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Early fantasy baseball rankings: Catcher

Here’s an early peek at the RotoAce 2012 fantasy baseball rankings for catcher.

1. Brian McCann (left): With our No. 1 going down for the season (Victor Martinez), McCann assumes the top spot. He’s as consistent as they come (between 18-24 homers and 71-94 RBIs in each of his six full seasons) and is in his prime entering his age-28 season.

2. Carlos Santana: The .239 average may have disappointed in his first full season, but the counting numbers (27 homers, 84 runs, 79 RBIs, 5 steals) were elite and could get better as he turns just 25 in the first week of the ’12 season. His high walk rate and .291 career minor league average are good signs that his average will be on the rise and give the Indians slugger a chance at the top spot. It helps that the Indians keep his bat in the lineup by playing him at first base when he’s not catching. (more…)

Spotlight: Jose Constanza

OK, so his name sounds like the famous bald character on Seinfeld and Mets fans hate him after a disastrous slide caused a season-ending injury to Daniel Murphy – but we’re here to talk about what Jose Constanza can do for your fantasy team. (more…)

StockWatch: Monday, June 27

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Monday, June 27.

Stock Up

Brandon Phillips (98%) has caught fire with six multi-hit games in his past seven contests, going 16-for-32 with a homer and seven RBIs. He was 4-for-5 on Monday to raise his average to .299. Phillips hasn’t attempted a steal during this stretch despite being on base constantly – not a good sign for a guy with just four steals who averaged 24 thefts from 2006-10. The power is way down too, as Phillips has just six after averaging 21 homers over the past five seasons. Phillips turns 30 tomorrow and is already showing signs of decline after dipping to 18 homers and 16 steals in 28 attempts last season. He’s still an excellent option at second base, but the production isn’t matching the name value. This makes him someone to sell rather than buy unless you believe this recent hot stretch is a sign of good things to come.

Aramis Ramirez (91%) is much like Phillips, an aging star who is making up for a slow start. Ramirez went 3-for-4 with two homers and a double against the Rockies on Monday. He is 8-for-16 with three homers and two doubles in his past four games, raising his average to .289. Ramirez’s stats were down last year too, but he went on an extended binge at about this time – hitting a combined .307 with 14 homers and 46 RBIs last July -August. With the ball starting to fly out of Wrigley Field with regularity (Ramirez was one of three players with two homers there on Monday), he is someone to target for possible big returns. (more…)

StockWatch: Wednesday, June 22

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Wednesday, June 22.

Stock Up

Johnny Cueto (72%) keeps getting hotter, holding the Yankees to two hits and one run in seven innings with three walks and six strikeouts on Wednesday. Cueto has yet to allow over three earned runs in nine starts since coming off the DL at the beginning of May and has a tidy 1.63 ERA with a 0.97 WHIP. In his last three starts, Cueto is 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 19-6 K-BB ratio in 21 IP. It is that improved strikeout rate that has us finally ready to recognize Cueto as a fantasy ace. He had a 5.2 K/9 through his first six starts, but he has stepped it up to 8.1 K/9 in his last three outings. This recent outburst has helped lower his xFIP from the low fours to 3.52. Cueto is still benefitting from a .234 BABIP, but he’s suddenly becoming a groundball pitcher, upping his GB rate from 41.7% last year to 55.9% this season. A drubbing to help correct that low BABIP has to be around the corner, but we could be witnessing the birth of an ace as the results start to line up with the electric stuff Cueto has always flashed. (more…)

Spotlight: Randall Delgado

Randall Delgado became the latest of the Braves’ elite pitching prospects to make his major-league debut, but struggled to the tune of seven hits, four runs (three earned) with two walks and two strikeouts in four innings. (more…)

StockWatch: Thursday, June 16

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Thursday, June 16.

Stock Up

J.J. Hardy (40%) has been scalding hot since the calendar turned June, failing to record a hit in just one game this month. Hardy went 2-for-5 with his seventh homer on Thursday. He is 21-for-52 (.404) with five homers and nine RBIs in June to raise his season average to .299. Hardy has always been a binge hitter, so surely you’ve had him in this month if you own him.

