'09 Draft Prep: +/- Player Ratings

With defense always and forever the priority at catcher, the position, at least in recent years, has become somewhat of a joke in Fantasy, with the elite options usually going off the board too soon and the middle options proving mostly indistinguishable from one another.

So perhaps you might not expect to see us hold catchers to a higher standard for home runs (14) than we do second basemen or shortstops (12 each). Keep in mind, though, that the rigors of catching make baserunning an afterthought, leaving Russell Martin as the only halfway decent base stealer of the bunch. If a catcher doesn't homer, he doesn't do much of anything offensively, making power hitters a bit more common at the position.

Rest assured, catchers have a low statistical baseline overall, with the average top-40 Fantasy option hitting .270 with 14 home runs, 65 RBI, 50 runs scored and five stolen bases. If any of these catchers in the table below projects to perform above that baseline in a particular category, he gets a plus (+). If he projects to perform below it, he gets a minus (-). If he projects to meet it, he gets nothing at all.

You might notice runs and RBI remain in short supply for the catcher position, which shouldn't come as a surprise considering catchers typically need a day off once a week to rest their knees. Of the five traditional Rotisserie stats, none depend on at-bats more than runs and RBI, which tend to accumulate during the natural course of a game, regardless of the individual player's talent (though that obviously plays a crucial role as well).

Catchers

First Basemen

You won't find many first basemen batting in front of or behind the pitcher. That's because teams usually reserve the position for their best sluggers. Accordingly, Fantasy owners have always considered first base one of the deepest positions in the game, often using it to fill their DH and utility slots.

So perhaps you won't even blink when you hear that the average Fantasy-relevant first baseman hits .280 with 25 home runs, 85 RBI, 75 runs scored and five stolen bases. Those numbers represent the approximate medians for each statistic using the top 40 players at the position. Of course, any player with a .280-24-85-75-5 line would have some appeal in Fantasy, so don't discount someone just because you don't see a plus sign next to his name. Remember: This table shows how first basemen compare to each other, not to players at other positions.

Then again, that baseline does reveal one shortcoming: For all you can expect to find at first base, look elsewhere for stolen bases. Lance Berkman led the position with 18 steals last season, and even that marginal total doubled his previous career high. Conor Jackson ranked second with 10.

Second Basemen

Given coaches' and executives' insistence on defense up the middle, second base has historically modeled shortstop as a glove-first, bat-second domain. Fittingly, the two positions share the same unimpressive baseline numbers: a .276 batting average, 12 home runs, 60 RBI, 70 runs scored and 12 stolen bases. The average starting second baseman will finish with those stats, giving you a basis of comparison for every player at the position.

Just glancing at this table, you might notice second base has a few more plus signs at the top than shortstop does, indicating a more gradual decline in talent. If you miss out on the elite trio of Chase Utley, Ian Kinsler and Dustin Pedroia, you still have a halfway decent chance to grab a plus Fantasy option like Brian Roberts, Brandon Phillips or Dan Uggla.

Shortstops

The shortstop position doesn't have a long track record of middle-of-the-order hitters, and it doesn't figure to gain any in 2009. Still a position more for speedsters than sluggers -- if either -- shortstop usually doesn't have enough depth to satisfy every member of a 12-team Fantasy league.

If you were to approximate a median baseline for the top 40 Fantasy shortstops in the five traditional Rotisserie categories, you might arrive at a .276 batting average, 12 home runs, 60 RBI, 70 runs scored and 12 stolen bases.

The table below underscores the aforementioned lack of depth at the position. Given the already low baseline, only a few useful Fantasy options remain after the elite trio of Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins goes off the board. What follows is a virtual wasteland of numbers, littered by a handful of stolen-base specialists and only one or two legitimate sleepers.

Third Basemen

Though maybe not quite as deep in talent as first base, third base remains a power position, with some of the top options carrying as much clout as any player in Fantasy.

Not surprisingly, third basemen rank just behind first basemen and outfielders in average performance, with a median baseline of a .280 batting average, 20 home runs, 75 RBI, 70 runs scored and 10 stolen bases. The average third baseman produces those numbers, giving you an indication of how your third baseman will compare to your competitors'.

Since a .280-20-75-70-10 performer has a significant amount of Fantasy value in his own right, a blank space isn't necessarily a bad thing. An average third baseman is a good, solid player and a likely starter for some Fantasy team as either a corner infielder or a designated hitter.

