2011 MLB Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Gems: American League

David Murphy, OF Texas Rangers ( 36 percent owned in Yahoo, 52.5 percent in ESPN)

Current Stat Line: .267 AVG / 40 R / 9 HR / 41 RBI / 8 SB

Weekly Minor League Recap

AAA:

–Jesus Montero, NYY, C, Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees (#3): Montero didnt have a great week average wise, but did hit two HRs, bringing the season total to 13. No news on the call up front. I don’t think Posada’s big day on Saturday will make it tougher for Montero to find playing time down the stretch, unless Jorgie channels 2009.

-Dayan Viciedo, CWS, OF, Charlotte Knights (unranked): Viciedo had better start improving if he wants to make an impact with the Chisox come September. He is now at .206/.386/.265 over his last ten. Sure the walks are nice (9 in last ten), but his avg/power struggles go back awhile now.

–Devin Mesoraco, CIN, C, Louisville Bats (#64): Mesoraco had only three hits last week, but two were HRs. He has had a better season than Montero, but is well off the 26 HR pace from last year.

–Adrian Cardenas, OAK, DH, Sacramento River Cats (unranked):Cardenas was back to hitting for average last week, as he went 8 for 23, raising it to .299 on the season. No HRs, and only two RBIs  and 1 walk though.

–Brandon Guyer, TB, OF, Durham Bulls (unranked): Guyer returned from the DL on 8/13, and went 3 for 4 with 2 doubles.

–Lorenzo Cain, KC, OF, Omaha (unranked): Cain slumped last week, which now makes two weeks of mediocre play at the plate. He was 5 for 23, but had a HR.

-Julio Teheran, ATL, SP, Gwinnett Braves (#5): Teheran bounced back on 8/12 after his disastrous 8/7 start: 7 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 Ks.

2011 Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire Gems: American League

Jorge Posada, C New York Yankees ( 43 percent owned in Yahoo, 36.9 percent owned in ESPN)

Current Stat Line: .239 AVG / 19 R / 9 HR / 27 RBI / 0 SB

Weekly Minor League Recap

AAA:

–Jesus Montero, NYY, C, Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees (#3): Montero is starting to level off now, having gone .214/.267/.333 in his last ten.  Also, Jorge Posada has been hitting somewhat better in the Bronx (and he has an understandably long leash, given his iconic status) so right now, there really isn’t a place for Jesus there.  Stay tuned, but it is looking more and more as though a substantial impact in 2011 will have to wait until September.  Pre-season rookie of the year candidacy predictions were a bit premature.

–Brett Lawrie, TOR, 2b/3b, Vegas 51s (#40): Lawrie continues to put up astounding numbers in the PCL (.405/.458/.857) and a call up – even with the questionable defense – could be days away.  All but the shallowest leagues can wait on him, but all others should make the move accordingly when he does get the call.  Only red flags: 40 Ks in 49 games compared to only 17 BBs, and, of course, that sub-par D, which could cause him to sit a couple of times a week/late in games.

2011 Bounce Back Player of the Week: Russell Martin, New York Yankees

In 2007 Russell Martin won a silver slugger and was generally considered one of the best catchers in the game. Since then it has been a long, steady fall from grace. Martin was plagued with MCL injuries last season, only playing in 97 games which helped continue his streak of declining production:

2011 MLB Spring Training Review: Week of February 27th

SPRING TRAINING QUICK HITS

There is still talk of Francisco Liriano being dealt to the Yankees within the next two weeks. Still not sure how this makes sense for Minnesota, but they’re not exactly doing anything to dispel the reports…Fausto Carmona has rightfully been named the Indians’ 2011 Opening Day starter, this after winning 13 games last year with a 3.77 ERA…Destined for the bullpen, Aroldis Chapman continues to electrify starting off the spring with 4K in 2 IP. And he’s also walked three…Just when it appeared time to worry about Domonic Brown‘s spring struggles, we now get to worry an additional 4-6 weeks as he fractured his hamate bone. Remember Ryan Zimmerman fractured the same one and it sapped his power for some time. Ben Francisco now has a great opportunity to do something with this opportunity…

2011 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: CATCHER

THE CATCHERS…Well here we are, finally rolling out the much-anticipated 2011 Positional Rankings starting with the Backstops. To no one’s surprise, Joe Mauer tops our composite rankings as the #1 Catcher for this upcoming season. Mauer could not repeat his 2009 success, but to call his 2010 a bust would be absurd. Mauer looks to rebound and keep his throne.

Photo by Scott A. Schneider/Getty Images

Enjoy and comment as necessary!

RANK	PLAYER	Brian	Mike	Killboy	Jesse	Eric	COMP
1	Joe Mauer – MIN	1	1	1	1	1	1.0
2	Victor Martinez – DET	2	3	2	2	3	2.4
3	Buster Posey – SF	3	4	3	3	2	3.0
4	Brian McCann – ATL	4	2	4	4	4	3.6
5	Carlos Santana – CLE	6	6	5	6	5	5.6
6	Geovany Soto – CHC	5	9	6	5	6	6.2
7	Mike Napoli – TEX	10	5	7	8	7	7.4
8	Kurt Suzuki – OAK	7	8	13	7	8	8.6
9	Jorge Posada – NYY	12	11	8	10	9	10.0
10	Miguel Montero – ARI	8	10	9	13	11	10.2
11	Matt Wieters – BAL	11	7	14	9	10	10.2
12	Carlos Ruiz – PHI	9	12	18	11	14	12.8
13	Chris Iannetta – COL	13	16	10	12	13	12.8
14	Russell Martin – NYY	15	13	12	15	12	13.4
15	John Buck – FLA	16	17	11	16	17	15.4
16	A.J. Pierzynski – CHW	17	14	20	17	15	16.6
17	J.P. Arencibia – TOR	–	–	16	14	16	17.6
18	Miguel Olivo – SEA	–	18	15	–	18	18.6
19	Ryan Doumit – PIT	19	19	17	19	20	18.8
20	Yadier Molina – STL	14	–	19	–	19	18.8

MIKE NAPOLI

I am sticking to my words: “Napoli could wind up a Top 5 Catcher.” The guy is in one of the best parks and lineups in all of baseball. 30 bombs is NOT a stretch.

J.P. ARENCIBIA

Last year’s Pacific Coast League MVP is pretty much guaranteed to be the starting catcher in Toronto this year.  He has almost no major league experience but his minor league home run total’s (32HR in 2010) make him worth a flier in the late rounds of the draft.  Expect some growing pains, but Arencibia could be a cheap source for power.

CARLOS RUIZ

Chooch continues to be one of the most under rated players in MLB.  He was the Phillies 2010 MVP for his clutch hitting and handling of their pitching staff.  All projections are calling for him to regress this season – but looking at graphs of his last three seasons he is trending up in all the right categories.  Ruiz could be a tremendous consolation prize if you like to draft your catcher(s) in the later rounds.

SLEEPER: JARROD SALTALAMACCHIA

Salty has + power for a catcher and looks to be the likely starter in Boston. In that lineup you can expect a lot of RBI and Run chances. Only downside potential is the number of AB’s Varitek may steal from him.

BUST: KURT SUZUKI

Weak 260-275 AVG with low double-digit HR totals. Suzuki’s move to the bottom 3rd of a poor Oakland lineup will kill his counting stats. If you wait to draft a catcher, at least draft one with power potential.