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Michael Griffin recommends catchers (C) who can be valuable waiver wire targets or adds to help fantasy owners for Week 2 of the 2017 fantasy baseball season.
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 learning of this predicament:
Yes, the pickings do look a little slim - it's no secret that having an offensive catcher is a rarity for a team... and losing one like Sanchez for a while can really drag down the results. It's gotten to the point that Sandy Leon had such an ownership bump that he's not even on this list. Still, we here at RotoBaller try to look on the bright side of life and we'll do our best to help you pick up some needed help at the backstop. Maybe by the time we hit Week 3, Austin Hedges will have collected his first hit of the season.
Here are some catcher waiver wire pickups for Week 2, to consider adding to your teams. We'll show you three players to snag in 10-12 player leagues and also three to look out for in two-catcher leagues. All of these players are just at or below 50% ownership in Yahoo! fantasy leagues.
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10-12 Team League Catcher Pickups
Stephen Vogt (OAK) - 50% owned
Stephen Vogt is not doing too terribly. He's started the season hitting a decent .260 and has two RBIs. He's also got one homer. It's not like any of the catchers are doing much offensive damage so far. None of them have more than six RBIs. This looks like it could be another long season, with a long wait before any backstop cracks double digits in homers. This is one guy to pick up and then just be patient with since the catcher position is NOT going to impress anyone this year.
Jason Castro (MIN) - 21% owned
As far as catchers go, Jason Castro has started the season fairly hot. He's already driven in six RBI, which ties him with J.T. Realmuto for first among backstops. Castro is definitely out to impress his new team, since this is his first year in Minnesota. Can he keep up the pace with the RBI? Only time will tell. He's got double-digit home run power, so if he hits 15 or more, you'll definitely be glad that you got him off the waiver wire scrap heap.
Francisco Cervelli (PIT) - 19% owned
Francisco Cervelli is having an opposite start to the season than he did last year. In 2016, he was like a house on fire and then steadily declined. This year, he's hitting .182 with one homer and three RBI. We're hoping that he slowly starts to hit and ends the season where he started it last year. That would be nice, and it would make all the people that picked him up now feel REALLY good when they get to point and laugh at those who ignored him at this point in the season.
Two-Catcher League Pickups
Cameron Rupp (PHI) - 14% owned
Cameron Rupp is off to a slow start, but that can also be said for many of the catchers this year. He's hitting .143, but he will likely come around. The Phillies play in far too small of a park for him to not start running into a few pitches and hitting them out. Don't be fazed by this poor beginning. The catching corps is NOT deep enough for you to be really picky when it comes to two-catcher leagues. He will come around to help you there.
Geovany Soto (CWS) - 12% owned
Geovany Soto is here for one reason and one reason only - the power that he's supplied early on. He's got four hits so far, and three of them have cleared the fences. If you're in a two-catcher league, you're going to need all the power you can get. If he can keep doing this fairly consistently, then he could turn out to be a nice pick-up. Of course, if he starts tanking, then he's going to be fairly expendable. Then again, you could say that about a lot of the catching choices that we see on the waiver wire.
James McCann (DET) - 11% owned
Like Soto, James McCann is a member of the Four-Hit, Three-Homer club so far. If he can reach, or exceed the 12 homers that he hit in 2016, then he would be quite beneficial to anyone in a two-catcher league. He's got a better chance to do that than Soto, so he's definitely a worthy pick to help your chances in this league. This is one of those positions that you might as well throw up your hands and give him a shot.
