Early Catcher Rankings 2008

A little bit of strategy on drafting and ranking catchers. For one, it is a very difficult position to rank and draft because it is very thin. You will confront a lot of players with very similar numbers after the top guys. You will see more youth on this list than any other of my other positional lists. The reason for that is that I would rather gamble on a young catcher than a guy that I know won't produce much. Even if the gamble doesn't pay off, then you can probably go to the waiver wirer and pick up the guy or a comparable player that you would have drafted there anyway. This type of strategy would have worked heavily with Russell Martin, but backfired if you drank the kool-aid on Chris Iannetta last year.

Actually drafting the catchers also presents a problem. I consider the first 5 to be guys that you will need to reach for. What this means is that you will need to draft guys like V-mart or Russell Martin when other guys that are statistically superior are being drafted. So, if you draft Martin you will get a 20-20 catcher, but you may be giving up a 40 HR guy or a 30-30 outfielder. This is a difficult leap to take, but I have found that catcher is such a thin position, that it is often worth it. If you miss out on the top 5 guys, then you are just better off waiting for a while. The next tier will be spread out in the middle of the draft. In competitive leagues, the final catcher run will come late in the draft as the half the league that waited will look to fill out the position. If you find yourself in this position, jump in as you see fit, but there isn't much separating the bottom tier.

I omitted guys that are free agents or are in obvious time shares that I like because I don't see them getting enough playing time to make them worth a draft pick in a standard league at this point, but keep an eye on them in camp to see if they win a full-time spot or if there is a trade or an injury. This list includes guys like Josh Bard, Micheal Barrett, Mike Napoli, Jeff Mathis, Johnny Estrada etc. You can always counter this by drafting both if you are an active manager and in leagues with daily roster settings and plugging in that days starter if you can.

Positional Rankings for Catchers

1. Russell Martin (Age on opening day 25)
2007 Stats: .293 87 Runs 19 HR, 87 RBI 21 SB
Martin is the yin and the yang of catchers and will balance your lineup right away. He is the only one that will get you HR's and SB with a decent average and that warrants the number 1 spot in my opinion.

2. Victor Martinez (29)
2007 Stats: .301 avg. 78 Runs 25 HR 114 RBI 0 SB
V-mart is my second choice if I can't get Martin. I think these are the only 2 that I really go way early on as I think they will be sure things. V-mart gives you a first baseman's numbers behind the plate and catcher has gotten very thin. I think he is worth the 4th to 5th round investment. Caution: others may go earlier on him and Martin.

3. Jorge Posada (36)
2007 Stats: .338 avg. 91 Runs, 20 HR, 90 RBI, 2 SB
This is higher than I would probably like to take Posada, but he has been a very consistent guy for a long time now and was probably the statistical # 1 catcher last year with that .338 avg. and peripherals. I don't expect him to hit that high again, but even if he gives you 2006 again and hits with at his career .277 avg, the rest of his numbers make him a high quality backstop at 80-20-80.

4. Brian McCann (24)
2007 Stats: .270 avg. 51 Runs 18 HR 92 RBI 0 SB
Ok, another guy looking for consistency. Is he a .270 disappointment or the .333 juggernaut of 2006. He should get plenty of RBI opportunities in that Atlanta lineup and has the swing of a first basemen. I expect a bounce back. [/font]

5. Joe Mauer (24)
2007 Stats: .293 avg. 62 Runs 7 HR 60 RBI 7 SB
The 2006 AL Batting Champ was very disappointing in 2007 and battled injuries all year long. He can flat rake though and you have to be willing to get a .330 catcher any time you can. The power has not arrived as advertised yet, but he is still young. Is it on the way?

6. Kenji Johjima (31)
2007 Stats: .287 avg. 52 Runs 14 HR 61 RBI 0 SB
Johjima has put in two consistent years in a row now. Look for him in the middle rounds if you want a consistent catcher that won't hurt you and you are comfortable with your other picks.

7. Bengie Molina (33)
2007 Stats: .276 avg 38 Runs 19 HR 81 RBI 0 SB
Molina is very much like Johjima. Consistent. A number of people are scared by the Giants poor lineup, but for Molina, it will represent an opportunity. He will bat 5th and 6th a lot as opposed to the 8th spot that most guys will occupy. That will keep his RBI's at a healthy level.

8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia (22)
2007 Stats: .266 avg. 39 Runs 11 HR 33 RBI
Will this kid start off in the minors like Texas is saying, or will he have a full-time job in April? I would track this and draft accordingly. Texas is a hitters park and I think the smart thing would be to let the kid get his lumps in the majors. I don't think he has anything left to prove in the minors, but is still very young.

9. Geovany Soto (25)
2007 Stats: Minor Leagues: .353 avg. 75 runs 26 HR's 109 RBI 0 SB in 385 AB's
Major Leagues: .389 avg. 12 Runs 3 HR 8 RBI 0 SB in 54 AB's
Are those numbers real? He only hit 25 HR's in 6 years combined in the minors and was a career .263 hitter going into last season and then he exploded. I don't know what to make of it. He kept raking even after the call-up so this next season will be very telling. Is this guy a legit.300 hitter or closer to the guy that hit .263 for 6 years?

10. Jason Varitek (35)
2007 Stats: .255 avg. 57 Runs 17 HR 68 RBI 1 SB
I'm going to throw a couple of veterans at you now. What you see is what you get with these guys. I wouldn't expect more than what Varitek did in 2007 at 35 years of age.

11. Ivan Rodriguez (36)
2007 Stats: .281 50 Runs 11 HR 63 RBI 2 SB
Another veteran that should provide similar numbers in 2007 and won't hurt you. That Tigers line-up should be very potent, so I expect a slight increase in Runs and RBI.

12. J.R. Towles (24)
2007 Stats: Minor leagues .287 avg. 66 Runs 11 HR 62 RBI 14 SB in 349 AB's
Major Leagues .375 avg. 9 Runs 1 HR 12 RBI in 40 AB's
This guy is my guilty sleeper. He is a career .300 hitter in the minors and has double digit steals every season, which means that he is only 1 of 2 catchers that will run consistently. If you add up his AB's to get 500 in any given time frame, you get 20-20 potential. His problem has been health and getting those 500 AB's. Even if he gives me 15-15 with a .275 avg., I will be very happy as he will be a late round pick and off a lot of people's radar. Getting 15 SB from a catcher is gold. Ausmus will be Oswalt's personal catcher next year clearing the way for Towles. If you get him, you may want to handcuff a vet late like I did with Molina in my dynasty league, just in case.

13. Ramon Hernandez (31)
2007 Stats: .258 avg. 40 Runs 9 HR 62 RBI
Ramon, what happened buddy? This guy is better than this, but can he stay healthy? If he can stay healthy, he should return to his career norm of .275 with 20+ HR's.

14. AJ Pierzynski (31)
2007 Stats: .263 avg. 54 Runs 14 HR 50 RBI 1 SB
While his avg. is a roller coaster, the rest of his numbers are not. He is a career .287 hitter, but is usually well above that or well below it. What will we get in 2008? I expect 60-15-60 regardless.

15. Chris Snyder (27)
2007 Stats: .252 avg. 37 Runs 13 HR 47 RBI 0 SB
A younger choice than the vets above him, he is probably capable of similar numbers, but needs to prove it. At this point, you may need to just get lucky as you are confronted with an assortment of guys that will hit .260-60-15-60.

Barely missed the cut: Kurt Suzuki, Carlos Ruiz, Ronny Paulino, Yorvit Torrealba,