Under/Overvalued Catchers
Under Valued
Chris Iannetta COL- Iannetta is one of the players making the catcher position deeper this year than it has ever been. The young third year catcher looks to have locked down the catcher slot and will get full time at-bats this year. Chris should have plenty of RBI opportunities hitting behind Brad Hawpe and Garrett Atkins, but quite the opposite when referring to runs with Seth Smith and the emerging Clint Barmes hitting behind him. Look for him to have close to a .900 OPS this year as he might solidify himself in that top tier of catchers in ’09.
Pablo Sandoval SF- Pudgy Pablo is the other player making the term “sleeper” possible for the catcher position again. The big appeal with Pablo is that he will have 3B and catcher eligibility and the fact that the Giants have put him in the heart of the lineup, bringing him plenty of RBI and run opportunities. The questionable part of Pablo is that he only had 145 at-bats last season, leaving us with a small sample size to base our projections. Yes, he hit .345 but how will he hit for an entire MLB season? Well we here at One Time Fantasy Sports think he will hit above .300 and have a very nice season. Do yourself a favor and wait on your catcher early in your drafts, as one of these guys will be there late and still give you plenty of production.
Over Valued
Mike Napoli ANA- Listen, I am a big fan of Mike Napoli and the great power bat he brings to the plate with him every other day. But that’s just the thing; he only brings it every other day. He gets banged up every now and then but worse still, he can’t get rid of Jeff Mathis. I don’t care what you are hearing right now about how Napoli has this spot secure and Mathis is behind him. Don’t believe it. Napoli is clearly the better option there and he has the numbers to back it up, but until he can show that Mathis is nothing but a backup for him, expect for those two to split time like they did last season. Mike Napoli is great but in no way should he be taken within the first 10 catchers.
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