Again like first base, you won't find many stolen bases at third base, with Chone Figgins the only true speedster who qualifies at the position.

Outfielders

Ah, outfielders. You can find one to fit just about any need. From middle-of-the-order sluggers to speedy leadoff types, the outfield position offers every type of offensive player imaginable simply because it has three times the selection of any other offensive position.

As you might imagine, outfielders have to measure up to a pretty high standard in Fantasy -- one so diverse not even some of the elite players (i.e. Grady Sizemore) can excel in every category. Using the median statistics for the top 100 outfielders, the average Fantasy outfielder hits .280 with 20 home runs, 80 RBI, 80 runs scored and 16 stolen bases.

Fantasy owners often look to outfielders to build up their stolen bases, and the table demonstrates just how much value those specialized players can have. An outfielder with a plus sign in the steals column will jump significantly up the chart even if he doesn't excel in as many ways as a player beneath him.

Designated Hitters

Most Fantasy leagues allow you to start any position at designated hitter, making these DH-only players optional in Fantasy. In fact, with some of the big-name designated hitters retiring in recent years and others (Travis Hafner) suffering major power outages, only two players at the position -- David Ortiz and Jim Thome -- deserve guaranteed spots on all Fantasy rosters. Only two more -- Hafner and Gary Sheffield -- have any mixed-league appeal, though Rocco Baldelli and Kila Ka'aihue do each have some sleeper potential.

Given the surprising lack of Fantasy-relevant talent at a position that exists strictly for offense, the top 12 designated hitters have a relatively low median baseline of a .260 batting average, 10 home runs, 50 RBI, 50 runs scored and five stolen bases. Really, though, outside of Ortiz, you shouldn't bother with any of these players until the latter rounds of your mixed-league draft.

Starting Pitchers

Starting pitchers can help you in only four categories, as the saying goes, making the basis for comparison a bit short-handed.

You can pretty much strike the saves column from the record because it obviously doesn't apply. When discussing starting pitchers in Rotisserie play, you care only about wins, ERA, strikeouts and WHIP. In case you haven't caught on to the drill yet, the table below shows how each starting pitcher compares to the average starting pitcher in each of those four statistics using a plus sign (+), a minus sign (-) or neither. The baseline stats, as taken from the median values for the top 100 starting pitchers, are 13 wins, a 4.00 ERA, 165 strikeouts and a 1.32 WHIP. The baseline for saves, obviously, is zero, meaning any starting pitcher with even a remote chance of recording saves gets a plus sign in that category.

With only four categories, not five, available for drawing comparisons, the distinctions within this table aren't quite as obvious as the ones you'd find for position players. For instance, by just counting up the pluses and minuses, Adam Wainwright doesn't appear to have significantly more value than Derek Lowe, when in reality, he most definitely does.

So use it for what it is. No table can take the place of you actually looking up the statistics yourself, but this one at least gives you a quick reference for making comparisons if you get in a pinch on Draft Day.

One more word of caution: Just because a pitcher doesn't have a plus sign in the strikeout category doesn't mean he isn't a strikeout pitcher. Innings have a direct impact on strikeouts, remember, and some pitchers get hurt often enough that we can only project so many innings for them.

Relief Pitchers

Saves are the name of the game for relief pitchers. All other stats are peripheral by comparison, making the distinction between the good Fantasy relievers and the bad Fantasy relievers clear as night and day.

But those other stats matter in their own small way, if for no other reason because they show how likely a pitcher will meet, or perhaps even exceed, his projection for saves. The better a pitcher pitches -- with a lower ERA and WHIP, more strikeouts, etc. -- the more likely he'll capitalize on his save opportunities and the more likely his team will trust him with even more opportunities.

The table below demonstrates how each reliever compares to the average reliever using a median baseline of three wins, a 3.30 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, 68 strikeouts, and most importantly, 22 saves -- a mark attainable by any reliever with a legitimate chance of earning saves, but one easily surpassed by the most reliable closers in the game.

Given the nature of their responsibilities, closers, who you'll see concentrated at the top of this table, don't -- and, in fact, shouldn't -- project for more than the baseline three wins. Some of the middle relievers at the bottom, though, project for slightly more either because they have consistently exceeded three wins in the past or have an outside chance of starting this season. In general, though, you shouldn't count on any wins from your relief pitchers, for obvious reasons.

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