Fantasy Baseball Player Rankings & Projections

2010 Catcher Preseason Preview

 

Miguel Montero

The lefty had a breakout 2009 and was one of the best fantasy catchers in baseball after the All-Star break. The question for Montero is, will he come through in 2010, or is he just another fantasy-tease.

6. Miguel Montero - D'Backs - 2010 Preview:

The young prospect took over the full-time catching job from Chris Snyder and never looked back finishing with 16 home runs and a .296 batting average. He really came in to his own in the second half batting .316 with 11 home runs with 234 at bats. If he continues at that pace he would be an easy .300, 20 home run-hitting catcher. The problem is, as we saw in 2009, young catchers seem to bust much more than they breakout, so proceed with caution. Montero was a top minor league prospect hitting .291 in his career and showed consistent power. He also showed power in the big leagues hitting 15 with 414 at bats previous to 2009, but he only hit about .240.

2009 Statistics: .294 - 16 HR's - 59 RBI's - 61 Runs

2010 Projection: .278 - 19 HR's - 70 RBI's - 61 Runs

 

7. Ryan Doumit - Pirates - 2009 Preview:

There were hopes that Doumit could be a .300, 20 home-run-hitting catcher in the 2009 season after his breakout 2008 season where he batted .317 and hit 15 home runs with 431 at bats. Unfortunately for Doumit owners injury only allowed him 280 at bats and while he did pop ten home runs he only batted .250 and he fell far short of all hopes. There is little else to go off of for the 29-year old Doumit. He is a lifetime .273 hitter who plays for one of the worst teams in baseball, so there isn't a lot of upside here, but in the world of fantasy catchers a .270, 15-20 home-run-hitter is good enough to start.

2009 Statistics: .250 - 10 HR's - 38 RBI's - 31 Runs

2010 Projection: .272 - 18 HR's - 75 RBI's - 70 Runs

 

8. Chris Iannetta - Rockies - 2010 Preview:

Yet another young catcher who had a disappointing fantasy season. After starring for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic and a standout 2008 season where he smashed 18 home runs with just 333 at bats and a .264 batting average, big things were expected from Chris Iannetta in 2009. Instead he batted a mere .228 and lost his everyday job and finished with just 289 at bats and 16 home runs. To make things worse the Rockies signed veteran catcher Miguel Olivo in the off season. Olivo just came off a career-high 23 home runs, and that was in Kansas City. He was likely brought in to push Iannetta and to give the Rockies insurance rather than to start him. In fact, to show their confidence in Iannetta's future the Rockies gave him a three-year, $8.35 million contract extension. With his power potential he is still worth a look, especially playing in Colorado.

2009 Statistics: .228 - 16 HR's - 52 RBI's - 41 Runs

2010 Projection: .253 - 25 HR's - 78 RBI's - 55 Runs

 

Free Leagues & Mock Drafts: The search has been done for you! Fantasy Baseball Directory.com

9. Kurt Suzuki - Athletics - 2010 Preview:

One of the few young catchers that actually improved in 2009. Suzuki had career-highs in home runs (15), doubles (37), stolen bases (8), RBI's (88), and runs (74). At 26 he still has some upside, but playing in the fantasy dead zone, Oakland, Suzuki would be hard-pressed to do much better in 2010 than he did in 2009.

2009 Statistics: .274 - 15 HR's - 88 RBI's - 74 Runs

2010 Projection: .276 - 14 HR's - 81 RBI's - 77 Runs

 

10. Russell Martin - Dodgers - 2010 Preview:

The opening statement for Martin is the same as it was for Chris Iannetta, another young fantasy catcher gone bust. The 27-year-old catcher had fantasy owners salivating after his 19 home run, 21 stolen base 2007 breakout. A 20-20 catcher is as rare of a commodity as you get in fantasy baseball and at the time it seemed like Martin could only go up. He dropped the next season with a solid 13 home run, 18 stolen base season, but dropped even further in 2009. Even his batting average has dropped in each of the last three seasons from a peak of .293 in 2007 to a mere .250 in 2009. On the plus side Martin is still young, he has proven he is capable of having a big season, and he plays on a very solid offense. This makes it possible for Martin to return to his 2007 form at anytime, but fantasy owners should be happy just to see him move up from his ho-hum 2009.

2009 Statistics: .250 - 7 HR's - 53 RBI's - 63 Runs

2010 Projection: .271 - 12 HR's - 61 RBI's - 73 Runs

 

Best of the Rest

 

Mike Napoli - Angels

He would be an easy top-ten, maybe even a top-five if he did not platoon with Jeff Mathis. He still hit 20 home runs and batted over .270 for the second straight season and that is a solid fantasy starting catcher.

 

John Baker - Marlins

He makes a nice late-round bargain pick. Baker batted .271 with 9 home runs with 373 at bats in 2009. He has .280, 15 home run potential.

 

1B

2B

SS

3B

OF

SP

RP

Back