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Time keeps on moving. The last time we rolled out a set of positional projections we had just learned that the Cubs would be challenging the Indians in the World Series. Tonight Cleveland has a chance to take the series and extend misery on the north side of Chicago. Put another way, we're at the 1 yard line in terms of Major League Baseball being played in the 2016 season. 2017 fantasy baseball prep started here immediately following the conclusion of the regular season and we'll continue on today.
Earlier this week we ran through the projection process for Gary Sanchez, in an attempt to not only project future performance with limited data, but also historical data. Sanchez and a small handful of other options at the catcher position are the only reason worth getting excited when drafting in this player pool, in my opinion. Once the top guys are off the board you're left with quite a few similar players and even more players who will be negative in multiple categories. Ray started off his 2017 early ranking series with Catchers and today we put some early projection numbers to that list.
It is important to note that while a set of projections might add up to a dollar value when converted using a variety of methods that would rank a certain player above another, that doesn't necessarily mean the projection is correct and the updated ranking is incorrect. With a ranking things such as consistency and the odds of more or less playing time can be the difference between one spot in a ranking list and another. When converting projections straight over to dollar values, this can be lost at times. Using both projections and rankings from your favorite sources is an ideal way to build an appropriate expectation level for the coming season.
As always, please share any thoughts or questions in the comments below.
Ray's Rank | Name | Team | LG | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1 | Jonathan Lucroy | Rangers | AL | 530 | 16 | 63 | 65 | 3 | 0.282 | 0.348 | 0.45 |
2 | Buster Posey | Giants | NL | 615 | 17 | 76 | 86 | 3 | 0.303 | 0.367 | 0.457 |
3 | Yasmani Grandal | Dodgers | NL | 480 | 26 | 54 | 69 | 1 | 0.237 | 0.347 | 0.473 |
4 | Gary Sanchez | Yankees | AL | 545 | 31 | 69 | 87 | 2 | 0.276 | 0.338 | 0.526 |
5 | Salvador Perez | Royals | AL | 563 | 20 | 55 | 67 | 0 | 0.254 | 0.286 | 0.423 |
6 | J.T. Realmuto | Marlins | NL | 500 | 10 | 52 | 49 | 9 | 0.269 | 0.307 | 0.404 |
7 | Evan Gattis | Astros | AL | 530 | 27 | 57 | 73 | 1 | 0.249 | 0.303 | 0.475 |
8 | Russell Martin | Blue Jays | AL | 500 | 19 | 62 | 72 | 3 | 0.247 | 0.349 | 0.427 |
9 | Willson Contreras | Cubs | NL | 485 | 15 | 62 | 66 | 5 | 0.265 | 0.347 | 0.444 |
10 | Cameron Rupp | Phillies | NL | 462 | 15 | 38 | 53 | 1 | 0.241 | 0.302 | 0.411 |
11 | Brian McCann | Yankees | AL | 518 | 23 | 60 | 75 | 0 | 0.237 | 0.317 | 0.421 |
12 | Wilson Ramos | FA | NA | 285 | 10 | 27 | 40 | 0 | 0.272 | 0.309 | 0.432 |
13 | Yadier Molina | Cardinals | NL | 530 | 6 | 45 | 54 | 3 | 0.290 | 0.338 | 0.393 |
14 | Welington Castillo | Diamondbacks | NL | 420 | 15 | 38 | 59 | 1 | 0.250 | 0.308 | 0.426 |
15 | Matt Wieters | FA | NA | 495 | 17 | 49 | 64 | 1 | 0.259 | 0.313 | 0.424 |
16 | Sandy Leon | Red Sox | AL | 375 | 7 | 40 | 36 | 0 | 0.243 | 0.307 | 0.366 |
17 | Tom Murphy | Rockies | NL | 350 | 19 | 40 | 58 | 3 | 0.263 | 0.321 | 0.498 |
18 | Derek Norris | Padres | NL | 400 | 11 | 44 | 42 | 5 | 0.229 | 0.300 | 0.373 |
19 | Mike Zunino | Mariners | AL | 480 | 22 | 44 | 56 | 0 | 0.192 | 0.268 | 0.386 |
20 | Stephen Vogt | Athletics | AL | 525 | 16 | 55 | 63 | 0 | 0.259 | 0.320 | 0.424 |