Fantasy baseball catchers

The 2015 catcher situation is quite similar to the situation from years past. There are about 10 solid number-one catchers, followed by 15 almost interchangeable players. Then there are some unusable starters and minor league prospects rounding out the bottom of the list.

Buster Posey and Jonathan Lucroy take the position’s top two spots. The former’s 2015 line should look something like .315/21/70/85, while the latter will hopefully be somewhere around .295/16/70/75.

I have seen some lists with Yadier Molina or Devin Mesoraco rounding out the top three, but I really like Yan Gomes this year. In his first full season for the Indians, he hit .278 with 21 HRs, and judging by his BABIP and career minor league numbers, he will easily be among the position’s leaders in those two categories.

Evan Gattis is the favorite to lead the position in HRs, and I think there are fewer question marks surrounding him than Molina or Mesoraco. Gattis should play a decent amount of outfield for the Astros this year as well. Barring an injury, he seems likely to reach 500 ABs for the first time in his career, which means that 30 HRs is possible.

Molina’s 2014 was his worst offensive year since 2010. While he spent some time on the disabled list due to a broken thumb, in 445 ABs, he hit .282 with seven HRs. Given his 2011-2013 statistics, he still seems like a decent bet to hit over .300, but I tend not to bet on 32 year-olds with a ton of mileage.

Mesoraco is ESPN’s #3 catcher, but that seems too high for a player with a career .245 average and only one season with over 10 HRs. Because of his mediocre statistics from 2011-2013, I need to see one more year of production before I am sold.

Salvador Perez played in 165 games last season (including playoffs), which is an absurdly high number for a catcher. He hit sub-.240 over the final three months of the season, so wear and tear is the major issue here.

Matt Wieters was incredibly consistent from 2011-2013, but he had to undergo Tommy John surgery in June, so there are some challenges ahead for him. Wilin Rosario’s issues appear to be less serious. Rosario hit 49 HRs in 2012 and 2013 combined, but then slugged just 13 last season. I really like him as a buy-low candidate because he hit .301 after the All-Star break and should get 1B and OF ABs this season.

Brian McCann rounds out my top 10. While he is a lock to hit 20 HRs, his batting average tends to hover in the .230-.250 range.

After the top 10, there is a hodge-podge of underachieving veterans, low-average high-power young players and platoon catchers. I think Miguel Montero leads the pack with his move to a highly potent Cubs offense (2015 projected line: .270/15/50/80).

Russell Martin had five straight seasons with a batting average of .250 or lower before, all of a sudden, he hit .290 in 2014.The ridiculously high .336 BABIP makes Martin an easy sell-high candidate. Plus, his HR totals have decreased in each of the past three seasons.

In terms of sleepers, I expect big things from Tyler Flowers this season. He hit .280 with 10 HRs after the All-Star break. Also, Francisco Cervelli has always hit for a high average and now he appears to be locked in as the starting catcher for an offense filled with sluggers. I see a lot of RBI and run potential for the Pirates new catcher.

Potential Sleepers: Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Travis d’Arnaud, Robinson Chirinos, Jason Castro, Stephen Vogt and Derek Norris

Potential Busts: Carlos Ruiz, Yasmani Grandal, Mike Zunino, Kurt Suzuki, Christian Bethancourt and Chris Iannetta