries, and should take over the starting catcher's job in 2013 if completely recovered from his knee injuries. He played in just 25 games in 2012, hitting .265-.354-.398 with 3 HRs, 11 runs and 10 RBI in 83 at bats. His strikeout rate increased a bit, from 17.5% to 19.8%, but his walk rate jumped as well, from 8.7% to 12.5%. He will have to work on reducing his propensity to hit the ball on the ground, and should he do so, he could provide fantasy owners with a .270 batting average with double digit power.

2013 Projection: I see Ramos hitting .265 with 12 HRs and 50 RBI in 2013.

25. Chris Iannetta, LAA

Iannetta missed over two months of the 2012 season with a broken right wrist, but should return healthy to start the 2013 season. Iannetta signed a 3 year extension with the Angels this offseason, so he should see regular time behind the dish next season. Iannetta has a solid eye at the plate, as he owns a career walk rate of 13.6%, but has trouble making contact, as he makes contact just 74% of his plate appearances. He won't hit for a high average, but should be good for double digit homers in 2013.

2013 Projection: I see Iannetta hitting .240 with 12 HRs and 45 RBI in 2013.