I like the guy also but I don't want to go nuts with a prediction for a catcher, especially for his second year. It sucks to get burned by a catcher when you have him high on your board. I wouldn't be surprised by all of your numbers with him, I just won't draft him to do it this year. I will let him exceed my expectations and I will predict .285-.290 25-28hr 100rbi 75-80runs
The funny thing is, is my predictions are quite a bit lower than everyone elses, at least with avg. And with those numbers he is still a top 3 C easily!
mocabeenow wrote:For those of you ranking V-Mart at #1. How much higher do you have him then other catchers?
My preliminary rankings are: V-Mart Pudge Posada Piazza Lopez
~Moc
ive got
Pudge
Javy
Posda
V-Mart
Even though I believe vmart can outperform the other 3 guys ahead of him, the fact remains that this is vmart 2nd full year and those 2nd year guys often hit walls. My first 3 guys are more "safe" picks imo, they have prooved to be reliable.
and yes Javy Lopez was a top three catcher last season and the #1 catcher the year before so there for he is #2 on my list this year.
Off the top of my head, I've got V-Mart as the #1 catcher I'll be targeting come draft day in my keeper league. That doesn't mean he's #1 on my board (though he may end up there), but I think he's the best mix of value relative to draft position, overall productivity, and desirability as a keeper. I'll let others spend high draft picks on Pudge and Piazza, and see if I can't get V Mart a round or two later.
Catcher is a funny position in fantasy baseball. On the one hand, I hate using a high draft pick for a catcher as the top catchers often don't produce as much consistently as other top position players taken in the same round (though this varies on the catcher crop year to year). On the other hand, getting solid power numbers out of your C position makes it a WHOLE lot easier to land in the top half of the standings. If you can get 30 HR out of your C spot, it makes it a whole lot easier to dedicate one of your OF spots to SB.
let me play devil's advocate just to mess with your minds. most of this is borrowed from a post I made a month or two ago.
VICTOR MARTINEZ
July-Aug-Sept
HR 6-4-2
RBI 22-19-10
R 15-11-7
OBP 366-347-320
and to be scientifically fair
AB+BB 112-93-98
who was expecting him to be this good in his first full year? not me. many people have said they got him off the waiver wire, and i have a feeling that was likely true of many shallow leagues.
we've seen plenty of examples in the past where a player comes on the scene with a fast start, then a sophomore slump, and then you see them grow over the next few years eventually matching their first season and even surpassing it. a great example would be carlos beltran.
the indians as a whole were just plain hotter in the first half. i think the real indians were more like the ones we saw in the 2nd half - a less explosive offense. it was just chance that lawton and ronnie belliard of all people were red hot at the same time at the beginning of the season like that. they will be depending on young guys like hafner, broussard, peralta, crisp, sizemore, blake, brandon phillips, and injury question marks like aaron boone, lawton, and gerut. what i'm getting at is less rbi opportunities and less good pitches.
I'm not saying he'll be bad, but I'm saying the possibility is there that he could really disappoint if you are depending on certain stats outta him especially in a full season. There are just so many question marks with their offense right now.
You certainly make some valid points, and I think you are certainly correct about his RBI opportunities going down. I do not believe, however, that his numbers will go down overall. It may not be as big of a jump as many believe, but his average will go up, which will cover up any drop in RBI's.
There was somebody who called Martinez by the way -- Rotoguys.com. Couldn't help but remind people of that.
ESPN called Martinez too. Have to give them credit for that. It was one of the few calls they got right.
As for the sophomore slump, it's definitely something I worry about with Martinez.
Maine has a good swing for a pitcher but on anything that moves, he has no chance. And if it's a fastball, it has to be up in the zone. Basically, the pitcher has to hit his bat. - Mike Pelfrey
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by J35J » Fri Nov 12, 2004 12:08 pm 
what i'm getting at is less rbi opportunities and less good pitches.