C.J. Wilson (86%) bounced back from a one-strikeout start against the Twins last time out to record his fifth double-digit strikeout game of the season. Wilson held the Yankees to two runs and seven hits in eight innings with 10 strikeouts, giving him 93 Ks on the season. Wilson has been inconsistent with his strikeout totals, but the double-digit games make up for the five times he’s struck out three or less. (more…)

StockWatch: Wednesday, June 8

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Wednesday, June 8.

Stock Up

Ben Revere (1%) is taking advantage of chance to play regularly in the past week, going 3-for-5 with a steal on Wednesday to lift his average to .302 after an 11-for-30 performance in his past seven games, all consecutive starts. Revere is getting ABs with Jason Kubel on the DL, Denard Span battling dizziness and headaches, and Michael Cuddyer often playing second base while Tsuyoshi Nishioka recovers from a broken leg. Revere moved quickly through the minors on the strength of a combined .326 average and 154 steals in 1490 ABs. What’s not to like about a leadoff hitter with a track record like that? In real-life baseball, Revere has a popgun throwing arm and is allergic to walks, limiting his OBP. Then there’s the logjam of veterans in front of him once Kubel, Span and Nishioka are healthy. Revere is a very worthy AL-only addition right now and someone to target if you’re desperate for steals or in a keeper league, but the speedster is likely headed back to a backup role or even the minors in the near future.

Mark Reynolds (69%) is finally heating up, going 2-for-3 with a homer and a steal on Wednesday. He may still be hitting .199, but Reynolds is 5-for-15 with three homers and eight RBIs in his past five games. If he could just make enough contact to get his average near .250, Reynolds could still be a fantasy force since he’s got a shot to reach 30 homers, 100 RBIs and 10 steals. (more…)

Spotlight: Jair Jurrjens

Jair Jurrjens held the Reds to six hits and one run in eight innings on Sunday, improving to 7-1 with a 1.51 ERA on the season. (more…)

StockWatch: Tuesday, May 24

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses.

Stock Up

Kelly Johnson (63%) is finally hitting after an April that saw him hit just .180 with three HRs. He 6-for-17 with 2 HRs and 8 RBIs in his past 5 games and is starting to look like a guy who has the potential to put up a 20/20 season at second base.

Matt Joyce (85%) has caught fire since the end of April, as he has hit all eight of his home runs since April 28 and has his average up to .367. He is doing all his damage against right-handed pitchers (.397, 7 HR, 24 RBIs) and his ridiculously high BABIP of .418 probably isn’t going to last long, so enjoy the ride while it lasts. (more…)

StockWatch: Saturday, May 21

Yahoo for our ownership percentages are in parentheses. From games of Saturday, May 21.

Stock Up

Josh Tomlin (67%) out-dueled Homer Bailey by holding the Reds to three hits and one run in seven innings on Saturday to run his record to 6-1 with a 2.41 ERA. Tomlin has now made a quality start in all nine of his appearances this year. He took a .178 BABIP into the game and surely lowered it to even more fortunate levels. With a strikeout rate of 4.5 K/9 and that low BABIP, it would be easy to see his ERA rise up closer to his 3.92 xFIP. Tomlin’s walk rate of 1.5 BB/9 gives him more of a margin for error, so he should remain a decent option, but the fantasy landscape is littered with the carcasses of guys like this – Brian Bannister, Nick Blackburn, John Lannan – you get the idea.

Javier Vazquez (25%) outpitched David Price with seven scoreless innings against the Rays, allowing only three hits with seven strikeouts and two walks. It was just Vazquez’s second quality start in nine appearances, lowering his ERA to 6.41. In his first start since returning from the bereavements list because of a death in his wife’s family, he looked like the Vazquez of old, at least for one day. In NL-only leagues or very deep mixed leagues, he’s worth picking up in case this is the start of something, otherwise we’d like to see him repeat the performance before recommending him for any more. (more…)

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