Fantasy players -- like me -- who have been waiting for Jonathan Lucroy's return received some good news Tuesday, as the team sent him out on a minor-league rehab assignment at Class A Brevard County. Lucroy, who is coming back from a toe injury should be back with the team in time for the start of Week 9 (June 1-7), which leaves me with an overabundance of catchers one of my main leagues.
Often in this space, we will take on reader questions, and offer our advice on what to do. Today, I want to flip the tables and get the crowd's advice. Here's the situation I am facing:
Keeper league team is 5-2 in a 5x5 H2H league, currently starting Stephen Vogt and Mike Zunino at catcher. Vogt is eligible to be kept through the next two seasons after this for $1, while Zunino is also a $1 keeper through the end of the 2016 season.
I also have Lucroy, who was drafted this season for $31 and has so far provided exactly zero value. He is eligible to be kept through the end of the 2017, but at that price, it's hard to see him having much value as a keeper at all.
So, here are my options:
Option A: Keep Vogt and a healthy Lucroy, with Zunino around as insurance
If I want to maximize the production from my catcher spots, this is the obvious right call. Vogt looks like a breakout star, with plate discipline and batted-ball profiles that suggest he can sustain at least some of his breakout.
Vogt hits the ball hard and is big-time pull-hitter, a very nice profile for a power hitter. Even if he regresses from this point on, he looks like a candidate to remain a top-10 catcher; let's not forget, he was hitting .338/.358/.468 last season before a foot injury forced him out of the catcher position.
With Vogt next to him, Lucroy only looks better. He got off to a miserable start to the season even before his injury, but the worst of his triple-slash lines over the last three seasons still saw him his .280/.340/.455. He is one of the best hitters in baseball -- not just among catchers, but period -- and he and Vogt could give me tremendous production from the catcher position. Given how shallow that spot is, that might give me a huge head start on the rest of the league.
Option B: Sell-high on Vogt
Of course, Vogt is also a 30-year-old with fewer than 600 at-bats in the majors under his belt, so skepticism may be the order of the day. As much as I like his approach at the plate, he's hitting out of his mind this season, and is bound to slow down.
Coming into the season, I opted to invest more in my offense than my pitching staff, leaving me with some less-than-ideal options in the rotation; I am starting Jose Quintana, C.J. Wilson and Mile Foltynewicz among others in Week 8, with Chris Heston and Jason Grilli as my only options off the bench. If I coult flip Vogt for a SP2, that might be the best way to maximize my roster.
Conversely, Vogt might be a good trade chip if I was looking to make a move for someone like Anthony Rendon or Yasiel Puig. At 5-2, I might be able to swallow the short-term dip in productivity for the potential for a major upgrade down the road.
Option C: Try to trade Zunino
"You know how many catchers have hit more than 22 home runs in a before season turning 24? 11. Mike Zunino is one of them. Johnny Bench, Brian McCann and Gary Carter are also on the list.
"Did you know he is hitting .242 with a home run every 16.5 trips to the plate in May while cutting his strikeout rate? He's just a slow starter! You have to let him get hot! And hey, he's still better than Evan Gattis!"
My sales pitch would be something like this. I'm not sure I believe it either, but maybe I could get an underperforming pitcher, say Shane Greene or even Jeff Samardzija, out of the deal?
Option D: Drop Zunino
This is obviously the least palatable of the four options presented. Zunino, for all his warts, has nearly unmatched power potential at the catcher position, and would still be a keeper option for next season at a dirt-cheap price. As long as he is one of the few players at the position capable of dropping 25-plus bombs, Zunino is going to have breakout potential if he ever figures out his contact issues.
However, maybe over the next week, some hot-shot prospect who isn't owned yet will get the call. This is a competitive, deep keeper league, but there are still some solid names available if they were to get the call, or were possibly on the verge; I picked up Steven Matz to slot into my minors spot last week.
Option E: ?????
So which path should I pursue? Is building an elite catching tandem around Vogt and Lucroy the best path? Not a believer in Vogt's breakout? Let me know in the comments!
