Alex Avila blasts game-winning two-run homer - Alex Avila | DET

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Alex Avila smashed a game-winning two-run homer in the ninth inning, leading the Tigers to a 4-3 win over the Astros on Friday.

Deep fantasy league thoughts -- Chris Iannetta is good, you guys

Source: Fake Teams by Daniel Kelley

Jesus Montero is hitting .224/.250/.306, with one home run.

Alex Avila is hitting .196/.224/.304, with two home runs, and those are his only two RBI.

Victor Martinez, back from injury, is hitting .182/.286/.197. His next home run will be his first.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia is hitting .208/.288/.453. That slugging is perfectly fine, but holy crap Jarrod, do other things.

Salvador Perez is hitting .258/.269/.348. No homers yet, and

Shuffle Up: John Buck, flushing hero

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

You probably know the Shuffle Up rules by now, but we'll go through a refresher course just in case.

The prices below are my catcher rankings for the rest of the season. Don't obsess over the prices in a vacuum; what matters is how the players relate to one another. Commodities at the same dollar figure are considered even.

Assumptions: 5x5 scoring, mixed-league format. Players who are currently disabled or in the minors are not eligible for ranks. The value on that type of player is largely context-driven, anyway; Yasmani Grandal could be a valuable stash in some pools and next-to-worthless in some other groups.

I'll add comments as the day goes along and I reserve the right to tweak this list during the

Mostly MLB Notes: A 2013 Season Preview

Source: Roto Arcade by Dalton Del Don

Editor’s note: I wanted to get this posted much earlier, but I had my first kid recently (well, technically my wife had her), so that’s my excuse for the delay.

National League East

1. Washington Nationals
2. Atlanta Braves (WILD CARD)
3. Philadelphia Phillies
4. New York Mets
5. Miami Marlins

Comments/Fantasy Predictions: Both Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper are top-15 fantasy players, while Dan Haren is a top-25 starting pitcher. Ryan Zimmerman proves to be a better pick than Evan Longoria, while Drew

Empty Wallet: The All-Avoid Team, 2013

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

The good cops have had their say, the optimistic spins are already out there. Today I'm here to play bad cop, throw some red ink around. Let's get ready for the Anti-Value team, the names to avoid.

There's a sneaky industry secret when it comes to target and avoid lists; the second group generally gets the short end of the stick. It's common for many a fantasy pundit to

Bouncing Back: Alex Avila

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

Like a lot of fantasy players, I’ll be waiting on drafting a catcher again this year. Catchers and closers are usually where I want to spend my last few picks or dollars, so I need to squeeze as much value out of them as I possibly can, hoping to hit big on a player that could just as likely end up on the wire in a month. There are a number of catchers who fall in this category, but among them is an interesting bounce back candidate in Tigers backstop Alex Avila.

The post Bouncing Back: Alex Avila appeared first on Fantasy Baseball Blog at Razzball.com.

Anth's Catcher Rankings

Source: Fake Teams by AnthonyCalanni

1. Buster Posey
2. Carlos Santana
3. Matt Wieters
4. Joe Mauer
5. Yadier Molina
6. Miguel Montero
7. Mike Napoli
8. Brian McCann
9. Wilin Rosario
10. Jesus Montero
11. Jonathon Lucroy
12. Salvador Perez
13. J.P. Arencibia
14. A.J. Pierzynski
15. Ryan Doumit
16. Jarrod Saltalamacchia
17. Carlos Ruiz
18. Alex Avila
19. Russell Martin
20. A.J. Ellis

2013 Rankings: Catchers

Source: Fantasy Baseball 365

Fantasy draft time is just around the corner for many folks. That means it is time to start rolling out the position rankngs for draft prep. I'll be posting the rankings without commentary. Feel free to discuss the rankings in the comments below.

Ranking First Name Last

Positional Eligibility Matters

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

 

The Tigers announced, through GM Dave Dombrowski, that Victor Martinez will not catch in 2013 as the Tigers plan to let Alex

Top 20 Catchers for 2013 Fantasy Baseball

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

I just went over the top 10 for 2013 fantasy baseball and the top 20 for 2013 fantasy baseball. Most of you know how I feel about catchers. If you draft a catcher any time before the first 100 picks, you don't know how I feel about catchers. Let me freshen up your cocktail with a splash of insight. I don’t draft top catchers in one catcher leagues. I Reggie Roby them. Molina, Pierzynski, Wilin Rosario were all in the top 5 for catchers last year. Their average draft pick was around 250 overall last year. The bottom of the top 20 for last year consisted of

Brayan Pena (C-DET)

Source: TG Fantasy Baseball

Tigers seeking bounce-back performance by Avila - Physically, the Tigers should have what they need to keep Alex Avila in good shape now that theyand#39;ve added switch-hitting catcher Brayan Pena to back him up. Now comes the technical part. Thatand#39;s a little tougher to define. Source: http://mlb.mlb.com

2012 Positional Review – Catchers

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

Now that the 2012 season is over, it’s time to review how my predictions went for each position in fantasy baseball. To that end, I will review my top-10 at each position and give a brief rundown on how each of the ten performed. I’ll also list which player was a “Hit” (someone who lived up to expectations) as well as a “Miss” (the player who simply failed to impress).

