Heading into the 2007 fantasy baseball season, three catchers, Victor Martinez, Brian McCann and Joe Mauer, sat atop the positional draft lists on just about everyone’s draft board.
Before this season the argument over who should be the top catcher drafted was fought between McCann and Russell Martin.
As it stands right now, almost half-way through the season, and with apologies to Martinez, Mauer, Martin, youngster Geovany Soto, and upstart Ryan Doumit, Brian McCann is, without a doubt, the best fantasy catcher in baseball.
McCann leads all catchers in home runs. He’s second in runs batted in and slugging percentage. He’s ranked third in runs scored and is one of only three catchers with 200 at-bats or more to be hitting over .300.
It’s not just McCann’s 72-game stat line of .306/.379/.562 with 35 runs, 14 home runs, 44 RBI, and a stolen base that causes me to make this claim of McCann’s superiority. McCann is also striking out less, (12.8% in ‘08 versus 14.7% in ‘07) walking more, (9.8% in ‘08 versus 6.5% in ‘07) and doing it all with a relatively normal hit rate of 30.8%.
McCann’s numbers seem real, and they’re here to stay. And so is his dominance over the fantasy catcher category for years to come. Did I mention that McCann is only 23-years-old.
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June 24th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
I found McCann was more of the #3 or #4. Victor in most leagues was considered the battle with Martin for number 1. McCann had the down year last year and I got for a steal in I believe the 5th round or so.
June 24th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
I don’t think one catcher will stand out for years to come. In fact, seems as though catchers in general are becoming better offensive players. Weren’t three catchers just drafted early in the first round of the amateur draft?
June 24th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Troy, I think you’re right. McCann wasn’t a #1 option going into this year. He was somewhere between #2 and #4, right along the lines you’re speaking of. But, right now, there isn’t a catcher I’d take in front of him in a mid-season draft.
June 25th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Agreed. He is clearly the number 1 catcher right now. Although best value for where he was drafted was definately Soto.