The Next Piazza? Good Luck

Now that Mike Piazza is officially retired from baseball, we can celebrate the man that was easily the best fantasy catcher ever. It ain't close. We're talking about a man that put up outfielder type numbers at catcher. In case you have forgotten, check out the triple crown stats Piazza put up in his prime, starting with his rookie season:

.318-35-112
.319-24-92 (in only 107 games)
.346-32-93 (in only 112 games)
.336-36-105
.362-40-124
.328-32-111
.303-40-124
.324-38-113
.300-36-94
.280-33-98

This was in the most shallow fantasy position there is, and those power categories get especially valuable when you realize it's rare for a catcher to be a base-stealer (even if there are a few, you don't count on steals from a catcher). He was a bonafide first-rounder simply because of the huge leg up you got at the position with him.

In the last few years with Piazza in a decline, Joe Mauer and Victor Martinez have come to the forefront in the new crop of catchers that fantasy owners draft in the early rounds. The problem here is that the separation between the those two is not near as much as it was with Piazza and his peers.

Will there be another Piazza in fantasy?

Here's a look at the possible candidates, in order of likelihood:

Best Chance

- None -- Oh c'mon. You can't look at those numbers listed above and really believe that one catcher can do that again over a ten year period, especially with such little competition from his catching peers power-wise.

Decent Chance

- Geovany Soto -- You've heard my thoughts on him, and he hasn't slowed down.

- Brian McCann -- Suffered through a down year after a breakthrough 2006 campaign, but he's back. He's raking with a 156 OPS+ and sports .321-8-29 triple crown numbers.

- Martinez -- This was your guy until an inexplicable power outage this season. He may bounce back, sure, but you never saw Piazza go through nearly two months without going yard. If anything, his numbers this year are evidence as to why you don't draft a catcher in the early rounds anymore.

- Russell Martin -- His power and steals combo is nice to see behind the dish and makes him more valuable than the three above at times, but he can't measure up to the former Dodger in the power department.

Long Shots

- Jarrod Saltalamacchia -- Salty's been bouncing around a bit since he was hitting .314-19-81 in 129 games when he was crushing high-A ball at age 20. He's recently turned 23 and has hit 12 HRs in 351 big league at-bats. There's good potential for growth here.

- Matt Wieters -- He's the prospect with the best chance. Today is his 22nd birthday, and he's mashing in high-A ball to the tune of .345-11-29 in only 139 at-bats. The Orioles should be playing the for the future quite soon as well, so owners in leagues with multiple minor league bench spots take note immediately.

- Chris Iannetta -- Like JD Closser before him, he was the failed "big catcher prospect" in Colorado that fantasy players fall in love with because of the ballpark in which they will rake. Iannetta has started to hit a year later than expected now, but he's not producing the power you'd want in a Piazza-like backstop.

- Kurt Suzuki -- Poor start this year (.238-1-12) with everyday at-bats, but he's not turning 25 until October 4th. Of course he only hit 25 homers in 314 minor league games.

- Mauer -- No power, he doesn't run much anymore, and the Twins may eventually move him to third base. That would murder his fantasy value.

- Mike Napoli -- Probably will never get everyday playing time and he's never going to hit for average. On the other hand, he's dropped 36 bombs in 576 MLB at-bats, including 10 in 89 this year. He's only 26, so hopefully the holes in his game get fixed and the power just stays steady. He's this low because of the lack of chances he'll have to help you.

- Ryan Doumit -- He came up last year on fire, and ended up .274-9-32 in about a half-season of play. This year he was off to a fast start again (.350-5-15 in 103 at-bats) before going down injured.

To summarize, it never hurts to look for the next Mike Piazza as your catcher in deep keeper leagues, but odds are you are going to be disappointed if those are your expectations. In year-to-year leagues, you better realize that it's a waste of time to pick one of these guys -- or any other catcher -- in the first five rounds. Compare ADPs of Soto and Victor this year in case you want to argue.