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You’re using catchers this year, right? Okay, let’s price them. Assume a 5×5 format, as always (shame on the founding fathers for ignoring runs scored), and don’t stress too much on any singular dollar value here – the important thing is noting how the players relate to one another.
$25 Joe Mauer(notes)
$22 Victor Martinez(notes)
$21 Brian McCann(notes)
When they ask Martinez what position he plays, he should say "hitter." But he’s going to carry catcher eligibility for a while, no matter what eventually happens to his position.
$17 Jorge Posada(notes)
$16 Matt Wieters(notes)
$15 Kurt Suzuki(notes)
$14 Bengie Molina(notes)
$13 Geovany Soto(notes)
The Orioles are a train wreck, but it’s not the kid’s fault. Let’s hope he sees a team over .500 before too long; catching and losing is an unfair burden for anyone. … Molina probably looks like 4-5 guys on your weekend softball team. You want players like this in your bunker. … Suzuki’s counting stats get a boost from the heavy workload the A’s throw his way. Let’s just hope they don’t break him down early in his career.
$12 Russell Martin(notes)
$11 Ryan Doumit(notes)
$10 Yadier Molina(notes)
$10 Miguel Montero(notes)
$9 Miguel Olivo(notes)
$8 Mike Napoli(notes)
$8 Carlos Santana(notes)
$8 A.J. Pierzynski(notes)
Yadier Molina is another backstop getting run into the ground, but I’m sure the genius knows what he’s doing. Molina played six days in a row (one of the games was 20 flipping innings) before getting Tuesday off. … There’s no universal right answer with the Santanas and the Poseys; it depends on the scope of your league, the value of your bench spots, how competitive the waiver wire is, etc. Gotta take it on a case-by-case basis. … Montero’s just a shot in the dark; I loved him in March, like we all did.
$6 Ivan Rodriguez(notes)
$5 Jeff Clement(notes)
$4 Chris Iannetta(notes)
$4 John Baker(notes)
$4 Buster Posey(notes)
I’m not going to totally bury Clement yet because if he’s able to snap out of this funk he immediately becomes uber-valuable as a faux-catcher. … There’s always a stat-defense for Iannetta, or an excuse, but I’ll be surprised if he’s able to get anything past a time share with Olivo this summer.
$3 Rod Barajas(notes)
$3 Ramon Hernandez(notes)
$3 Carlos Ruiz(notes)
$2 Jarrod Saltalamacchia(notes)
$2 Chris Snyder(notes)
$2 Ronny Paulino(notes)
$2 Nick Hundley(notes)
I think Hundley could handle a regular catching gig (at least for our stat-grab purposes) but it’s not happening yet. … Anyone else sick of waiting on Salty? . . . Baker is what he is, a useful part-timer but in a mixed league where just one catcher goes to post, you need to be above him on the list. … A few people got excited when Snyder fell into a full-time gig, but I don’t see it. Go look at those career totals again.
$1 Kelly Shoppach(notes)
$1 John Buck(notes)
$1 Jeff Mathis(notes)
$1 Jason Varitek(notes)
$1 Jason Kendall(notes)
$1 J.R. Towles(notes)
$1 Dioner Navarro(notes)
$0 Rob Johnson(notes)
$0 Gregg Zaun(notes)
$0 Gerald Laird(notes)
I refuse to rank Taylor Teagarden(notes) until he actually gets a hit. Your witness.