Before 2012, the Colorado Rockies had not had a franchise catcher since the days of Charles Johnson and that was short lived. Enter Wilin Rosario, who played some at the end of the 2011 season and had high hopes going into 2012. As a rookie Rosario, nicknamed the “Baby Bull”, wowed the organization playing in 117 games while hitting 28 HRs knocking in 71 RBI and sustaining an avg. of .270. This was the most production the Rockies had seen out of a young catcher in a long time, including Chris Iannetta who had numerous chances to win the position for years but was too inconsistent. The two negatives on Rosario, however, were that he struck out quite a bit (99 times in 396 ABs) and he wasn’t strong defensively (21 passed balls and a CS% of 32). Wilin still had a lot to prove.
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Turn the page
to 2013 where Rosario knew he was the favorite to be the starting catcher and could focus on his skills in the off season. He followed up his rookie campaign with a consistent sophomore outing hitting more for Avg. at .292 and RBI (79) in more ABs, but many focused on his lower power numbers (21 HRs, SLG% .486 down from .530). His defense did improve as well, but not in throwing out base stealers. After a year where the Rockies may have found their franchise catcher, what can we expect from Rosario this season for the Rockies and in the fantasy ranks?
Expectations rise
for the Baby Bull this year as can be seen in his fantasy catcher ratings all over the internet. He is listed anywhere from the #4 overall catcher to #10 and some below that. I see Rosario having similar numbers to his first year in the league. I think his power numbers will go back up to 25+ HRs, he should be right around 80 RBIs but the big question again will be his strikeouts. If he can get that under control he can get to .290 again but I see .270-.275 more realistic. So far Wilin has been relatively healthy which is a good thing in the fantasy ranks and you know you will get production from him so I think he is worth a top ten catcher pick. Backing up Rosario this year will be the gutsy Jordan Pacheco who has made the switch from infielder to catcher and has something to prove after a disappointing 2013. The Rockies also acquired Michael McKenry from the Pirates a few weeks ago and he will be a non roster invitee to spring training trying to win the backup catcher job. With all the other questions surrounding the Rockies in the off-season, the organization and fans are happy that the catcher position isn’t one of those.