Wednesday's Catcher Value Rankings
Here are theScore's catcher value rankings for Wednesday, July 6 (all stats exclude Tuesday's games):
Value Rankings
C | 1B/DH | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP
Top Options
| NAME | OPPONENT | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Buster Posey (SF) | vs. COL | 9 |
| Wilson Ramos (WAS) | vs. MIL | 8 |
| Welington Castillo (ARI) | vs. SD | 8 |
With options few and far between at the catcher position, Posey and Ramos are usually the best. Ramos is on pace to crush previous career highs set in 2011 and is leading major league catchers in batting average, home runs and RBIs. Posey is showing his elite plate prowess to start July, with a homer, two extra-base hits, four walks, and no strikeouts.
With righty Colin Rea and his dismal 4.79 ERA on the mound Wednesday evening, Castillo figures to backstop the Diamondbacks. Priced just below the top-tier players, he has plenty of value, even though his power has waned since the start of the season. He's got two dingers in his last four games.
Mid Tier Targets
| NAME | OPPONENT | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Willson Contreras (CHC) | vs. CIN | 7 |
| Russell Martin (TOR) | vs. KC | 6 |
| Jonathan Lucroy (MIL) | at WAS | 5 |
Eight games into his major league career, Contreras is priced among the elites, and rightly so. In a very minuscule sample, Contreras owns a .438 wOBA, which suggests his tremendous .406 OBP is no fluke. Against the Reds train-wreck of a bullpen, roll with him in cash games.
At a discounted price against Royals' RHP Ian Kennedy, Martin is worth a flier. His average has continued to climb slowly, and he is hitting .381 over his past five games with five runs scored, one home run and five RBIs.
Lucroy has been another consistent catcher, however, like the other backstops, he lacks the traditional power and is more likely to fail to return value. To make matters worse, he's just 3-for-16 in his past four outings and will face the sizzling right arm of Nationals' SP Tanner Roark. Use him in GPPs, if at all.
Nothing to See Here
| NAME | OPPONENT | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| J.T. Realmuto (MIA) | at NYM | 4 |
| Salvador Perez (KC) | at TOR | 3 |
| Matt Wieters (BAL) | at LAD | 3 |
Although Realmuto hasn't boasted much pop in his bat, he's been getting on base with consistency, owning a fantastic .356 OBP through 2016. He will be in tough against Mets' RHP Jacob deGrom and his salary isn't worth risking.
Perez and Wieters are among the top-10 catchers in baseball, however neither has looked it of late. Perez is an atrocious 0-for-15 over his past four contests. Wieters has been known to flex a little muscle, but has just nine long balls on the season.