Martin Maldonado

Maldonado set a new career high with 15 homers. Unfortunately, that's where the plaudits end as he finished the season looking up at the Mendoza line for the second straight season. Even more disheartening is Maldonado's defense is slipping. He still calls a good game, but his framing is below average, and he only threw out 26% of would-be base stealers, the second lowest mark of his career. The Astros sensed the decline, so they acquired Christian Vazquez at the trade deadline and have been in the market for another backstop in the offseason. Maldonado had offseason surgery for a sports hernia but is expected to be ready for spring training. Regardless of your philosophy with respect to drafting catchers, if you end up with Maldonado, it's time to rethink your approach.

El Machete is a quality catcher in real baseball as he is quite the backstop and can cut down runners on the basepaths nearly at will. He can take aim at the Crawford Boxes and yank homers over the short wall. The problem is he can do little else as he struggles to hit for average, even as someone who has gotten better earning walks in recent years. It isn't quite clear why pitchers would be working around an AL catcher who hits poorly, but Maldonado has posted double-digit walk rates each of the past two seasons. His expected batting average has been .210 or worse each of the last four seasons and there is little reason to believe it gets better in 2022. At best, he is a low-end second catcher option in AL-only leagues.

Maldonado was signed by the Astros, who were paying for his glove and not his bat, and he manned the backstop for what would become more of a makeshift pitching staff than expected. From 2016-2019, Maldonado posted a wRC+ between 72 and 78, but he was a solid pitch framer and among the league leaders in defensive runs saves behind the plate. Small sample alert, but Maldonado's wRC+ leaped to 110, solely a result of a 16.4 BB%, more than twice his career mark. However, his defensive metrics slipped, but again it was only in a 60-game season. Even if Maldonado retains his newfound on-base ability, he remains tough to deploy in fantasy, especially since he's in danger of playing less as his defense can no longer overcome his weak run production.

The catcher position as a whole got a lift in 2019, but Maldonado did not get the memo. He had pretty much the exact same season he had in 2017 and 2018, only this time his year was split between three teams (Royals, Cubs and Astros) instead of two as in 2018. Maldonado struck out 23% of the time and hit in the low-.200s with double-digit homers and middling run-production stats. His rate stats have been remarkably consistent, but consistently bad. His OPS has ranged from .627 to .683 over the last four seasons while his wRC+ has ranged from 72 to 78 in that time. Maldonado can still provide value behind the plate at 33 years old and his abilities on that side of the ball earned him a two-year, $7 million deal with Houston. Despite being atop the depth chart at press time, he can still reasonably go undrafted in 15-team, two-catcher mixed leagues.

Maldonado opened the 2018 season with the Angels before being traded to the Astros at the end of July with Los Angeles out of playoff contention. Overall it was another typical year for the veteran backstop, who provided elite defense behind the dish while struggling to produce on offense. After appearing in a career-high 137 games in 2017, Maldonado appeared in 119 contests in 2018, posting a combined .225/.276/.351 line with nine homers. His 2018 slash line was right in line with both his 2017 performance (.221/.276/.368) and his career slash line (.220/.289/.350), suggesting Maldonado's offensive production entering his age-32 season is unlikely to improve. That said, he was in the running to win a second consecutive American League Gold Glove, so Maldonado should see a sizable workload behind the plate after signing with Kansas City.

Maldonado's first season as a full-time starter went pretty much as expected; top-notch defense with inconsistent offense. After hitting a respectable .253/.313/.412 with nine homers in the first half of the season, he finished with a .221/.276/.368 line, dragged down by his second-half struggles (.183/.227/.312). The Angels attributed his drop-off to the increased workload, which is understandable given Maldonado led all catchers with 137 games caught despite having never played in more than 79 games in any season prior. However, the 31-year-old struggled to produce offensively even when his workload was reduced, hitting a combined .217/.299/.342 in five seasons (352 games) as the Brewers' backup. Still, he further solidified himself as one of the best defensive backstops in the game, earning his first American League Gold Glove, so he figures to reprise his role as the Angels' starting catcher in 2018.

Maldonado took over primary catching duties for the Brewers after they traded away Jonathan Lucroy, but he'll handle a new pitching staff in 2017 after getting traded to the Angels in December. Despite the extra opportunities, Maldonado showed little offensive upside last season. While he managed a career-best .332 on-base percentage thanks to a 13.8 percent walk rate, he still hasn't posted an OPS better than his .729 mark from his rookie year in 2012. Unless he shows signs of breaking that streak early in 2017, he's in danger of falling into a timeshare, though the Halos' willingness to part with Jett Bandy in order to get Maldonado could make him the bridge behind the plate until 2015 first-round pick Taylor Ward is deemed ready for the big leagues. Even with the potential for a full season as a starter in Anaheim, Maldonado's value is limited to deep leagues that require the use of two catchers.

Maldonado saw extended playing time this season due to some injury woes for regular starter Jonathan Lucroy, but Maldonado was largely unremarkable. In 79 games, the backstop slashed .210/.282/.293 with four homers and 22 RBI. His strong suits are his glove and game-calling ability, which bodes well for his chances to stay on the 25-man roster despite his hitting woes. However, as long as Lucroy stays healthy, Maldonado will probably remain a backup in 2016.

Maldonado worked as the backup behind starting catcher Jonathan Lucroy last season. Lucroy did not sit much, and Maldonado was limited to just 111 at-bats as a result, but he did post a respectable .707 OPS thanks to 11 walks and nine extra-base hits. Maldonado is a quality defensive catcher and under team control for several more years, so it would likely take an injury for him not to open next season as the Brewers’ backup catcher once again.

Maldonado is a valuable backup catcher thanks to his defense and game-calling abilities, but he struggled with the bat in 2013 while primarily seeing spot action with regular catcher Jonathan Lucroy healthy all season. Despite the struggles, Maldonado is young and cheap, so expect him to serve as the Brewers’ backup catcher again in 2014.

Known primarily as a defensive catcher and average prospect while in the minors, Maldonado rounded out his game last season in the most unlikely of places - Milwaukee. Maldonado filled in admirably in Jonathan Lucroy's absence and proved to be a more-than-capable backup catcher when Lucroy returned, finishing the season with a .266 batting average and eight home runs over 78 games. Maldonado will enter 2013 with the same backup job, but he will play more than your regular reserve catcher.

Maldonado is essentially the Brewers' third or fourth catcher, and will likely serve as organizational depth at Triple-A Nashville in 2012 with Jonathan Lucroy and George Kottaras in position to handle the big league staff.