FANTALYTICS – VOLUME 7

By: Adam Forsyth

Who is Fantasy Baseball’s Top Catcher: V-mart or McCann?

It’s been a while, so here at Waiversharks.com, we thought we would throw out a first quarter challenge to owners pondering the best possible backstop option in 2009! With the return of “The Bearded One” from the DL, what better time to square off head-to-head with the all-star masked man whose successful return from a forgettable 2008 was a pre-season hot topic?

While there are more top-tier catchers than ever with fantasy qualities that easily draw attention (and manager saliva) to their eye-popping stats, these two guys are both easily the top notch options for anyone seeking a fantasy title. (As Holden may have quipped - nothing is phony about either of them.) My job is to bring you the tools to understand, and I will attempt to break down the stats as well as provide you with all of the intangibles to do what is right for your team and your shot at fantasy superiority.

The Case for Victor Martinez

I hope that I wasn’t alone prior to the season when I chose to totally ignore the thrust of fantasy gurus that chose to write off the switch-hitting phenom. Not that anyone could imagine the return to form that the sometimes catcher, sometimes first baseman has displayed through the first quarter of the season. To be honest, there was a lot of concern even from the Indians staff of the sudden drop in power experienced in 2008 from the dependable 20 plus home run stud.

He has seemingly silenced all critics though, as at only 30 years of age, 2008 could only be understood as an anomaly and not a reality caused by years of abuse behind the plate. As mentioned before, this years’ start at the dish has definitely shot him up to the top ranks of catcher options, and while batting over .400 is no easy task at any point in the season, Martinez is looking extremely comfortable again.

With a slumping Tribe offense, expect V-Mart to constantly be the focal point of pulling them out of their troubles, as his leadership capabilities will allow him to help the youngsters out of slumps. Hopefully; a welcomed return from a finally healthy Travis Hafner, will only further the protection he receives at the plate.

The Case for Brian McCann

A bushier beard has swallowed the 25-year old backstops face, but thankfully has also allowed us to forget about the slow start that puzzled many owners early on in this year’s campaign. It has allowed us to come to grips that the struggles at the dish were nothing more than the issues with his vision, and his inability to play through the struggles instead of getting it taken care of.

One way or the other, since returning from the DL; and his newly issued specs, the “outdoorsman” has been mashing at a tremendous pace upping his average nearly .100 points. While he only has three long balls to his name this year, his stats across the board are consistent enough with that of what he has produced in his first three full seasons behind home plate in Atlanta that Braves fans and fantasy owners alike can breathe a collective sigh of relief.

With the opportunity to forget about his vision troubles, McCann will have to get used to having the goggles on, but if the first 30 post DL at-bats are any indication, he should be fine. Expect a full rebound from the kid and while the season is a marathon and not a sprint, we can assume the re-energized swagger to continue through September.

FANTALYTICS FINAL CALL

It wouldn’t be crazy to just call it a draw, as these two backstops can pull up numbers that would be parallel over the course of a full season. With around 40 games in the books, who will put up the best numbers the rest of the way though? Is it unimaginable to believe that Martinez can continue to hit at above a .400 clip? Probably so. Can McCann’s torrid pace in return from the DL continue through the dog days of summer while catching in over 120 games? Probably not.

So, somewhere in the middle would be the easiest solution right? Well, as usual, some of this is based on intuition and a hard look at the numbers. Not just this years’ numbers, but from seasons past as well.

Intuition leads me to believe that the Indians can’t be as bad as they’ve played and at only 3.5 games ahead of the deplorable Washington Nationals as the worst team in baseball, Eric Wedge’s job is certainly on the line. So, things can only get better for a team that could and probably should compete in the ho-hum AL Central. They may let him go and decide to go with an even more prominent youth movement; however, I expect them to at least be able to shake off any off the troubles and at least make a go of it the rest of the way.

You have to assume that a surge by the Indians can only help keep Martinez ’ numbers up…right? I can confidently say yes to that answer.

Intuition also leads me to believe that neither of these guys can really continue to mash at the same pace, so what it comes down to is some hard numbers. Martinez will split duties behind the plate with Kelly Shoppach and play first as mentioned at nearly a 60/40 split to keep him fresh and allow the wear and tear to be minimal. This has to be considered a plus, as while the Braves brought him David Ross to eliminate some of the stress that a 162 game schedule can have on a catcher who’s bat is tough to take out of a line-up, it is McCann that will probably be crouching 80 percent of the teams final 120 games, or around 96 games. Compared to the probable 65-70 that Martinez will catch in and that is a big deal. (Just ask any major league catcher how big of a deal that is!)

Each player has stats that are strong and similar throughout their career pre and post All-Star break, meaning that neither are more strong at a certain point of the schedule, which is a nice plus to both, because you don’t have to worry about a great start, slow finish type player that you can count on. While McCann has a touch more speed, I think if you had to make a choice, V-Mart has the more lethal power bat.

