Daily Dr. Roto—March 19, 2019
Catcher Draft Stock Watch
Three Up, Three Down
Catcher | First Base | Second Base| Shortstop | Third Base | Outfielder | Starting Pitching
As Fantasy Baseball Drafts are fast approaching, I will give you three guys that I am keying on (and avoiding) at my upcoming drafts:
Three Up Catchers:
Yasmani Grandal (MIL) — Some people might complain about his less than stellar batting average, but he moves to a terrific hitters park in a stacked lineup. 25 HR could easily be attainable for him this season.
Wellington Castillo (CWS) — Castillo usually flies under the radar in most drafts, but I think he is a sneaky bet to hit 20 HR in 2019. He missed 80 games last season with a PED suspension and then dealt with shoulder issues. Look back to 2017 and you will see that this is a solid hitter.
Francisco Mejia (SD) — All you ever hear about this guy is that he struggles defensively behind the plate. Well, the last time I checked there were no categories in Fantasy Baseball for passed balls and poor defense. Mejia can rake and the Padres and hoping to be in the middle of a pennant race this season. If they didn’t move Mejia for Realmuto in February, you have to think they are going to find a way to give him 400 at-bats.
Three Down Catchers:
Buster Posey (SF) — I have always found that in Fantasy Sports a player’s reputation often outlives his value. No one exemplifies that more than Posey. Posey has been thought of as either the best or one of the best catchers in the game for the past decade. However, this is 2019 and not 2012. The 2019 version of Posey plays on an anemic offense which should limit his RBIs and runs scored, plus he’s no longer a threat to hit 20 HR or bat over .300. I will call his name out at my auction for $1 and duck my head quickly lest anyone thinks I am going to say $2.
Jorge Alfaro (MIA) — He’s been dealing with knee issues for most of Spring Training and he’s now hitting in the middle of an impotent Marlins lineup. Where are the RBIs going to come from with no one on base? Where are the runs scored going to come from if no one can knock him home? The park in Miami is also way more cavernous than the one in Philly, which means his HRs will go down. I’m passing for sure.
Willians Astudillo (MIN) — Astudillo is going to get a lot of late round love in drafts based on his incredible.355 batting average in 93 at-bats last season. However, I am just not sure the playing time is going to be there for him. The Twins have Jason Castro and Mitch Garver at catcher, and they added Marwin Gonzalez as a utility player. With Sano out, there is a small window for Astudillo to get some playing time as a utility player, but once Miguel Sano comes back from injury, I am just not sure where he fits into the picture.
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