It’s almost that time of the year again, when fantasy baseball owners are forced to make the decision to either reach for catcher Buster Posey in the first three rounds for his good but not great production, or wait and draft one of the tier three catchers and hope for the best.

The catching position has become so poor that this season’s number two option according to RotoBaller’s rankings is Kyle Schwarber, a man who only played catcher 21 times last season! Catcher is, without a doubt, in an ugly phase star-wise right now, but while it might not have the star power that other positions such as outfield, first base and starting pitching have, catcher does have some sneaky depth to counteract it.

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After Posey and Schwarber go early in the draft, owners will be left with the third tier, a group of catchers who for the most part are pretty interchangeable. This tier includes players like Russell Martin, Jonathan Lucroy, Brian McCann and Salvador Perez. All of those players are fine and should put up serviceable numbers for your fantasy team, but none of them will move your team into the playoffs.

None of those guys, who will end up being drafted anywhere from rounds 5-10, will match the production of their draft pick. If you can get them later on at a good value, take them, but don’t reach for a catcher before you have to, especially ones that should only put up average fantasy numbers. As stated earlier, while lacking many star talents, the catching position does have some depth this year.

2015 In Review and 2016 Outlook

Enter Travis d'Arnaud. The New York Mets youngster was limited to just 67 games and 239 at-bats last season due to injuries, but the skills were on display when he played. During the 2015 season, he clubbed 12 home runs and 41 RBI on his way to a .268 batting average. His most positive stat without question though, was his slugging percentage, which was .485 and was among the highest in the league for catchers. If d'Arnaud can stay healthy, he could rank among the top catchers in every statistical category this season, especially home runs. If your team needs power, and let’s be honest, every fantasy owner needs power, then look to take d'Arnaud on draft day. He is a cheaper version of McCann and if he stays healthy, he could put up even better numbers than his New York counterpart for a much later draft pick.

Conclusion

The problem with d'Arnaud though, is of course his health. The man just can’t seem to stay healthy. Three straight years he has had major injuries that have limited his development but the flashes of what he can do are present. Now will he suddenly play 150 games this season and become an MVP candidate? Probably not, but if he can manage to play in 100-120 games and put up numbers such as 20 homers, 70 RBI and a .270 AVG, he is without a doubt a worthwhile, cheap fantasy option at a position that lacks star power. If you are willing to roll the dice and wait to draft a catcher on draft day, d'Arnaud might just give you the reward you are looking for.

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