Top dozen catchers in fantasy baseball

Jonathan Lucroy might be the best-kept secret in fantasy baseball. He got just 316 at-bats last year and still hit 17 doubles, four triples, a dozen homers and drove in 58 runs. He also hit a robust .320, the third highest average for a catcher with 300 or more at-bats. Lucroy also doesn't strikeout a couple times a game (just 44 times all year) like some catchers and he'll be just 27-years-old in June. A career .279 hitter with 28 homers and 143 RBI in 1,023 at-bats, Lucroy hit 12 homers and drove in 59 runs in 2011. He's a 20-homer season ready to happen.Jesus Montero is still learning the game. Just 23-years-old, Montero had a solid rookie year in 2012. He hit 15 homers and drove in 62 runs for the Mariners, in a lineup that offered him little help (or RBI chances). He also struck out a bit too much (99 times in 515 at-bats), walked too little (29) and he only hit .260. But both those numbers should improve over time. The former New York Yankees prospect will get better as his teammates get better. Montero also hit 20 doubles a year ago. He's only getting started. All his numbers will get better as he continues to learn the strike zone.Miguel Montero who will turn 30-years-old in July is no longer a prospect. He seems to have settled into becoming a very reliable but not great offensive catcher. Last year he hit 15 homers and drove in a solid 88 runs on a .286 average. But he also struck out 130 times, which was 33 more than in 2011 in seven fewer at-bats. That's something to keep an eye on this season. Montero, though, is not a big risk. He had almost the same numbers in 2011 (18 homers, 86 RBI, .282 average) than he had in 2012. His OPS in 2012 was .829 and in 2011 it was .820. Draft with confidence.View the list »
Ryan Doumit has always been able to hit. It's just that nobody knew it because he was doing it in Pittsburgh. In his first season with the Twins last year Doumit hit .275 with 18 homers, 34 doubles and 75 RBI. He'll be 32 on April 4 so this is as good as he'll get but it's plenty good enough. The switch-hitter actually had his breakout season in 2008 with the Pirates, hitting 15 homers and driving in 69 runs on a .318 average. The only question with Doumit, as it is with all catchers, is is health. If he plays, he'll hit. Doumit is a .272 career hitter with 85 homers and 341 RBI.

Fantasy Sports newsletter

There has likely never been a time in fantasy baseball when there were more than a handful of catchers worthy of grabbing before the middle rounds of your draft.

Related topics

Advertisement

This year is no exception.

The biggest problem catchers face in fantasy baseball is that, well, fantasy baseball pays absolutely no attention to defense. It is simply almost impossible to put up eye-opening fantasy numbers when you are going to miss 20-40 games every season.

It is just a fact of life that catchers are more valuable in reality baseball than they are in fantasy baseball. But this season is a bit different in that there seems to be about two handfuls of catchers who can actually make a difference in your fantasy season if you get one of them.

And you better get one of them.

Just three of our Top 12 catchers are already at least 30-years-old. One sounds like an aging rock star. Two are named Montero, two sound like they should be characters on Pee-wee's Playhouse (A.J. and Buster) just one, oddly enough, is a Molina and none is a Yankee or Red Sox.

The Top 12 catchers in fantasy baseball . . .

