Phillies Fantasy Impact: Catcher
In 2015, Carlos Ruiz is still the man behind the dish for the Philadelphia Phillies. His bat has been in steady decline since his 2012 career season. His glove, on the other hand, is still as good as ever, as is his ability to handle the pitching staff. However, it is his bat, and his potential fantasy impact, at which we’re going to take a closer look.
At age 36 and coming off a second consecutive season where his offensive production dipped, Ruiz isn’t considered a must-start in most fantasy leagues. Carlos’ offensive numbers over the past 3 seasons are as follows:
- 2012 – .325/.394/.540 w/16 HR & 68 RBI
- 2013 – .268/.320/.368 w/5 HR & 37 RBI
- 2014 – .252/.347/.370 w/6 HR & 31 RBI
While those numbers have declined, he does remain a good option to have as a back up on your fantasy roster, if your league setup allows for such luxuries. He owns a career slash line of .271/.357/.406 in 935 career games.
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There are currently only 3 catchers on the Phillies 40-man roster, leaving Chooch as the only real option for fantasy value from behind the plate.
Cameron Rupp and Tommy Joseph are the other two catchers, and only Rupp has seen any, albeit limited, action at the major league level. Joseph on the other hand is likely ticketed for another year in the minors. Unless there is a substantive injury to Ruiz, neither is likely to see much action.
Any meaningful fantasy production from the Phillies backstop position this year will have to go through Ruiz, as Rupp and Joseph aren’t likely to provide much of anything.
I would suggest that you either target Carlos near the end of your draft, depending on the size of your league, or wait until you can snag him as a free agent. Again, at this point in his career, except perhaps in the deepest of leagues, he is only a backup or injury substitute.