All of that being said, and the return to form being a non-issue now, I think that you have to determine that Victor Martinez is the legitimate choice to this edition of FANTALYTICS.

You can expect the ridiculous numbers to tail off a bit; however, a line of .320-25-100, along with 100+ runs scored from a catcher eligible position put him up there in the realm of the Fantasy Elite. So I say, welcome back Victor, it’s nice to see you again!

Fantalytics - Volume 2

Pablo Sandoval vs. Matt Wieters

When discussing top-catching prospects, there are more intangibles than any other position due to the added pressure of controlling the tempo of the game, and the mental aspect attached with being a leader on the field. So today, Fantalytics has decided to break down a comparison of two of the most talked about options at catcher in fantasy baseball! Can rookie signal caller Matt Wieters succeed on a sub-par Baltimore Orioles team with limited protection in the line-up? Was the impressive display that Pablo Sandoval put on in the final quarter of last season, a sneak peek into a rising fantasy star? Well that’s exactly what Fantalytics is all about folks, so let’s get down to business.

The Case for Matt Wieters

The Baltimore Orioles are showing a lot of faith in their 2007 first round pick (5th overall). They spent the off-season opening up the opportunity by first dealing the serviceable, but oft-injured, Ramon Hernandez to the Cincinnati Reds, and followed that up with signing a veteran like Greg Zaun to guide the youngster, in hopes of making the transition to the pros as smooth as possible.

The big 6 foot 5 inch athletic wonder kid has mashed at every level that he has played, including an impressive line in his first year of pro-ball in 2008, of .355-27-91, to go along with a .454 OBP and .600 SLG%. It’s those eye-popping stats that earned him the honor of Minor League Player of the Year from Baseball America. Wieters defense isn’t a liability either, as many have drawn parallels with him to Jason Varitek. Being a natural switch-hitter, he has shown tremendous discipline on both sides of the plate, so much that many are already etching his name in Cooperstown! However, the move to the major leagues isn’t always simple, and working through the grind of a 162 game schedule is a hefty task.

With the Orioles being in a very tough and pitcher heavy AL East Division, he will be facing the rotations of the free spending Yankees and Red Sox a lot, which may contribute to limited stats. Expect great things from this kid, but realistically, it may take a few years for him to reach his true value. Power numbers will rise as the experience builds up, but expect 2009 to be a solid year that gets fantasy owners chomping at the bit to have him on their roster.

The Case for Pablo Sandoval

Sandoval made some noise, providing a case for himself in the final quarter of last season by knocking the ball all over the yard at a .345 clip in 145 AB’s. While Sandoval didn’t expose a huge source of power in his time with the big club (only 3 HR’s, 24 RBI’s) he has shown that he has shown some pop in previous seasons in the minors. He doesn’t walk or strikeout at an alarming pace, and is considered more of a contact hitter, maintaining a plus .300 BA (.303) in five minor league seasons.

Matt Wieters Photo courtesy of the Baltimore Sun

With Bengie Molina returning to San Francisco, it appears that Sandoval will be the Giants everyday first baseman; however, with more than 10 appearances behind the plate in 2008, he should have catcher eligibility for most fantasy leagues. The multi-talented Venezuelan also appeared in 12 games at third base giving him a third qualified position. With that being the case, one can’t ignore the significant boost in value that he gets, at least in the 2009 season. Anticipate a bit of a drop in the batting average, as he wasn’t exposed to streaks and slumps in the short time frame.

Have no fear though, Pablo Sandoval is the real deal.

FANTALYTICS FINAL CALL

Can we be so blessed as to continue adding more and more options for the catching position, after years of having limited options when discussing fantasy catchers? Fortunately, the recent additions of fantasy studs like Russell Martin, Joe Mauer and last years’ NL R.O.Y. Geovany Soto, have rejuvenated the category back to respectability.

WaiverSharks.com is hoping that we can add these two names to the mix when discussing the top-tier crouchers. With both of these youngsters being on teams that are more than likely set to struggle through a painful 2009 season, the protection that both will get from the order will be somewhat limited.

I expect Wieters to be the starting catcher come opening day as his maturity and confidence has no reason not to put him in that situation. However, with that being said, should Wieters put in a magical performance, I still feel that the value of Sandoval and his multi-position capabilities weighs the match-up in his favor.

Expect decent numbers from Wieters and a future where the sky is the limit, but for 2009 poolies that need to make a tough call, FANTALYTICS feels that the smarter option will be to wait a tad longer in your draft and snatch Sandoval.

With the hype machine in full effect, someone will draft Wieters early, leaving Sandoval available probably a round or two after, which is a great situation, considering that the payback will be greater and give you more flexibility in managing your roster.

Expect the Giants stud to produce a more down to earth line of .290-23-81-2, and be happy you were patient.