John Hicks (C/1B, DET) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 44% of leagues ANALYSIS: Detroit Tigers catcher/first baseman John Hicks has been a fantasy sweetheart for the past few days, with people lining up to grab him. It might not be a product of actual play at catcher; they love that they can start him there […]

Kurt Suzuki (C, ATL) - Week 9 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 39% of leagues ANALYSIS: The return of Tyler Flowers saw a drop in the ownership of Atlanta Braves catcher Kurt Suzuki, as he is been playing every other game. He is still among the league leaders in home runs at catcher and other categories, so it […]

Week 8 Waiver Wire - Catchers

The recent 80-game suspension of Chicago White Sox catcher Welington Castillo for violating the Joint Drug Agreement caused a seismic shift in terms of add/drops at the position. Seriously, I looked at "Transaction Trends" on Yahoo! and enough people had dropped him recently to fill up a basketball arena. OK, maybe to two-thirds capacity. Still, […]

Week 6 Waiver Wire - Catchers

I was watching Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench be interviewed recently and he said something that piqued my interest: catchers are better now than in the past. Of course, he was quick to say that they aren't doing as well statistically, but they are much better athletes and are blocking balls better in the […]

Week 4 Waiver Wire: Catchers

It's been a beautiful time for fantasy catcher owners - Kansas City Royals catcher Salavador Perez is back. Now the main mission for the Royals is to not let him carry his suitcase for the rest of the season. The distance between those who are at 50% ownership in Yahoo! (er... Oath?) fantasy leagues and those […]

Matt Wieters (C, WAS) - Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 7% of Yahoo leagues ANALYSIS: Washington Nationals catcher Matt Wieters has been getting picked up by a decent amount of Yahoo! owners, as he is just coming off the disabled list. The good news for those looking at a catcher is that he is still WAY under-owned. He is […]

Week 2 Waiver Wire - Catchers

It's ugly out there on the catcher landscape. The drop-off of player ownership goes from Jonathan Lucroy at 70%... which is still well above the 50% Yahoo! ownership cutoff that we use for these waiver wire columns... to Austin Barnes at 38%. That is one heck of a drop-off. It's like going into a neighborhood […]

Week 1 Waiver Wire - Catchers

The regular season is just beginning and people are already likely sitting at home, staring at their computer screens mumbling, "Tore his MCL? Carrying a suitcase? Dude makes millions of dollars... he couldn't HIRE someone to carry it for him?" In case you're wondering what I'm talking about: Salvador Perez, who is one of the […]

Week 24 Waiver Wire - Catcher

Hi, everyone. We're now in the last frantic stretch of the regular season . Depending on your league settings, you may be in the playoffs or trying to save your first-place standing. Those who in the playoffs are probably well set in the catcher department. Still, we're going to help you all that we can. […]

Week 22 Waiver Wire - Catcher

OK. Wasn't it just June? There was still plenty of time for some catchers to right their ships after rough Aprils and Mays. Is it almost Labor Day and have kids already started having to worry about bedtimes because of school nights? Yes, the calendar is almost ready to flip to September and another season […]

Week 20 Waiver Wire: Catchers

Baseball's a rough sport, especially for catchers. They are constantly being dinged by foul balls, they have to squat for nearly three hours a game, and catching those pitches have to be hard on the hands. So, it's no surprise that they may be hurt a little more than other players. Still, sometimes when I […]

Tyler Flowers (C, ATL) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues OWNED IN:  35% of Yahoo! Leagues   ANALYSIS: Tyler Flowers started off like a house on fire, though he must have started feeling the heat in July, since his production fell off. He's still hitting above .300, though his power has been lacking. With the rash of injuries that have befallen […]

Tucker Barnhart (C, CIN) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in Two-Catcher Leagues OWNED IN:  8% of Yahoo! Leagues   ANALYSIS: Tucker Barnhart is another one of those catchers who has seen a somewhat significant increase in ownership numbers. This time, though... it was a modest bump, from 1% to 8%. Not exactly an amount that you'd want to hang your hat on as […]

James McCann (C, DET) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN:  18% of Yahoo! Leagues   ANALYSIS: James McCann has been a hot property lately, with thousands of leagues snapping him up like he's the next coming of Mike Piazza. Well, maybe that's a little bit of hyperbole, but the fact that he drove in five runs on Aug. […]

Week 18 Waiver Wire: Catchers

When I looked at the ownership percentages on Wednesday, I was struck by how wide the difference is. There's a 30% difference between Brian McCann, who is at 79% and the next player, who is at 49%. Whoa, indeed. There is quite the gulf between ownership numbers. This is what trying to navigate that chasm […]