Note: All of these rankings are taken from the

Ricescapades: Five Young Catchers to Watch in 2013

Source: Fake Teams by Paul Rice

I have to admit that I'm sort of obsessed with catchers. While in most years it can be hard to find a decent one, 2012 has been a surprisingly strong year for backstops, though for reasons many of us never expected. Young players like Matt Wieters, Alex Avila, and Jesus Montero were expected to become stars, but have been generally underwhelming. Meanwhile, old farts like A.J. Pierzynski, Carlos Ruiz,

Alex Avila: (Jaw) Cleared to Play

Source: RotoWire.com MLB

Alex Avila: Avila (jaw) was medically cleared to play after "passing" a SCAT II concussion test Thursday, Mlive.com reports. Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update.

Alex Avila (concussion) cleared to return - Alex Avila | DET

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Alex Avila (concussion) has been cleared to return to action.

Avila (head, jaw) not in Tigers lineup Thurs. - Alex Avila | DET

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Alex Avila (head) is out of the Tigers' starting lineup again on Thursday against the Athletics.

Alex Avila: (Jaw) Develops Headache During BP

Source: RotoWire.com MLB

Alex Avila: Avila (jaw) developed a headache during batting practice Monday, MLive.com reports. Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update.

Tigers' Avila out Monday with soreness in jaw - Alex Avila | DET

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Alex Avila (jaw) is not in Monday's starting lineup.

Royals Aim To Odorizzi Their Stinky Season

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

The Royals called up Jake Odorizzi, which means nothing really for this year.  He will start next weekend vs. the Indians, and that could be a spot start in some fantasy leagues, but this is more for 2013.  Or, since it’s the Royals, this is Moore for 2013.  In order to be protected from a Rule 5 draft, the Royals had to call him up.  I don’t think this means we see Odorizzi in the rotation to start next year, but he’ll be in the mix for the last spot.  Knowing the Royals, they’ll find someone like Randy Wolf or Carl Pavano for that last spot.  Jeremy Guthrie’s run with the Royals this year is the worst thing that could’ve happened for Royals fans.  Now ownership can get another half-dead veteran

Alex Avila: Jaw Injury

Source: RotoWire.com MLB

Alex Avila: Avila suffered a jaw injury after colliding with Prince Fielder on Sunday, Tigers Director of Media Relations Brian Britten reports. Visit RotoWire.com for more analysis on this update.

Alex Avila day-to-day with injury to jaw - Alex Avila | DET

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Alex Avila has been diagnosed with an injured jaw and is being listed as day-to-day.

Avila leaves after taking elbow from Prince - Alex Avila | DET

Source: Rotoworld Baseball

Alex Avila left Sunday's game after being inadvertently elbowed by Prince Fielder while the two were chasing a pop-up.

Mailbag: August23, 2012

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

Each week I’ll be answering questions that have been sent to me at the BaseballGuys’ Twitter account in my never ending attempt to replace myself by explaining to everyone how I evaluate players thereby making myself obsolete.

Who wins: C.J. Wilson $11, Colby Rasmus $8, Matt Holliday $30, Arod $33, Kyle Seager $6 for Mike Trout $15?
– @BradfordEra

I know what I would do here, but

Mailbag: Augus23, 2012

Source: Baseball Guys by Ray Flowers

Each week I’ll be answering questions that have been sent to me at the BaseballGuys’ Twitter account in my never ending attempt to replace myself by explaining to everyone how I evaluate players thereby making myself obsolete.

Who wins: C.J. Wilson $11, Colby Rasmus $8, Matt Holliday $30, Arod $33, Kyle Seager $6 for Mike Trout $15?
– @BradfordEra

I know what I would do here, but

Lawrie’s Unprime Rib

Source: Razzball by grey@razzball.com (Grey Albright)

It’s time for us as a people to start makin’ some changes.  Let’s change the way we eat, let’s change the way we live and let’s change the way we treat each other.  You see the old way wasn’t working so it’s on us to do what we gotta do, to survive.  If that means cutting loose Brett Lawrie with his DL stint, then so be it.  This year he has a 59/9/40/.282/13 line.  Right now, I’m throwing up a “W” with my hands, which is the 14-year-old girl gang sign for Whatever.  Yunel Escobar called, he wants his stats back.  Yu Darvish called and said he’s got the wrong number.  Kelly Johnson called and said, “What’s up, Yunel?”  I then disconnected the phone cause it’s getting too many

Shuffle Up: With Carlos Ruiz down, let’s find you a new catcher

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

As the calendar shifted to August, we had a terrific horserace shaping up for the Best Fantasy Catcher title. Yadier Molina, Carlos Ruiz, Buster Posey and Joe Mauer are all hitting .315 or better, three of them are showing power, all of them have good run-production stats (relative to position), and some of these guys even steal an occasional bag. They're all in the Top 85 in the Yahoo! game.

Sadly, it's shifted into a a three-man race to the finish line. In a roto year riddled with injuries, you can now add Chooch Ruiz to the list. Bad news on the doorstep.

The Phillies announced early Saturday that Ruiz is down for 4-6 weeks. He's dealing with plantar

Closing Time: With Carlos Ruiz down, let’s find you a new catcher

Source: Roto Arcade by Scott Pianowski

As the calendar shifted to August, we had a terrific horserace shaping up for the Best Fantasy Catcher title. Yadier Molina, Carlos Ruiz, Buster Posey and Joe Mauer are all hitting .315 or better, three of them are showing power, all of them have good run-production stats (relative to position), and some of these guys even steal an occasional bag. They're all in the Top 85 in the Yahoo! game.

Sadly, it's shifted into a a three-man race to the finish line. In a roto year riddled with injuries, you can now add Chooch Ruiz to the list. Bad news on the doorstep.

The Phillies announced early Saturday that Ruiz is down for 4-6 weeks. He's dealing with