Roto owners try to catch break after Posey falls

May 2024 · 3 minute read

The brutal home-plate collision Wednesday night that left the Giants’ Buster Posey with a broken leg reminded baseball fans how dangerous catching can be and how shallow the pool of top-notch players is at the position.

Posey’s potentially season-ending injury means just three certified elite catchers remain in play on fantasy rosters, counting the sidelined Joe Mauer along with Victor Martinez and Brian McCann. But that leaves upward of seven teams per league scrambling for marginal gains at backstop.

Here is Roto Files’ guide to catching some luck, a re-ranking of the top 15 catchers:

1. Victor Martinez, Tigers: What Jorge Posada might have been years ago — a legitimate designated hitter with a spare pair of shin guards.

2. Joe Mauer, Twins: Still weeks away from returning from a leg injury, and it’s hard to believe he will be back to MVP caliber.

3. Brian McCann, Braves: Right on course for his typical .280-20-80 output.

4. Carlos Santana, Indians: Few have dared to drop the 25-year-old for his Mendoza-line batting average, which has been punished by terrible luck on balls in play (.216 BABIP), though he might be undervalued by owners.

5. Russell Martin, Yankees: A revelation in pinstripes. Martin’s power numbers have been propped up by luck (more than 15 percent of fly balls resulting in homers), but his catcher-leading runs and steals totals seem built to last, given the depth of the Bombers’ lineup and his traditional stolen-base prowess.

6. Geovany Soto, Cubs: He might return as soon as today from a stint on the disabled list with a groin injury.

7. Matt Wieters, Orioles: Was hitting a completely unreasonable .543 with runners in scoring position going into the weekend, giving the lie to his 90-RBI pace.

8. J.P. Arencibia, Blue Jays: A no-fluke raker averaging 17 at-bats per homer, but bound to suffer the peaks and valleys of a rookie summer.

9. Miguel Montero, D’backs: Trending toward a 15-homer, 70-RBI finish.

10. Alex Avila, Tigers: A budding bopper, but his early homer pace (eight through 130 at-bats) is unsustainable.

11. Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers: Exciting 24-year-old owned in less than one-third of ESPN leagues, but won’t remain a sleeper for long.

12. Yadier Molina, Cardinals: A high-contact hitter whose run production won’t fade in a veteran lineup.

13. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Red Sox: A recent tear teased at the switch-hitter’s potential. In the span of 11 days, he hit a homer to right at Yankee Stadium, two over the Green Monster in left at Fenway and one to center in Cleveland.

14. Ramon Hernandez, Reds: Could bank 20 homers in Cincinnati’s bandbox.

15. Kurt Suzuki, A’s: Has fallen from the ranks of surefire starters.

jlehman@nypost.com

ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2JlfnJ7j25ma3Bfp7y1u4yorqedoqh6tb7YZquoZZOWwaS0jJupnpmbYq6nwMSrZKmno5rGbrLApaOsZw%3D%3D