The first month of the season is usually filled with oddities. I'm not talking weather-related ones where it still feels like winter in May. For example, there was a stretch in the late 1980s when it seemed like Yankees catcher Don Slaught would always enter May hitting around .500. Of course, he'd wind up crashing into a metaphorical wall (not a real one for the literalists out there) and hitting like .080 for the rest of the season to bring him down to his usual .280 or so average.
This year's the same way. Buster Posey is hitting his usual .300+, but there are a lot of other catchers that are not that far behind him, ones that would be deemed well below the Top 5 preseason picks. Many of them are still inexplicably languishing on the waiver wire. They could help either in a one-catcher or two-catcher league. Free them and free your chances of winning.
Our criteria are catchers that have under 50% ownership in Fleaflicker leagues.
Week 5 Waiver Wire Catchers
Yadier Molina (STL) 44% - Yadi's off to an incredible start and he's still below 50%? What's going on? Molina belongs up there with Posey - he's healthy after fighting injury last year. St. Louis will also look to preserve him by doing some spot starts at first base like they did on May 4. His numbers are impressive - .307 and he had 31 hits, most among all catchers, entering Wednesday's action. Like another guy I mention on here later, he needs to be above 50% at least.
Stephen Vogt (OAK) 33% - Vogt is off to a very good start. He's fourth among all catchers in base hits and his average is a very respectable .278. He's got power too, hitting 18 homers in '15. He's got three so far, so he'll likely hit that mark again or exceed it a bit. Don't sleep on him - more than 1/3 of Fleaflicker owners should have him on their roster or their lineup.
Francisco Cervelli (PIT) 37% - Look, this is going to be my version of a protest. I'm going to keep posting Cervelli here until he gets AT LEAST over 40%. What's not to like? He's still over .300, third among all catchers in hits, and he's third among all catchers in fantasy points. No, this isn't the Slaught effect either. You're doing a grave disservice to yourself by not picking him up. Read my sign: GET FRANCISCO TO 40%!
J.T. Realmuto (MIA) 25% - Only a quarter of Fleaflicker owners have picked up Realmuto? Going into Wednesday's game, he was hitting .333 and he was tied for second in base hits among all catchers. His speed hasn't been put on full display since he only has a single steal. Still... most people would kill to have a catcher hit for a high average on their roster. C'mon folks... if he keeps this up, he could be a huge pickup from the waiver wire. Even if he tails off, he could still be a tremendous second catcher.
Nick Hundley (COL) 15% - Hundley has put together a pretty solid first month of the season, hitting .273 with two homers. It's not anything like teammate Trevor Story's start, but he's doing OK for himself. Catchers who are a threat to hit 10 or more homers a season would definitely be a strong second option on people's rosters. It'd be even better if he could get on a hot streak during a Coors Field homestand. That would make his overall ownership numbers go up. Take a chance on him in two-catcher leagues.
Geovany Soto (LAA) 5% - There was a time when Soto was considered a stud catcher. He won the National League Rookie of the Year in 2008, and was an All-Star that same year. He had a couple of solid years after that and then fell off the face of the Earth while bouncing from team to team. He's doing quite well in a limited role now with the Angels, hitting three homers in backup duty. Soto's likely going to get more playing time as a result and could benefit many Fleaflicker owners as a second catcher.
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