Fantasy Baseball Player Profile: How Much Can We Expect of J.P. Arencibia?

It looks like J.P. Arencibia is going to have the starting catcher gig in Toronto locked up.

Despite posting less-than-mediocre numbers this spring (2-for-26), he does not seem to be in danger of losing playing time to backup Jose Molina. The team likes what he is doing behind the plate and trusts him to break out of his funk.

Arencibia hit .301 with 32 HR and 85 RBI in just 104 games in Triple-A last year. He’s not a hitter for average, as he is only a career .275 hitter in his minor league career, but the power has always been there and should carry over into the majors.

The Blue Jays anointed Arencibia the catcher of the future when they let John Buck walk.

I recently wrote about Arencibia in my newcomers article, and I’m sticking to my word. Arencibia will be a useful fantasy asset this year.

He looks to have all the tools to make an impact right away. I’m expecting somewhere around .260 with 20 HR and 80 RBI for 2011.

I have waited in every league so far to draft him as my starting catcher in the final rounds.

One concern, though, is his high strikeout rate, but I draft him for the power that I am going to get at catcher and the cheap price.

I would say that Arencibia is great bang for your buck if he is on the board in the final rounds of your draft.

Also check out:

Ubaldo Jimenez

R.A. Dickey

Yadier Molina

Francisco Liriano

NL East

AL East

NL Central

AL Central

NL West

AL West