I also want to go on record as saying I think two-catcher leagues of any type are ridiculous. Why as a commissioner would you want to force managers to carry what in my opinion are statistically the worst offensive bunch of players in the game? That being said, the first draft I participated in this season was an "experts" league with an online auction draft and wouldn't you know it...a two-catcher league. The difficulty level was escalated by the fact there are 13 teams and 30-man rosters per team (equals at least 26 catchers being drafted).
My strategy for this league was to get involved in the bidding for the two catchers I valued as being the best (as do most), Joe Mauer and Buster Posey, and hope to walk away with one and spend a little money later in the draft on a guy like Miguel Montero or Carlos Ruiz. Both Mauer and Posey were thrown out early and I was pretty aggressive in the bidding as planned, assuming each would go in the $20-$30+ range in this format. Well, when the dust settled, here's what my two-catcher strategy yielded:
- Mauer ($24) and Posey ($20)
My four remaining drafts (three of which I am the commissioner) were all single-catcher formats but I went in to each with the strategy of trying to get an upper-to-middle tier catcher early, depending on my draft position, and grabbing a second catcher at the end of the draft for bench depth and spot starts. Here's what that strategy wound up producing (draft pick in parenthesis):
- Miguel Montero (145) and Russell Martin (264)
- Miguel Montero (146) and Carlos Ruiz (359)
- Geovany Soto (120) and Russell Martin (329)
- Russell Martin (315) and John Jaso (343)
In all four of these leagues, I went in targeting Soto as my primary catcher but he only fell to me once. My backup plan for a starter was Montero and that worked well for me twice. I can live with that to start the season. My biggest failure at catcher came in my last draft of the season. Soto, Montero and even Ruiz were all gone before the 140th pick and I passed on Mike Napoli with the 190th pick, only to see him taken with the 191st pick.
So I am left hoping Montero and Soto provide me with with enough offensive production to make the backup catcher a position I don't have to carry the entire season. My problem is that I am heavily invested in Martin returning to some level of his old self. Will having Joe Girardi and Jorge Posada as influences be a good or bad thing? I'm hoping he can provide a .270/60/10/60/10 line at the bottom of the Yankees lineup. I guarantee you I won't be in the Russell Martin business very long if it looks like he won't be effective. I'll be searching the waiver wires for who's hot and dumping who's not.
How did you go about drafting catchers this season? Do you have a preference for one or two-catcher formats? In hindsight, did you overly invest in specific players across multiple drafts like I did? Use the comments section to share your thoughts of my catcher targets and your strategies during your 2011 drafts.
So I am left hoping Montero and Soto provide me with with enough offensive production to make the backup catcher a position I don't have to carry the entire season. My problem is that I am heavily invested in Martin returning to some level of his old self. Will having Joe Girardi and Jorge Posada as influences be a good or bad thing? I'm hoping he can provide a .270/60/10/60/10 line at the bottom of the Yankees lineup. I guarantee you I won't be in the Russell Martin business very long if it looks like he won't be effective. I'll be searching the waiver wires for who's hot and dumping who's not.
How did you go about drafting catchers this season? Do you have a preference for one or two-catcher formats? In hindsight, did you overly invest in specific players across multiple drafts like I did? Use the comments section to share your thoughts of my catcher targets and your strategies during your 2011 drafts.
