Preseason Baseball Coverage: Draft Kit Central | New Faces in New Places | Top 250 Rankings

By Zach Freeman
Fantasy Sports 101 Baseball

Catchers frequently miss games, produce shoddy numbers and can be quite prone to injury. Eliminate some of the guesswork when it comes to drafting your franchise backstop by reading through our top 15 positional rankings. Previews, analysis and more as part of Fantasy Sports 101's preseason baseball coverage.

1. Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians
Martinez batted .301 last season with 169 hits, 40 doubles, 25 home runs and 141 RBI. He started 121 games behind the plate and saw time at first base in 30 others. If Martinez continues to bat behind Travis Hafner, he should see plenty of pitches to hit and make a push towards a second straight 100-RBI season.

Martinez's Key Statistics

2. Russell Martin, Los Angeles Dodgers
Martin, who begins his third year as the Dodgers starting catcher, made the National League All-Start team last season when he hit .293 with 19 home runs, 21 stolen bases (tops among catchers) and 87 RBI. He added 158 hits and a .374 on-base percentage and was durable in playing 151 games.

Martin's Key Statistics

3. Jorge Posada, New York Yankees
Posada had a career year in 2007, batting .338 (5th in the MLB) and leading all catchers with 171 hits. He also had 42 doubles, 20 home runs and 90 runs batted in. In essentially the same Yankees lineup, he'll have every opportunity to match those 90 RBIs. In the offseason, he came to terms with the Yankees on a four-year contract extension worth $52.4 million.

Posada's Key Statistics

4. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
Mauer’s 2007 season started the same as his 2006 ended, with Mauer hitting everything that came his way. Unfortunately, the injury bug came calling and Mauer was never the same after missing most of May. He still batted .293 (down from .346 in 2006), had 119 hits and drove in 60 runs. Look for him to hit closer to .346 than the .293 figure he put up in 2007.

Mauer's Key Statistics

5. Jason Varitek, Boston Red Sox
Varitek only batted .255 last season, but drew 71 walks and reached base at a .367 clip. With the lineup help that the Red Sox provide, those numbers will directly translate to runs. Varitek, who turns 35 this season, drove in 68 himself and hit 17 home runs a year ago.

Varitek's Key Statistics

6. Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves
McCann’s average dropped 60 points from 2006, but he still hit .270 to go with 18 home runs and 92 RBI in 139 games. One of the game's great, young pressure hitters, his timely production helped key the Braves in the hunt for a playoff berth in the second half of 2007.

McCann's Key Statistics

7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Texas Rangers
It's the Rangers' perogative to start "Salty" behind the dish, but he's almost guaranteed to be a liability there. That, of course, is no consequence to us, as his power potential is a serious asset in our fantasy lineups. His home run totals never materialized in the minors, but this switch-hitter may be the only fantasy catcher capable of hitting 30 homers - the question is, does it happen this year?

Saltalamacchia's Key Statistics

8. Bengie Molina, San Francisco Giants
Molina hit .276 last year with 137 hits and 38 runs scored. He quietly drove in 81 runs and hit 19 home runs, while likely spending much of the season on your league's waiver wire. Molina played in 134 games last season and wore his third different uniform in three years.

Molina's Key Statistics

9. Kenji Johjima, Seattle Mariners
Johjima hit .287 in a steady sophomore season and racked up 139 hits, 29 doubles and 14 home runs in 135 games. He'll never be mistaken for an explosive fantasy option, but his 61 RBI and 52 runs scored warrant consideration because they do still leave room for upside.

Johjima's Key Statistics

10. Ivan Rodriguez, Detroit Tigers
Pudge hit .281 last season with 141 hits in 129 games played. He had 31 doubles and hit 11 home runs to go along with his 63 RBI. With the addition of Miguel Cabrera to the line-up, look for the 36-year old Rodriguez to keep putting up good numbers.

Rodriguez's Key Statistics

11. J.R. Towles, Houston Astros
Towles is clearly on the fast track, moving from Single-A Salem to the Astros roster during the 2007 season. He is an adept athlete, mature catcher and above-average hitter - skills that will translate well to the fantasy realm. Should he win the job as expected in Spring Training, a .280 average, 15 home runs and 10 stolen bases would be a reasonable expectation.

Towles's Key Statistics

12. Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs
One of several young catchers capturing the attention of fantasy managers, Soto is an excellent defender, but maybe only an average hitter. He's advanced for his age, but probably not as useful in fantasy as people are anticipating. In that Cubs offense, he'll be there to handle the pitching staff first and be a hitter second.

Soto's Key Statistics

13. Ronny Paulino, Pittsburgh Pirates
Paulino batted .263 last season while driving in 55 runs and hitting 11 home runs and 25 doubles. He scored 56 runs and had an OBP of .314. Paulino should put up similar numbers hitting behind Freddy Sanchez and Jason Bay again.

Paulino's Key Statistics

14. A.J. Pierzynski, Chicago White Sox
Pierzynski batted .263 last season while playing in 136 games. He had 14 home runs while driving in 50 runs. He added 24 doubles and scored 54 runs for the White Sox who finished 24 games behind the Indians.

Pierzynski's Key Statistics

15. Carlos Ruiz, Philadelphia Phillies
In his first season as the Phillies’ starter, Ruiz hit .259 with 29 doubles, six home runs and 54 RBI. Only to be used in deeper leagues, he had value as a decent hitting option with a bit of upside. In 2007, he had a .340 on-base percentage, stole six bases and scored 42 runs in 115 games.

Ruiz's Key Statistics

AL-Only Rankings
1. Victor Martinez, CLE
2. Jorge Posada, NYY
3. Joe Mauer, MIN
4. Jason Varitek, BOS
5. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, TEX
6. Kenji Johjima, SEA
7. Ivan Rodriguez, DET
8. A.J. Pierzynski, CWS
9. Ramon Hernandez, BAL
10. John Buck, KC

NL-Only Rankings
1. Russell Martin, LAD
2. Brian McCann, ATL
3. Bengie Molina, SF
4. J.R. Towles, HOU
5. Geovany Soto, CHC
6. Ronny Paulino, PIT
7. Josh Bard, SD
8. Carlos Ruiz, PHI
9. Brian Schneider, NYM
10. Yadier Molina, STL

** Position averages were determined by eliminating the top and bottom totals in each category, adding the rest (excluding Geovany Soto and J.R. Towles, who had limited MLB action), and dividing by 11. For example, in the runs category: Jorge Posada's leading total of 91 and Bengie Molina's trailing total of 38 were eliminated, while the other 11 were averaged. For the stat sample, the top 15 players on this list were used. All figures were rounded up.