In baseball we chronicle seasons according to memorable storylines that unfold during that time. 1998 was the year of the home run, as Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Ken Griffey Jr. put on a show for the ages. Sadly, that entire decade, and parts of the 2000’s, have now be re-branded as the steroid era. Almost on cue, 2001 was the year of BALCo and Barry Bonds, so there’s that. When Sid Bream crossed home plate in the NLCS, 1992 became the year Sid slid. 1994 was the year of the strike. 2004 will always be the year of the glove slap and the bloody sock. 2011 was the year of tainted urine, and last season—despite Miguel Cabrera’s Triple Crown—was the year of Mike Trout. And so on and so forth.
For fantasy purposes, 2013 is officially the year of the catcher.
There was a time—not very long ago—when there was no discernible difference between, say, the 10th rated catcher and the 20th best option. But now there are more quality options at the position than at any point since the height of the steroid era. Typically the weakest position in all of fantasy baseball, catcher is in fact the deepest position this season. Gone are the days when a .230 hitter with modest power and little-to-no run production could crack the Top 10 simply by virtue of getting at bats.
You can no longer, as I often would, ignore the position entirely during your fantasy draft and weasel yourself a starter on waivers. That’s not to say there won’t be quality catchers who materialize during the season, after all, if things didn’t evolve during the course of the season, we would crown league champions on draft day. But with so many more quality players at the position than in years past, you would really be putting your team in a hole by waiting to strike free agent gold instead of investing in a worthwhile backstop during your draft.