This past season was an intriguing one at the catcher position. While there are certainly some reliable faces in this years ranking it’s easy to see a changing of the guard is upon us. As was the case last year catcher is the weakest fantasy position in baseball again this season. Last year we emphasized to not look at the raw stats and the benefits of not completely ignoring the position. However, in 2008 it may be vital to your strategy to take a top tier catcher, as there is a greater drop off in talent from the upper echelon backstops. If you don’t land a top tier catcher in normal sized leagues I recommend holding off until you have selected all of your other starters or even waiting until the final rounds of the draft before selecting one.

Sitting at the top of RotoKingdom’s 2008 rankings we have Victor Martinez and Russell Martin. Martinez is definitely the safest pick remaining fairly steady over the past few years as he lead all catchers in runs batted in with 114. That total was 22 runs batted in higher than the second closest catcher and it was the fourth year in a row that Martinez lead all major league catchers in the category. He clearly offers the most value at the catcher position this season according to our experts. Martinez also has some additional flexibility with his eligibility at first base. The Indians backstop was the first catcher off the board in our mock selected at pick 27 in the third round by the reigning Die Hard II Champion Mike Venancio. Russell Martin was also selected in the third round at pick 34 by our former baseball team leader Derrick Boyd in this years RotoKingdom mock draft. Martin burst onto the scene in 2007 when he hit .293, with 19 home runs, 87 runs scored, 87 runs batted in, and stole 21 bases. While one can reasonably expect Martin to get a few less at bats this season you can expect a line pretty similar to last year.

Checking in at the third spot of this year’s rankings is Joe Mauer who was the top rated preseason catcher of a season ago. Mauer had an injury-plagued season that led to production well below expectations, but his all-around abilities & potential keep him in the top tier. Baseball moderator Bruce Quinto at pick 65 in our mock draft selected the Minnesota backstop. Brian McCann was the next catcher taken at pick 77 by fantasy expert Seth Buehnerkemper. The young Braves catcher had a seemingly quiet, but productive season in 2007. While McCann did not hit .330 plus and contend for a batting crown like he did in 2006, he still hit 18 home runs and had 92 runs batted in. The runs batted in total was second only to Victor Martinez among backstops last year. A rebound in batting average with comparable power numbers can be expected this season making McCann a great value pick near the end of top echelon catchers.

Proven veteran Jorge Posada claims the number five slot in this years ranking and I selected him at pick 100 in our mock draft. Posada had arguably the best season of his career last year when he hit .338, with 20 home runs, 91 runs scored, 90 runs batted in, and 2 stolen bases. Last years .338 batting average absolutely annulated Posada’s previous career high of .287 all the way back in the 2000 season. A drop off is sure to be expected from Posada, but he’s still one of the more solid picks at the position.

While Kenji Johjima is a near consensus pick as the sixth best catcher it is easy to see the value of the top five compared to the rest of the field. In RotoKingdom’s mock draft, all five of the previously mentioned backstops were drafted in the first 100 picks of our mock. Whereas Johjima was not selected until the 14th round at pick 163. Staff moderator Kegan Mercadante drafted him there as he thought "Johjima was the best available player" left on the draft board and didn't want to get stuck later with one of the other options at catcher. The Seattle backstop is the last of the catchers worth at least a mid round selection in a normal sized league.

After Johjima things become very cloudy at the catcher position and you can afford to wait to select a favorite from the rest of the field. To give an indication, the number seven rated catcher on RotoKingdom’s rankings Ivan Rodriguez was not even chosen until the final pick of our mock draft. My projections for Pudge are a .283 batting average, 63 runs scored, 12 home runs, 59 runs batted in, and 5 stolen bases. Rodriguez was an excellent value pick as a starter taken where most drafters were filling out their bench and selecting role players for their teams.

So who are some of the promising youngsters that might help close this gap? Well my personal favorite of the new kids on the block is J.R. Towles who should win the starting backstop position with Houston this season. At a position not known for it’s longevity because of the daily wear on the knees Brad Ausmus is approaching “over the hill” status as he turns 39 this April and is the waning stages of a solid career. Towles broke into the majors in August of last year and finished with an impressive line tallying 9 runs scored, a home run, and 12 runs batted in while amassing a .375 batting average in just 40 at bats. Look for Towles to be one of the top backstop sleepers this year, but at the same time don’t overpay for the young catcher as he could still share some time with Ausmus.

Geovany Soto is one of my colleagues’ favorites receiving 3 top ten votes among our staff experts. Soto had a huge year in 2007 hitting .358 between AAA and the majors with 29 home runs, and 117 RBIs in 439 at bats. Soto boasts a .325 major league average in 80 at bats, but that is still a small sampling. My biggest concern is that Soto only has a .279 career batting average in the minors so that could lead to a year of growing pains before blowing up in 2009. By comparison Towles hit .300 in the minors so he is a safer pick despite not having the gaudy numbers that Soto had this past season.

So what happens if I don’t land one of the top six catchers and someone else has already grabbed the young phenoms with great upside? At this point I recommend using a category killer strategy. Evaluate whom you have on your team. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the team? Maybe your team is weak on batting average. Take a flier on Josh Bard or Ronny Paulino. Need a power hitter? Try David Ross or Mike Napoli on for size. While you won’t think of speed as something you can find at the catcher position Jason Kendall and Gerald Laird are both guys that have the potential to net more than 65 runs scored and steal 5-10 bases. Considering many of the lower tiered catchers will have fewer runs scored and won’t steal a single base that could gain you a point or two in your season standings or make the difference in a given week for a head to head match up.

For those of you in the normal sized leagues please remember these three things:

1. Five catchers stand above the rest, but don’t waste a first or second round pick on them.
2. If you want Kenji Jojima or another second group catcher wait. Please be patient and try not to panic so you don't waste a value pick. After 150 or so players have been drafted feel free to grab a second group player if you really like someone. However, keep in mind you can still get the same value in the waning rounds of the draft.
3. Finally, remember that if you miss out on all the catchers you wanted take a look at your team needs. If you know your team is week in a particular area consider taking a category killer opposed to the best available player.

Well, we hope you liked this year’s preview of the catchers. For all of your baseball questions, comments, and concerns please visit our baseball forums, where some of the best fantasy baseball minds in the business reside on a full-time basis.

- Jason Aufderhaar - RotoKingdom Staff Writer