Week 16 Waiver Wire: Catchers

Now that the second half of the season is well underway, the real grind begins getting through the rest of July and then the scorching hot days of August. It's going to be really tough for those teams that are in pennant races to rest their catchers, and production might wilt under the brutal sunlight. […]

Week 14 Waiver Wire: Catchers

We're now close to the All-Star Game and the catching stats are pretty grim, as far as the waiver wire goes. Nearly all the backstops with double-digit homers are above 50 % ownership, with three exceptions. Who are they? You can probably guess. Hint: They all appear later in this column. Play the Jeopardy theme song, please.... […]

Week 12 Waiver Wire: Catchers

Don't adjust your laptops, tablets or phones. There wasn't a Week 11 Catchers column, but I'm here for Week 12. I'm looking forward to helping you pick out some catchers who can boost your -- HEY! Wake up! It hasn't been THAT long since the last one: As for catchers who still high ownership numbers, […]

Week 10 Waiver Wire: Catchers

As far as catchers go, this season's been more confusing than the New York weather so far. They get hot for a brief bit and then get cold again just as quickly. June feels like April... and that's not just the temperatures talking here. Austin Hedges had another cluster of homers and then has gone […]

Week 9 Waiver Wire: Catchers

Once again, it seems like catchers have about as much forward momentum, stat-wise, as Buster Posey did when he rushed out to protect Hunter Strickland after Bryce Harper charged the mound. Oh... wait. Anyways, when I open the statistics page for catchers, this is what I feel like doing when I see nearly the same […]

Week 8 Waiver Wire: Catchers

Have you ever been reading a book or watching a TV show and things keep happening to characters that you don't care about... but they steadfastly refuse to show any events happening to the more important people? That's what this past week felt like when scanning catcher's statistics. Sure, Salvador Perez went on a homer […]

Austin Hedges (C, SD) - Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 32% of Yahoo Leagues ANALYSIS: San Diego Padres catcher Austin Hedges has put together a fairly respectable run of late. The Padres' backstop had a six-game hit streak before Wednesday's game and has an .870 OPS over the last 14 days. He's also got the lead for most […]

Week 7 Waiver Wire: Catchers

It feels like this season's moving in slow motion, stat-wise. Things have improved a bit since Gary Sanchez returned to give his fantasy owners SOME hope. Still, looking at the numbers for backstops can feel like an exercise in tedium. There's almost no real movement, save for very tiny increments. Austin Hedges hit another homer... […]

Week 6 Waiver Wire: Catchers

The state of fantasy baseball catchers is pretty dismal. How bad is it? The catching leaders in both home runs and RBIs have half of what the Major League leaders have in those categories. It's not only that, it's that they are so SLOW in getting these numbers.  The rest of your lineup may be […]

Week 5 Waiver Wire: Catchers

We're in May now... though it would have been hard to convince the people of Colorado, who were digging out of a late April blizzard. It feels like a lot of the catchers are buried under that snow, because the pickings are very slim. It's tough, because it seems like a catcher will get hot […]

Week 4 Waiver Wire: Catchers

Although the temperatures and the rain haven't been indicative, the calendar is, indeed, flipping to May. The grace period for players and teams off to a slow start is beginning to wind down. "It's early" will soon not be a valid excuse anymore. It's still tough out there in catcher-land. Trying to sift through these […]

Week 3 Waiver Wire: Catchers

This past weekend, people celebrated a miracle. We're speaking of Austin Hedges actually getting some hits, including two homers. Easter was pretty cool, too. The San Diego catcher's bat came alive and possibly saved his starting job... for now. If you think that we're going to be suggesting that you pick up Hedges on the […]

Week 2 Waiver Wire: Catchers

The news that Gary Sanchez was going to miss at least a month shook an already weak fantasy catching corps. Sanchez owners were suddenly panicking that they were going to have to find a live body to plug into the catcher's position for the next four weeks. I'd say that this was their reaction upon […]

Week 1 Waiver Wire: Catchers

The first week of the baseball season is maddening in so many ways. The schedule stops and starts worse than a senior citizen driver who isn't sure if the light is turning red or not. Judging players in these first few days is difficult. It also means that people shouldn't make any snap judgments yet. […]

New York Mets: 2017 Fantasy MLB Team Preview and Outlooks

Spring training is officially underway, and your fantasy draft preparations have likely begun in earnest. As part of RotoBaller's ongoing effort to help you win your leagues, we're previewing all 30 MLB teams. In these articles, we discuss each team's offseason moves, as well as their hitters, pitchers, and prospects. Today's installment covers the 2017 New York Mets Team […]