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Waiting on Catchers

I don't care about positional scarcity.

As a result, my teams are often built with a pair of low-end catchers at the end of a draft or auction.

Practice makes perfect, at least, that's what I have always been told, so Jeff Erickson and I hosted a 15-team mixed league mock draft during the SXM show on Tuesday (the results can be viewed in full here).

You may notice that the team in the 13th position (Kevin Hitt) employed an extremely catcher-heavy strategy by taking three backstops over his first five picks.

His approach did not alter my strategy, as I simply took the best available players regardless of position when my draft came up.

From the beginning of Round 20 through the end of Round 23, there were at least five viable options available to fill my two catcher spots.

John Jaso, TAM -- Concussions have pushed Jaso into a primary DH role for the Rays, which ups his value considerably as the move lowers his injury risk while offering him a clearer path to more playing time. Steamer has projected Jaso for a .245/.331/.378 line (wrong) over 480 plate appearances (right). His career line of .259/.359/.399 seems very attainable, while it should come with 10-12 homers and a nice supply of runs scored (65-70) while he occupies the second spot in the batting order in Tampa against right-handed pitching.

Josh Phegley, OAK -- It's surprising that the White Sox couldn't find a way to better utilize Phegley in 2014, although in fairness, they gave him 213 plate appearances in 2013 and were treated to a .206/.223/.299 line with four home runs in 65 games. Since the start of the 2013 season, Phegley has hit 38 home runs with 116 runs driven in over 168 games and 725 plate appearances with Triple-A Charlotte. It's not the PCL, and it's not a stat line fueled by a hitter-friendly home park. His primary competition for playing time is Stephen Vogt, who made 65 of his 80 appearances with the A's last season at first base and in the outfield, with just 15 games played behind the plate.

Robinson Chirinos, TEX -- In a league where 30 catchers are started, Chirinos may be a poor owner's Jarrod Saltalamacchia, albeit with fewer strikeouts and an easier name to spell. If the Rangers acquire Welington Castillo or Dioner Navarro, scale back the playing time expectations and drop him at least to the bottom of this list. If they stand pat with their current options behind the plate, enjoy the cheap pop and decent RBI count that should come with better health to several players in the lineup ahead of Chirinos this season.

Chris Iannetta, LAA -- Without looking at the depth chart, name any other Halos catcher in camp this spring. Iannetta will play less than Jaso (if both players are healthy all season) and is likely going to check in 15-20 points lower in the batting average category, but .235-.240 with 8-10 HR, 40 R, and 40 RBI won't hurt you over 400 PAs if Iannetta is your second catcher.

Alex Avila, DET -- The Tigers are still kicking around the possibility of using Avila was their No. 2 hitter against right-handed pitching. For his career, Avila is a .256/.358/.434 hitter against righties, while he may end up in a strict platoon with James McCann to avoid taking on the damage his playing time against southpaws tends to yield. Like Jaso, Avila has a history of concussion looming as a threat to his ability to stay on the field, but less may be more if he's deployed in front of Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, and Yoenis Cespedes this season.

Tuesday's Barometer

Rising

Prince Fielder is expected to be in the lineup for the Rangers' spring opener Wednesday. If I am drafting today, I would take Fielder over Albert Pujols and Adrian Gonzalez.

Jason Kipnis will make his spring debut this weekend.

Jimmy Rollins will lead off for the Dodgers this season.

Marcus Semien homered twice against the Giants in Tuesday's Cactus League opener. Trace his name in Sharpie over the pencil that currently lists him as the A's starting shortstop.

Jung-Ho Kang homered in his Pirates debut Tuesday. Full disclosure: He hit it off of Marco Estrada.

Eury Perez appears to be the favorite to handle center field for the Braves while Melvin Upton Jr. begins the season on the disabled list.

The Braves seem to be wrestling with the idea of having Jose Peraza break camp with the big club. It's still far too early to make a final call, but the speedy second baseman could take over the job by the end of the first half even if he's sent back to the minors to begin the season.

Jonathan Lucroy is scheduled to receive at-bats during minor league spring games next week.

Falling

Ubaldo Jimenez gave up six runs (five earned) on two hits, two walks, two hit batters and a wild pitch in his first outing Tuesday.

Noah Syndergaard's lunch.

Etc.

Wake me up when the Mets officially set their rotation order and settle on when exactly Matt Harvey is going to make his 2015 regular season debut.

The Astros haven't revealed who their closer will be to begin the season.