Fantasy Baseball Top 10 Catchers Report

Fantasy Baseball is right around the corner for some and the catcher position looks to be as thin as ever heading into the 2015 season. Carlos Santana is no longer listed as a catcher and neither is Joe Mauer leaving the pool of available players very top heavy in an offensive based league. My advice to you, grab a catcher as early as feasibly possible. I’m not saying take Buster Posey with a Mike Trout type available on the board but if you’re considering an outfielder or a catcher, definitely go catcher.

The Top 10 starts with Wilson Ramos of the Washington Nationals. Ramos should have plenty of runners on base when he comes up and hits for decent power and average for his position. Following Ramos at the number nine slot is Russell Martin of the Toronto Blue Jays. Martin is another who should have plenty of RBI chances hitting in the middle of the Blue Jays lineup and may feast on a seemingly weaker set of American League East pitchers. Yadier Molina is a mainstay in these rankings and is 7^th on my list from the St. Louis Cardinals while our very own Brian McCann comes in at the #6 spot. Evan Gattis is listed as a catcher this year and I include him at #5 even though I expect to see him DH and play left field some in Houston. Either way his power is undeniable, even in Minute Maid Park.

The fourth best catcher this season, fantasy wise anyway, has to be Yan Gomes of the Cleveland Indians as he leads a young and up and coming pitching staff as well as an equally young and up and coming offense in the American League Central. Devin Mesoraco leads a talented Cincinnati Reds staff in the three spot and plays in a very hitting friendly park in Cincinnati while Jonathan Lucroy looks to have another fantastic season in Milwaukee. Even with his best season I cannot see Lucroy, or anyone, taking over the top spot from Buster Posey. Posey is still the best catcher in baseball and far and away the best offensive catcher in baseball and will remain in that spot at least for one more season in San Francisco. 

Are the Atlanta Braves Rebuilding on the Fly?

The Atlanta Braves have shaken up the National League East pecking order a little this week when they traded second baseman Tommy La Stella for RHP and former Atlanta Brave and New York Yankee Arodys Vizcaino. The team then traded away homegrown talent and local boy Jason Heyward to the St. Louis Cardinals along with RHP Jordan Walden for RHP Shelby Miller and a highly regarded pitching prospect. Maybe I have become accustomed to expecting to win every season and I am losing my understanding on what it’s like to be in a smaller market with a smaller payroll but this sounds like a rebuild to me. This sounds at least like a rebuild on the fly anyway.

Pitching reigns supreme right now in that division and the Braves have lost, at least for now, Ervin Santana to free agency along with Brandon Beachy and Kris Medlen to Tommy John surgery so I understand the need for pitching. At what cost does the pitching get too heavily relied on? Ask the 2014 Yankees who had a great pitching staff, injuries and all, and an even better bullpen but lost far too many 1-0 type games because of an inadequate offense. The Braves offense was already suspect with Heyward and La Stella so I can only imagine what Atlanta will be like without them.

I understand that it’s only November, 19 and there is a ways to go in this offseason but you have to wonder what new GM John Hart is thinking. Atlanta does not have a second base prospect less than a year away and the market for middle infielders is barren so why does a team trade away a guy with five years left of team control at what is becoming a premium position? Also one would think the Braves have a lot better chance at re-signing Heyward after 2015 then they do Justin Upton who is also a free agent at season’s end so why not trade Upton? The return is bigger and better and it still opens a position up for Evan Gattis.

I don’t think the Braves are done dealing soon to be free agents for controllable players and I think Upton and Gattis may be next because if it looks like a rebuild and smells like a rebuild and walks like a rebuild, it’s a rebuild. 

Yankees Named As One of Five Potential Landing Spots for Ryan Howard

I was reading the USA Today yesterday morning and I clicked on a link titled “five potential landing spots for Ryan Howard” simply because I had a feeling the Yankees were going to be on the list. Low and behold New York was on the list along with the Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, and the Toronto Blue Jays.

Here is the write up from the article concerning the Yankees:

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/11/philadelphia-phillies-ryan-howard-mlb

3. New York Yankees

It sounds ridiculous, but the Yankees have: A) Plenty of bad contracts they could deal, B) A park that seems perfectly catered to Howard’s strengths, C) No clear limit on how much they’re willing to spend to stay competitive and D) An apparent fondness for aging former stars. First baseman Mark Teixeira’s signed through the end of 2016, but he, like Howard, has been injured and ineffective in recent seasons. The Yanks could get creative with a mix of Howard, Teixeira and Carlos Beltran in the DH spot, and hope time away from first base helps Howard stay healthy enough to mash again.

Howard is owed roughly $60 million in salary for the remainder of his contract that runs through 2016 including a $10 million buyout for the 2017 season. If the Phillies want to move him they are going to have to eat a huge chunk of that salary after lower body injuries has diminished his power, speed, and defense in recent years. Philadelphia is also venturing out into a market flooded with DH type players in Mike Morse, Victor Martinez, Billy Butler, Kendrys Morales, Nelson Cruz, Delmon Young, Corey Hart, and Evan Gattis.

I would take a free Ryan Howard but that’s about the extent of it. Pass.