ESPN.com – Gammons: The cornerstone

I’ve had two drafts so far this spring, both mixed leagues, one with 15 reams, the other with 18 (mixednutsleague.com), and in one of them I ended up with Joe Mauer. (And for some reason was thinking I’d gotten him in both when I originally posted, but I”ve fixed that now.)

I’m as wary as the next guy about his ability to jump from Double-A to the majors at age 21. Well, not quite as skeptical as the next guy, but I won’t argue that he’s a sure thing. In this story by Gammons he says he’s having problems identifying the change up, and that’s exactly the sort of detail in a Gammons piece that can be overlooked amidst the hype.

I think he’s going to get plenty of chance to play this year, his defense will buy him that, and there is a chance he’ll do very well right out of the box. Which is why I think he ranks ahead of most of the $2 catchers.