View the list
  • Ryan Doumit has always been able to hit. It's just that nobody knew it because he was doing it in Pittsburgh. In his first season with the Twins last year Doumit hit .275 with 18 homers, 34 doubles and 75 RBI. He'll be 32 on April 4 so this is as good as he'll get but it's plenty good enough. The switch-hitter actually had his breakout season in 2008 with the Pirates, hitting 15 homers and driving in 69 runs on a .318 average. The only question with Doumit, as it is with all catchers, is is health. If he plays, he'll hit. Doumit is a .272 career hitter with 85 homers and 341 RBI.
  • Miguel Montero who will turn 30-years-old in July is no longer a prospect. He seems to have settled into becoming a very reliable but not great offensive catcher. Last year he hit 15 homers and drove in a solid 88 runs on a .286 average. But he also struck out 130 times, which was 33 more than in 2011 in seven fewer at-bats. That's something to keep an eye on this season. Montero, though, is not a big risk. He had almost the same numbers in 2011 (18 homers, 86 RBI, .282 average) than he had in 2012. His OPS in 2012 was .829 and in 2011 it was .820. Draft with confidence.
  • Jesus Montero is still learning the game. Just 23-years-old, Montero had a solid rookie year in 2012. He hit 15 homers and drove in 62 runs for the Mariners, in a lineup that offered him little help (or RBI chances). He also struck out a bit too much (99 times in 515 at-bats), walked too little (29) and he only hit .260. But both those numbers should improve over time. The former New York Yankees prospect will get better as his teammates get better. Montero also hit 20 doubles a year ago. He's only getting started. All his numbers will get better as he continues to learn the strike zone.
  • Jonathan Lucroy might be the best-kept secret in fantasy baseball. He got just 316 at-bats last year and still hit 17 doubles, four triples, a dozen homers and drove in 58 runs. He also hit a robust .320, the third highest average for a catcher with 300 or more at-bats. Lucroy also doesn't strikeout a couple times a game (just 44 times all year) like some catchers and he'll be just 27-years-old in June. A career .279 hitter with 28 homers and 143 RBI in 1,023 at-bats, Lucroy hit 12 homers and drove in 59 runs in 2011. He's a 20-homer season ready to happen.
  • Yadier Molina likely had his career year in 2012. So beware. It might not happen again. But he'll only be 31 in July and he should be able sustain what he did in 2012 for another year or two. He hit .315 last year with 22 home runs and 76 RBI. He's had a power surge the last two years with 14 in 2011 and the bump to 22 last year. Before 2011 his high was only eight. But he can hit. A career .279 hitter, Molina has hit .200 or better in three of the last five years. An added bonus with Molina a year ago was 12 stolen bases. Don't expect that to happen but even if he cuts that to the eight or nine he had in 2009 and 2010 he'll still be better than most catchers.
  • Here's another guy who won't likely repeat when he did in 2012. Pierzynski muscled up and hit a whopping 27 home runs last year for the Chicago White Sox and drove in 77 runs. His career high in homers before that was 18 in 2005. The previous two years, in 2010 and 2011, he hit just 17 home runs combined. So don't draft Pierzynski based on his 27 homers. Pierzynski, though, is now in Texas and he'll likely drive in more runs this year just by staying awake. He also should hit 15-18 homers easily. He's a career .284 hitter so he's always been able to hit. But just remember he's going to be 36-years-old, it gets hot in the summer in Texas and he's caught 128 or more games in each of the past 11 seasons.
  • Salvador Perez and the Kansas City Royals are about to enjoy their breakout season. Perez, who will turn just 23-years-old in May, is one of the top young hitters in the big leagues. He has had 437 major league at-bats and has hit .311 with 14 homers and 60 RBI. Last year he came back from an injury at mid-season and hit .301 with 11 homers and 39 RBI in just 289 at-bats. He doesn't walk much but he hits a ton. In his rookie year in 2011, he hit .331 with 21 RBI over 148 at-bats. Give this kid 400-plus at-bats and just watch him put up big numbers.
  • Carlos Santana can hit. The Indians' catcher had an off year in 2012 and still hit 18 homers with 76 RBI. He hit just .252 but he walked 91 times and scored 72 runs. He's going to score a lot of runs for a catcher because he's always on base. He also walked 97 times in 2011. Santana is just entering his prime. He'll be 27 in early April. There just might be a few 25-homer, 100-RBI seasons in his bat. A career .247 hitter, Santana might never hit for a high average but he also won't hurt you. In 2011 he hit 27 homers and drove in 79 runs and that was in an Indians lineup void of any support.
  • Matt Wieters and the Baltimore Orioles are just entering their prime together. The big catcher slammed 23 homers last year and drove in 83 runs. Both those numbers are extremely valuable at the catcher position in fantasy. So it doesn't even matter that he hit just .249. A career .260 hitter, Wieters likely won't ever hit .300 but he could be a 25-homer, 80-RBI guy for the next decade. He also hit 22 homers in 2011. Wieters will turn just 27-years-old in May so he can still get better. There's a lot of upside left here.
  • For 2012. Forget what Brian McCann did in 2012. That might never happen again. McCann struggled last year and hit just .230 with 20 homers and 67 RBI. But McCann is a .279 career hitter even with last year figured into the numbers. He'll hit again. He's also hit 20 or more homers in six of the last seven years. And now that the Braves have a ton of support around him in their lineup, well, look out. We could be looking at a 100-RBI catcher here if he stays healthy. McCann will be just 29-years-old this season. The Braves should score a ton of runs and McCann will be right in the middle of it.
  • Joe Mauer will always be able to hit. The Twins catcher hit .319 last year and is a .323 career hitter. The power he showed in 2009 (28 homers) will likely never return but a catcher who will hit .300 and drive in 80-plus runs is a nice bonus. The problem with Mauer, though, is that he's only going to hit a dozen homers. And he's stuck in a horrible lineup so his RBI could decline. Why pitch to Mauer when there are four Triple-A and Double-A hitters coming up? Mauer, though, will turn just 30-years-old in April. So he's probably going to remain as consistent as ever for the next few years. Just don't overpay for that average.
  • Buster Posey has been in the major leagues for three seasons and has won two World Series. That is likely not a coincidence. The National League's Most Valuable Player is a once-a-generation catcher. He played in 148 games last year and hit .336 after an injury-filled 2011. He also drilled 39 doubles and 24 homers last year and drove in 103 runs. In just two-plus seasons in the big leagues, he's hit .314 with 46 homers and 191 RBI. The former Florida State catcher will only turn 26 in March. Posey is that rare catcher that is worth a pick in the first three rounds. In real life baseball, you'dbe happy to build your entire team around him.
View the list

, Fantasy Baseball Examiner

Joe Santoro is an award-winning sportswriter with over three decades of experience. Joe is the dean of Northern Nevada sports reporters and has covered University of Nevada Wolf Pack sports as a beat reporter and columnist for more than two decades. His "Friday Fodder" column is the longest...

Advertisement

Today's top buzz...