Posted by deathinahole on 7/26/2012 10:23:00 AM (view original):
.25 ERA is 41 runs a season, which is how much more RC that catcher would need to have over the one with better defense.
Just saying.
I'd really prefer that you didn't discover the benefits of an 85 PC with above avg arm strength and accuracy, because then I would be able to pick them up for $327k and rotate them around every 3 seasons.
It is only 41 runs a season if you give up that deficit over an entire season, which almost no one who plays an offense-first catcher does because of rest/defensive replacement. If a guy catches 130 complete games (or 1170 innings) at -0.250 ERA he will give you a 32.5 run differential. That can be matched in offense.
Just saying.
I tend to use defense-first catchers, but for the past three seasons I have experimented with
Hardball Dynasty – Fantasy Baseball Sim Games - Player Profile: Matty Torres as my primary catcher in New Orleans. Other than the 33 PC his defense is pretty decent -- more passed ball than I would like, but for his career he has thrown out 27% of base stealers -- and his offense is ridiculous: This season he is hitting 326/468/569, and his 9.857 RC/27 is second in the world.
Hardball Dynasty – Fantasy Baseball Sim Games - Player Profile: Lawrence Barker, my backup, is giving me half of Torres' offensive production (for their careers Barker has offered about 40% less offense). During that same period, Barker's cERA has ranged from 0.290 to 0.50 lower than Torres'. Maybe I am still in a deficit here in runs created vs runs allowed, but my team ERA with Torres as the primary catcher and Barker as the backup has been pretty good (this season things got screwed up by my vacation, which began just as spring training was ending, and when I returned the AI had run all my relievers into 0(0) and one starter had not been used at all -- we had like a 7 ERA or something) and Torres has been my best offensive player.