Position by Position: Catchers

Buck- was a huge part of the Beltran deal thus giving everyone unrealistic expectations. Its time to accept he is what he is, a solid defensive catcher who can call a good game. The fact that Meche and Zack love him is a good enough reason to keep him around. His biggest weaknesses are he doesn't throw out runners or hit for average. He's also never going to be a 20-30 hr guy barring a kevin seitzer miracle. He'll look like a good catcher when he's on a hot streak at the plate then you'll forget he exist for 2 more months. Overall he's a .240/.310/420 hitter with 15 HRs if he's a fulltime starter.

Olivo- I find this guy to be very overrated. Most of what people like about him is due to watching Buck's shortcomings. He throws out more runners than Buck but isn't necessarily a great defensive player. He mashes lefties, but isn't a great hitter. To me he's similar to Buck, but doesn't call as good of a game. His weaknesses include his alergy to walks (career high obp is in the .270s), utter uselessness hitting righties, and the fact that the pitchers haven't warmed to him yet. In my opinion as a full time starter he'd hit about .250/.265/.450 with oh 17 HR. To me I'd rather have Buck and trade Olivo. If only cause is he better enough than Buck (if he is) that you want to risk making Grienke and Meche mad?

Branyan Pena & J.R. House- These guys to me are like a rookie 3rd string quarterback for your NFL team from a college you liked. They're exciting if for no other reason than they're something differant, but the only place they'll have an impact likely is in Madden. This is the case with House and Pena barring injury or a trade. Lets start with Pena though as it is possible he could see some playing time this year. Pena came from the Braves and has always been a good contact hitter in the minors. He's in his mid twenties and has yet to get a legitimate shot. His biggest weaknesses are a weak arm, bad defense behind the plate, limited power, and from one radio personality I hear he lacks the leadership skills a catcher needs. Honestly though his arm can't throw out less runners than Buck, and his defense could improve still at this stage. Over a full season I see him as a guy who would hit .290/.350/.400 with 5 HR. This isn't bad as you'd love that obp out of your catcher and that's a good average. On a team without a glut at 1B he could provide extra value by maybe also learning to play there. It doesn't appear he's ready for the show yet though as he's likely going to be in AAA this year mostly. He is on the 40-man though. JR House has less of a chance of playing than Pena but more upside to me. House was a top propect for the pirates and was going to force their all-star at the time (Jason Kendall) to switch positions. Then injuries derailed his career and limited him behind the plate. This of course hurt him and its unclear if his bad would profile well enough for a move to 1B. In the meantime what's left is a defensively-challenged, ex top-prospect, who still hasn't gotten a shot at the big league level for large period of time. Some may call him the new Justin Huber. To me though he's a guy who the Royals should give a long look to. How bad can his defense be? His best projections are amazing. I'd be willing to venture as an everyday starter he'd hit .280/340/.430. Since he has average power I'll also go 15 HR just like Buck. Now this is awesome production from a C but if he's capable of this and hasn't gotten a shot then his defense must be putrid from his injuries. Again one wonders though could defense be bad enough to offset this production? House will start the year in AAA and likely be there till sept. However if there's another Mike Aviles this year who comes out of nowhere to just rake, then House would be my guess and therefore a Top preseason Mike Aviles award candidate.