Draft Prep Tiers: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP
Don't be deceived by the slow trickle of names at the top of this position. Another catcher it's not. In fact, there's enviable depth here
Just not in the early rounds.
No, an enterprising few owners will gain a advantage over their competition by making a timely investment in one of the standouts, be it Jose Altuve in the first round, Jose Ramirez in the second or Brian Dozier in the third.
But check out The Fallback Options, so full in shape and number. You have base-stealers, sluggers, versatile multi-eligible types, 2017 busts like Rougned Odor and Ian Kinsler, 2017 breakthroughs like Chris Taylor and Scooter Gennett, up-and-comers like Yoan Moncada and Ozzie Albies. Endless possibilities.
There's so much promise to be had in the latter stages of the draft that you may actually regret filling the spot too soon. So as we grapple with an increasingly homogeneous player pool, does it make sense capitalize on one of the few distinct positional advantages even knowing it might block a multitude of upside picks later? Maybe, but there's no need to overpay knowing what you can fall back on.
The Unmatched: Jose Altuve
The Elite: Jose Ramirez
The Near-Elite: Brian Dozier, Daniel Murphy, Dee Gordon^
The Next-Best Things: Jonathan Schoop, Whit Merrifield, Robinson Cano
The Fallback Options: Eduardo Nunez, DJ LeMahieu, Marwin Gonzalez, Chris Taylor, Ozzie Albies, Rougned Odor, Yoan Moncada, Ian Kinsler, Scooter Gennett, Austin Barnes
The Last Resorts: Jason Kipnis, Paul DeJong, Javier Baez, Ian Happ, Cesar Hernandez, Starlin Castro, Yangervis Solarte, Josh Harrison, Jed Lowrie
The Leftovers: Jonathan Villar, Jose Peraza, Devon Travis, Asdrubal Cabrera, Chris Owings, Brandon Phillips, Neil Walker, Kolten Wong, Joe Panik, Brandon Drury, Jose Reyes, Dustin Pedroia, Ben Zobrist
^:one tier lower in points leagues
