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Michael Griffin recommends catchers (C) who can be valuable waiver wire targets or adds to help fantasy owners for Week 1 of the 2018 fantasy baseball season.
The regular season is just beginning and people are already likely sitting at home, staring at their computer screens mumbling, "Tore his MCL? Carrying a suitcase? Dude makes millions of dollars... he couldn't HIRE someone to carry it for him?"
In case you're wondering what I'm talking about: Salvador Perez, who is one of the most-owned catchers in the league, suffered this injury right before Opening Day and will miss 4-6 weeks. While it's not a season-ending injury, it still inconveniences many and will likely lead to a slight fluctuation in the waiver wire numbers since there are some hasty pick-ups being made. Don't panic. We'll pick some catchers who are below 50% ownership in Yahoo! leagues and suggest you grab them. Things will get back to normal when he returns - well, as normal as having a poor crop to choose from. Maybe he's a fast healer?
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10-12 Team League Catcher Pickups
Here are some catcher waiver wire pickups for Week 1, to consider adding to your teams. We'll show you three players to snag in 10-12 player leagues, and also three to look out for in two-catcher leagues. All of these players are just at or below 50% ownership in Yahoo! fantasy leagues.
Yasmani Grandal (LAD) 43% owned
Yasmani Grandal may be the beneficiary of Perez's injury. He's always been one for some power and apparently, he's joined the launch angle revolution... which can lead to even more homers. If you want long balls at this position, he's the one for you. This is probably the reason why he's being picked over his fellow backstop, Austin Barnes.
Chris Ianetta (COL) 34 % owned
Finally.... Chris Ianetta has come BACK to Colorado. Well, that's what he'd probably say if he was channeling the Rock. He had a great season in Arizona and may translate that to even better numbers in the hitter-friendly confines in the place that the Rockies call home. He could hit over 20 homers there.
Russell Martin (TOR) 18% Owned
No, Russell Martin hasn't been playing baseball since the 1980's. It just feels that way. Martin's 35 and in the twilight of his career, but he's still capable of knocking on the door of 20 homers. The veteran backstop has the No. 1 catching job in Toronto and he could be a sneaky good pick.
Two-Catcher League Pickups
Austin Hedges (SD) - 18% owned
It's true. Austin Hedges could wind up breaking out and hitting 40 homers. I'm gonna hedge (hah) my bets right now and put him in the two-catcher camps until he shows consistency. He was really streaky last year, with times where he just hit bomb after bomb, but there were way too many times that he couldn't buy a hit. Hedges will have to show he can make the cut or he may be trimmed further - OK, I write these things to amuse myself.
Matt Wieters (WAS) 9% owned
Oh. How the might Scott-Boras-represented have fallen. Matt Wieters was thought of as a decent fantasy pick-up. Not anymore, after an abysmal 2017 campaign. Now he's below 10% in ownership. He did have a fairly decent Spring Training, but that means nothing once the games start counting. Like Hedges above, he could move into the first category after a strong start. Worth a flyer in a two-catcher league, no?
Tyler Flowers (ATL) 7% owned
It's Spring and what's Spring without flowers? OK, I groaned when I typed that, but I still gritted my teeth and finished the sentence. It would be great to have a garden with powerful flowers, and Tyler Flowers could hit 15 or more homers, which is very good to have in a two-catcher league. If he stinks, you can just cut him. Good thing this is the last player in this column...
