An Argument for Good Catchers

I have always been a strong advocate of fielding strong catchers. Many teams will wait until the end of the draft for their $1 catchers. Not me. When I have money to spend, I will spend it on my backstop.

When you spend a buck on a catcher, what do you expect to get? A dozen homers and a .270 average? Think again. You're more likely to get .220-5-35-0. You might be saving $10 by buying a cheap catcher instead of an average one but your entire team will suffer.

I think the numbers speak for themselves.

There were 46 players in our 20-team mixed keeper league drafted last season for $4 or less. Here are the average numbers posted, by position, of those players with 100 or more at-bats:

All Players .271-12-49-4 (46 players)
Catchers .245-9-42-1 (7 players)
MI .291-11-56-5 (11 players)
CO/DH .250-15-56-2 (9 players)
Outfield .275-11-44-6 (19 players)

So would you rather have a $1 middle infielder or a $1 catcher? Chances are, if you spend money on a decent catcher and go cheap on the 2B, you will have better combined stats from those two players. Conversely, if you get your $1 catcher and an average MI, you may as well start planning for next season.

The Best Bargains by Postion
C: Mike Napoli .247-10-34-5 (Yes, that's the best one. Lousy.)
MI: Aaron Hill .291-17-78-4 (Hit 15 more HRs than expected)
CO: Kevin Millar .254-17-63-1 (Slim pickin's among cheap COs)
OF: Ryan Church .27215-70-3 (Useful unknown that didn't hurt you)

And the Worst Sub-$5 players
C: Brian Schneider .235-6-54-0 (Common stats for cheap catchers)
MI: Some Valentin .241-3-18-2 (I always get all Valentins mixed up)
CO: Scott Thorman .216-11-36-1 (When benched, he hits 3 HRs)
OF: Trot Nixon .251-3-31-0 (Emptiest 300ab OF stat line ever)

I'll even go a step further. Consider drafting a THIRD catcher this season. Of all players that have added trade value due to scarcity during the season, it is closers and catchers. If you have a stud $20 catcher at your UT spot, you have great trade bait in July when your opponent has A.J. Pierzinski out for the season. Last season, I made the mistake of bypassing Pudge at $13 and instead drafted Michael Barrett at $12. If I had drafted both, I could have kept Pudge, traded Barrett and picked up a new UT.

And as a final argument, do you really want Gerald Laird on your fantasy team?