Jason Kendall

The Royals love Kendall for his leadership and ability to play through nearly any injury, but his weak skill set at the plate suggests he's better suited for a backup role. Despite his iron-man reputation, Kendall likely will miss Opening Day with a torn rotator cuff. Expect him to regain his starting spot when he returns, which figures to be some time after May, even though the Royals have younger catchers on the roster whose prospect clocks continue to tick.

Kendall's offensive struggles are well documented and he did nothing to change anyone's opinion in 2009. He hit .241/.331/.305 in 134 games and did not provide the outstanding defense he did in 2008. Despite eroding skills in both facets of the game, the Royals elected to sign him to a two-year deal in December, and he'll likely collect the majority of the at-bats this season.

Kendall caught a league-high 149 games in 2008 though he hit just .246/.327/.324. His real value was on defense, were he was considered to be the best defensive catcher in the league based on a number of different metrics. This doesn't really do anything for his fantasy value, where he was dead weight on batting average. He'll be back with the Brewers in 2009, but he may not catch as many games.

Kendall's still got good plate discipline and doesn't strike out much, but he has no power, doesn't run well and no longer has a good batting average on balls in play. He'll start for the Brewers, but at age 33, it's hard to see Kendall having a career resurgence.

He homered. He actually homered. His value nosedives in leagues that count SLG, but his counting stats remain solid for a catcher. He's a good bet for 75+ runs, 50 RBI and 10+ steals and all sorts of playing time. Those at-bats will work against you though if you count SLG, so be careful.

Kendall failed to hit a single homer in 601 AB, which is a pretty amazing feat. He actually hit better at home (if a .685 OPS and .329 SLG can be considered better — or hitting) so the pitchers' park argument goes out the window. Nonetheless, the A's have little choice but to play him. If they can find a clean-up man to allow Mark Ellis, Mark Kotsay, and Eric Chavez to lead off, then Kendall's value takes another hit as he moves to the bottom of the order.

It took some time, but the Pirates finally unloaded Kendall and his big contract to the A’s, who were happy to take the three-time All-Star with a .306 lifetime batting average off their hands. Kendall is a perfect fit for the A’s, who put a premium on getting on base, as his .399 OBP as a leadoff hitter was best in the NL. He’ll likely hit in the second spot in 2005, where his ability to make contact should keep things moving along. A nice bonus for fantasy owners is that Kendall can swipe the occasion bag, leading all catchers with 11 steals last season. His power has been limited the past few years, but Kendall remains a fine roto option because he is solid in so many areas at a position of scarcity.

The Pirates have been aggressively trying to unload Kendall's big contract since last year, but the hard-nosed catcher's production is not at issue. He held up his end of a bloated deal, finishing sixth in the NL batting race with a .325 average while setting a career high with 191 hits, the most by a Pirate since Andy Van Slyke had 199 in 1992. Kendall, who hit .385 in his last 45 games, also led all major-league catchers with 145 starts and 146 total appearances. He doesn't have a ton of power, as witnessed by a combined nine homers in the last two years combined, but he can steal bases, a nice fantasy bonus for a catcher. In short, he is one of the game's better roto options at one of fantasy's thinnest positions.

This will be a key year for Kendall, who even in the midst of a two-year funk has been a decent fantasy option behind the plate: 15 steals, decent average, lots of playing time to rack up runs and even some RBI. He’ll be 18 months past reconstructive surgery on his thumb, so if he’s going to get back to his peak, it’s now or never. Look for a return to .300, if not necessarily to 10 home runs. Beware, NL-only players: the four years and $42MM left on his contract make him a constant target of trade rumors.