Catcher drafting strategy?

[zippytrash]

First of all, I am typically the kind of drafter who will wait until late for their receiver. I never felt good about spending a higher pick on a position player who probably wasn't great in any stat, save for an occasional .300 AVG, and get days off all the time. Don't get me wrong, they earn it back there, but our fake teams suffer.

Then, there's this year.

The Mariners are counting on Montero to catch several games each week and work as a DH on his days off behind the plate, the team's official site reports.
"I watch him catch and work the drills and do everything," manager Eric Wedge said. "He's going to continue to work and get better. But he's looked well so far."

So that would make him eligible at C by, at worst, mid April for leagues that require 10 games played. I know that's the drill at ESPN. In addition, getting regular at bats at DH when he's not squatting. He's a very patient hitter who has all the power you need, Ichiro will probably be hitting right in front of him, the guy is a laser show waiting to happen.

Do you guys think this will stick? I don't see anybody really talking about this possibility and/or discussing him when ranking catchers. If you do, where would you rank him among catchers? Where would you target him in a 10-team snake, 1-catcher, H2H that has OPS as a batting category on top of the regulars 6X6? Obviously, I would use one of my last picks on a fill-in until he reaches eligibility. And in H2H, it's not how you start, it's how you finish.

I think this is technically a draft question, but if you'd like me to move it to the Player News page that's fine too.

[mkultra]

The excellent MDP Spreadsheet (which you can find in Baseball Leftovers) has him as the 9th catcher drafted, and that's where I got him in the Cafeholics Noobs league (16-team, 2 catchers). In a redraft league, I think that's maybe a little low, but there's a whole pack of catchers not named Santana or Napoli who could do as well or better than him:

Mauer
McCann
Wieters
Avila
Posey
Miguel Montero

I think past those guys and Jose Montero is a significant drop-off in talent (Molina, Arrencibia, Martin, etc.), but I wouldn't reach for him in a 10-team redraft league. Everyone's gonna have a good catcher.