Ryan Hanigan

2013

Subscribe now to see our 2013 outlook.

2012

Unless you play in a league that uses on-base percentage as a category, most of Hanigan's contributions are undervalued in fantasy leagues. He's an excellent receiver, has a great arm and is incredibly disciplined at the plate. For the third year in a row, Hanigan drew more walks (35 in 266 at-bats) than strikeouts (32). But he doesn't have much power (12 extra-base hits) and has no speed, so traditional roto teams won't be helped by him that much. Because of his strong defense, don't be surprised if he plays more than highly touted rookie Devin Mesoraco, especially early in the season.

2011

The Reds quietly received good production at the plate from their catching tandem of Hanigan and Ramon Hernandez in 2010, while Hanigan also provided excellent defense. Hanigan has unusually good plate discipline, having walked more than he's struck out over his major league career (81:63 BB:K in 549 at-bats). He won't hit for much power, but if you're looking for a $1-2 catcher in the endgame of your NL draft, he might not be a bad investment.

2010

Hanigan is a perfectly adequate backup catcher, but he got exposed badly as a starter when Ramon Hernandez was on the DL for two months. On the positive side, he has excellent plate discipline, walking more than he struck out, but he only had 10 extra-base hits in 251 at-bats. His lack of power and speed on the basepaths make him a poor fantasy candidate even in deeper leagues, no matter if he hits for average.

2009

Because of the utter lack of an in-house alternative at catcher, Hanigan will likely serve as the backup behind the plate for the Reds in 2009. He's demonstrated a decent batting eye both at Louisville and in his brief major league trial, but it's unlikely that he'll hit for power. The closest the Reds have to a catching prospect is 2007 first-round pick Devin Mesaroco, but he was mediocre with the bat at Low-A Dayton in 2008. To shore up the position, Cincinnati acquired Ramon Hernandez to take over the starting job behind the plate in December, so Hanigan is clearly a No. 2 entering the season.