Catcher In the Sly

[DOUGHBOYS]

Some things you may not have known about Catchers......

Matt Wieters has never lived up to the hype. It's tough to live up to overblown hype. If Wieters hadn't had all this talk, he'd be considered a really good catcher to have on your fantasy team.
Despite the seeming disappointment in Wieters.....
MATT WIETERS LED ALL CATCHERS IN BASEBALL WITH 22 HOMERS

Its been said that if getting a full season from Buster Posey, that a drafter will have the best catcher rostered.
Is that true?
Posey finished fourth in at bats among all catchers.
He tied a career high by playing in 148 games.
So would it surprise you to learn that.....
BUSTER POSEY WAS NOT IN THE TOP FIVE OF ANY COUNTING CATEGORY AMONG ALL CATCHERS.

I'm all for hitters swinging away and not caring whether they walk or not.
But some hitters take it a little too far. Some hitters think every ball pitched is hit-able.
At least JP Arencibia does.....
JP ARENCIBIA HIT 21 HOMERS LAST YEAR. HE WALKED JUST 18 TIMES.

Some will look at Arencibia and think if he were more patient, he'd have a better batting average.
Arencibia hit .194
These folks would be surprised to learn that.....
AJ PIERZYNSKI, IN MORE AT BATS, DREW ONLY 11 WALKS....AND HIT .272

Some of us want bang for our buck. We look for players to hit up in the lineup to maximize at bats.
We look for players that don't get hurt.
We look for players that don't need a constant 'rest'.
Especially in a Catcher.
CARLOS SANTANA PLAYED IN MORE GAMES (154) AND ONLY THREE OTHER CATCHERS WERE WITHIN 100 PLATE APPEARANCES OF SANTANA'S 642. THE CLOSEST TO SANTANA WAS POSEY'S 595.

Catchers are known for being notoriously slow.
Not one catcher had double digit steals last year. That supports that idea.
But their is a difference between being fast and being agile.
MATT WIETERS SAW 2283 PITCHES LAST YEAR. HE WAS NEVER HIT BY A PITCH.

What is more important for counting stats?
A place in the upper half of the lineup or a better team and lineup around you.
Most of us may choose the latter. Maybe we shouldn't....
JASON CASTRO HAD A BETTER BATTING AVERAGE (.276) AND MORE HOMERS (18) THAN JARROD SALTYLABLAHBLAH
SALTYLABLAHBLAH HAD MORE RBI (65/56) AND RUNS (68/63)

It is a personal belief of mine that On Base Percentage, as it pertains to NFBC purposes, is for the most part, stupid.
Writers and experts like to expound on OBP as if a hitter is accomplishing something with a walk.
For his team, a walk is more important than for OUR team.
I give you, Yadier Molina. A catcher who will be taken in single digit rounds. A catcher that most drafters would not mind having on their teams.
Molina's line was .319/68/12/80/3 with an OBP of .359
In the mean time, another catcher was having a horrible year, making him hard to draft this year.
Chris Iannetta's line was .225/40/11/39/0
It may surprise you to know that....
CHRIS IANNETTA'S OBP WAS ONLY ONE PERCENTAGE POINT SHORT OF YADIER MOLINA AT .358.....