RADIO
It's kind of appropriate that it feels like summer as I write this today. The temperature's in the red and so are the ownership levels of catchers on Fleaflicker. Week Eight is not great. It's like a bad day on the stock market - there's red all over as people seem to be cutting catchers.
Heck, even Buster Posey's being dropped by some people. I call those people cutting him "panic-stricken wusses," but that's neither here nor there. Just stay calm and cool, I'll get you through this Defcon Red period of the season. Our cut-off is sub-50% ownership in Fleaflicker.
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Week 8 Waiver Wire Catchers
Welington Castillo (ARI) 37% - He's still tied for most homers among catchers with seven. Yes, it's been that bad, power-wise, among the catching ranks that we're nearly into June and there's not ONE catcher with double-digits in home runs. His average is still very respectable at .284. I still find it absurd that he's not owned by at least 50%. Maybe it's the heat that's making me talk to myself now...
Matt Wieters (BAL) 30% - Like Jaws, Wieters has been lurking under the surface and now he's looking like he's ready to strike. His batting average has been on the rise. It was .288 heading into Wednesday's action. Better grab him now before everyone else starts to realize that he's good again. Otherwise, you might get burned, and that's never a good feeling.
Francisco Cervelli (PIT) 34% - OK, his batting average and ownership numbers keep going down a bit (he was at.267 before Wednesday's game), but I'm also convinced that he'll turn things around. With the lower quality of catching stats, you should be taking a bit more of a risk than you normally would and if he gets himself turned around, he could be huge (not YUGE like a certain orange-skinned Republican presidential nominee would say) for you.
Chris Herrmann (ARI) 10% - No, don't adjust your computer. There are two Arizona catchers on here. Herrmann is having his own decent season as a back-up, with nearly half as many hits as Ramos (20 to 38 going into Wednesday) and nearly the same amount of RBIs (19 to 20). Some are whispering that he may get the starting job. At best, you can get the best of both worlds with both. At the very least, he'd be a good second catcher for you.
David Ross (CHC) 5 % - This is the point in my piece where it feels like I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel, trying to find SOMETHING useful. It's really been that kind of a year. Ross has actually been hitting fairly well for a backup catcher in his final season. Entering Wednesday's action, he was hitting .254 with three homers and 14 RBIs. Make him feel wanted his last time around the bigs and grab him.
Cameron Rupp (PHI) 4% - Here's someone that could help a LOT of lineups as a second catcher. He's hitting .282 with 29 hits. While his two homers show a lack of power, he's hitting better than a lot of catchers right now, many of whom are established veterans and are hitting well below their weights. The state of catchers has been dire. Grab him as your No. 2 catcher.
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