CBRACKE
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Filed under: Strategy
Bull yard refers to a debate or discussion over a specific subject and I have one I’d like to bring to the forefront of fantasy circles, namely, the value of Cubs catcher Geovany Soto.
In the rankings of two prominent fantasy sites, Soto ranks in the top eight catchers in fantasy baseball ahead of Ivan Rodriguez, AJ Pierzynski, Bengie Molina, and young up-and-comers like Kurt Suzuki, Carlos Ruiz, and J.R. Towles. That ranking doesn’t seem totally unjustified given guys like Pudge are past their prime and others like Towles have impressed in only very brief action. My contention is that has Soto proven enough to deserve the hype?
In three seasons prior to 2007, he never his batting average never topped .260, he never hit more than eight homers in a single season, and he wasn’t even mentioned in prospect circles. Then he torched Triple-A to the tune of a .353 average, 26 homers, 75 runs, and 109 RBI in 285 at bats. That resulted in a late season call to the North Side, where he piled up 21 hits in his first 54 at bats, including three long balls.
It could very well be that he had enough experience under his belt that things simply clicked at the plate or it could be that pitchers struggled to figure him out in his first major-league stint. Either way, plenty of people noticed his success. This has lead to him making sleeper lists and well, quite frankly being ranked too highly to qualify as a sleeper any longer.
It would be foolish of me to claim Soto is incapable of the same success he enjoyed in the majors last season, but given his minor league career, fantasy owners would be wise to not expect improvement. In fact, it’s more likely that his average falls below .300 and while his numbers should be productive, I question if he’ll be that much of a value pick come draft day given all the pub he’s receiving now.
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