Derek Norris is worth adding in deep leagues

Welcome back to “Off The Deep End”, where I will give you fantasy baseball tips on who to pick up in deeper leagues. For people who play standard leagues, drop/add columns are easy for you to find, but for those of you that love deeper leagues, advice can be harder to come by. That is where I can help. All of these players are available in 85% or more of ESPN leagues.

This time around we will do things a little differently.  I will only do one positions at a time, but I will give you advice on who to pick up and to drop in deep leagues.

This piece will focus on catchers.

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Chicago White Sox catcher

(21) in the second inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Add:

Derek Norris, Athletics: Norris is playing more than just against lefties now, and he has responded.  He is hitting .395 over the last two weeks to raise his season average to .307.  He also has a pair of home runs over that span.  As long as Stephen Vogt remains on the roster, Norris or John Jaso are candidates to DH in any given game.  This should give both of their values a boost.

Stephen Vogt, Athletics: Speaking of Vogt, he is hitting .344 with a homer in 34 at bats since his call up.  He has even logged some time in the outfield, so Vogt will likely stick as long as he keeps hittiing.

Robinson Chirinos, Rangers: Chirinos is hitting .357 with four of his eight  homers on the season over the last two weeks, bringing his season average up to .232 in the process.  He seems to be getting more comfortable at the plate, so Texas likely will try to keep him in the lineup except against tough right handers.  He is also playing at first base, helping ease the loss of Prince Fielder.

Drop:

Tyler Flowers, White Sox: After a solid first two months of the season, Flowers has been dreadful in June.  He has mustered just two hits in 30 at bats.  To make matters worse, he has struck out a whopping 21 times in that span!  He can be dropped until he turns it around.

Brayan Pena, Reds: With Joey Votto out, Pena was getting regular at bats at first base as well.  Now he is the forgotten man.  Of course, his .138 average over the last two weeks didn’t help his cause any, even with the struggles of starting catcher Devin Mesoraco.

John Jaso, Athletics: Yep, all three A’s catchers somehow found their way onto this list.  Jaso has less upside than Vogt or Norris, so if he stays cold, he will likely be the odd man out.  Jaso is hitting just .128 over the last two weeks.  You can do better, even in deep leagues.

Come back tomorrow for the first basemen!