2011 Fantasy Baseball Off-Season Movement: Catchers

Most fantasy baseball players wait until the end of the draft before choosing their catcher.  Catchers have become the kickers of fantasy baseball. Like kickers, having a top notch catcher can make a good team a great team.  This off-season it appears that some impact catchers changed addresses. Let’s take a look at who went where and figure out which ones are worth drafting above the last round in your draft.

PLAYER	AGE	2010 TEAM	NEW TEAM
Henry Blanco	39	NY Mets	Arizona
John Buck	30	Toronto	Florida
Rob Johnson	27	Seattle	San Diego
Gerald Laird	31	Detroit	St. Louis
Russell Martin	27	LA Dodgers	NY Yankees
Victor Martinez	32	Boston	Detroit
Jose Morales	27	Minnesota	Colorado
Mike Napoli	29	LA Angels	Texas
Dioner Navarro	26	Tampa Bay	LA Dodgers
Wil Nieves	33	Washington	Milwaukee
Miguel Olivo	32	Toronto	Seattle
Ronny Paulino	29	Florida	NY Mets
Yorvit Torrealba	32	San Diego	Texas
Gregg Zaun	39	Milwaukee	San Diego

Cream Of The Backstops

What Victor Martinez did last year against LHP was amazing.  He hit .400/.431/.742 with 12 HR and 39 RBI in only 155 AB’s for the Redsox. Having Miguel Cabrera protect you in the lineup should provide more fastballs to crush into the large alleys in Comercia Park.  Martinez is still one of the best fantasy catchers in the game and should be taken after only Buster Posey and Joe Mauer are off the board.  I also really like Mike Napoli winding up in Texas.  The lineup and ballpark are perfect for a slugger of Napoli’s stature.  Napoli will see regular playing time for the Rangers unlike the past couple seasons where Mike Scioscia was highly critical of his defense and therefore would platoon him. 

Table Scraps

I am over Russell Martin. Not saying he was a steroid guy (not officially, anyway!), but his power has totally disappeared along with his bat speed and throwing arm.  The Yankees are banking on him rebounding while playing in a much better lineup, but that just isn’t going to happen.  I have always liked John Buck but for some reason I am not feeling his move to south Florida at all.  Sure he has the potential to swat 25 HR against the feeble NL pitching staffs, but I envision too many flyouts in that vast outfield of Pro Player Stadium.  Another catcher whose power numbers are sure to drop is Miguel Olivo.  Olivo had a great half season in Colorado but will result back to his previous form while playing with the limp offense in Seattle. 

Don’t forget to check out our 2011 fantasy player rankings to see how all of the off-season changes will impact your fantasy baseball draft this year.  Also, before you draft be sure to view and printout our 2011 real time fantasy baseball cheatsheets.  Take Fantasy Alarm to your draft this year and relax knowing you have all the information you need to draft a winner in 2011. 

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