Matt Wieters 2010

One player who I really wasn't expecting to get in my NFBC slow draft was Matt Wieters. I had seen the early round results of a few similar drafts where he went in the late 40s or 50s and assumed that's where his ADP would be. When he was still available at pick 69, I jumped at the opportunity to take him. The more I think about Wieters, the more I like his chances to be a top three catcher in 2010. Last year in the Major Leagues, he hit .288 with 9 home runs in 354 at bats. Projected to a full season, that's not bad at all and would probably make him about the 6th or 7th best catcher. The thing is, he was MUCH better the previous two years in the Minor Leagues. He hit for more power (27 home runs in 437 combined at bats) and a better batting average (.345 in 2007 and .365 in 2008). His strikeout to walk ratio gives a clue why his average suffered such a decline in the majors as he had only 28 walks and 86 strikeouts, for a guy who walked more than he struck out during his minor league career. Expect the strikeouts to drop, and the average and home runs to increase in 2010, as the 23 year old Wieters is likely to improve substantially.